George Clooney鈥檚 film, 鈥淭he American鈥 is likely to spark new interest in the cookery of Abruzzo.
In the film, which is to be released in the US on Wednesday, Clooney鈥檚 character, Jack, is seen eating in several caf茅s in mountain villages in the region and audiences will be curious to learn more about typical abruzzese food.
Now there is a book which will not only answer their questions but will also enable them to help victims of the 2009 earthquake as all profits from 鈥淏reaking Bread in L鈥橝quila鈥 will be donated to the earthquake relief fund.
The author, Maria Filice, is a Canadian Italian whose parents were from Calabria. She learnt to cook by watching and listening to her relatives, who all told stories as they cooked. In 1997 she married Telos publisher Paul Piccone and moved to New York, where she continued to cook the traditional Italian dishes she knew so well. She also began to visit L鈥橝quila, her husband鈥檚 home town. There, she was immediately impressed by the cooking, based on simple, fresh ingredients. Widowed in 2004, Maria took over her husband鈥檚 publishing company, where she works as Mary Piccone.
鈥淏reaking Bread in L鈥橝quila鈥 is Maria鈥檚 first book and is intended to be the first of a 鈥淏reaking Bread鈥 series. Many of the recipes are inspired by the San Biagio restaurant in L鈥橝quila but, Maria assures us, do not take hours of preparation or require ingredients which are difficult to find. The 49 recipes are organised in menus for each day of the week but the menus are flexible.
There is also a section on the region鈥檚 wines and a chapter about Maria鈥檚 philosophy of entertaining. Every recipe is beautifully illustrated.
This is truly a cookbook written with love.
The book is available on and .
You can buy the book directly from the publisher, . All profits will be donated to the L鈥橝quila Earthquake Relief Fund.
