Simple Italian Cookery, by Antonia Isola was the first Italian cookbook to be published in the US. The author, Mabel Earl McGinnis, was a New York native with an appreciation for Italian food that grew from years spent living in Rome. In February 1912 she published her cookbook under the pseudonym Antonia Isola, and for many years her recipes were the standard for Italian cooking in the United States.
The recipes are classic and simple. They’re not overburdened with precise and complex instructions, just simple Italian fare that a mother might make for her family. For instance, her pumpkin soup is just pumpkin, butter, water, and milk boiled until soft and served with fried bread. No complex preparation, no unnecessary seasoning. A great guide if you are new to cooking italian food.
Having said that, some of the recipes could do with a little more detail. Mabel doesn’t specify the type of flour to use for the macaroni, nor the type of rice for the risotto. No criticism here, I imagine that the products were most likely unavailable in the U.S at the time of writing her book, 100 some years ago. So if you do follow any of her recipes make sure you use pasta flour, known as “00” (plain/all purpose is not milled fine enough). For your risotto look for a suitable high starch rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli. And for goodness sake stir your risotto as it cooks, you will thank me! Look at this link if you need to know more about what type of flour you should use.
Simple Italian Cookery by Antonia Isola is in the Public Domain, and as such is available free and online. Go to University of Adelaide library eBooks to view or download. https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/i/isola/antonia/simple/
The book is also available, with over 60,000 other free books, from Project Gutenberg. Find it at
http://www.gutenberg.org
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