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Venezia: Food and Dreams

DESCRIPTION
To Tessa Kiros, Venice isn't just a place to visit, it is also a place to discover inspiring magical moments. She shares these special moments with foodies and fans in VENEZIA: FOOD AND DREAMS.

This stunning book is so much more than a cookbook. It's a personal journal, a travel guide, and a memoir about Tessa's love for Venice, Italy, and its special place in her heart--and palate.

   In Venezia, cooks awake to 105 amazing recipes and 120 four-color photographs focusing on the fascinating city and its famous fare. Chapters include Eating in Venice, Essential Recipes, Cicchetti (small bites), Antipasti, Zuppa/Pasta/Gnocchi, Risotto, Secondi, Contorni (sides), and Dolce (sweet things).

  "Venice is like when you hear a piece of music that scoops down into your soul, or notice a real tear getting ready to drop from the eye of an unlucky child. One of those rare moments when you grasp the magnificence of this world. Yes, Venice is one of those places." --Tessa Kiros

REVIEWS
~ In this culinary love letter to and about Venice, Tessa Kiros has gathered traditional Veneziani recipes for your delectation. Obviously, it's heavy on seafood, with many recipes for sardines, octopus, scampi, etc. The recipes are easy to follow, and before each she gives a little description of the dish or the process, or gives a serving suggestion. Her language is delightful; instead of telling you to cook the radicchio until it is soft, she says "until it surrenders its hardness".

   Equal time must be given to the photographer and the book designer. The book is chockful of gorgeous color and black-and-white photographs of Venice and of the food. And, as an object, the book itself must be described. Heavy, with gilded edges and a wide black velvet book marker, it will definitely not be used in my kitchen. And that's one of the drawbacks. It's one thing to drip some oil or chocolate on my battered copy of Joy of Cooking or Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but this one is far to elaborate to expose to the vicissitudes of la cucina.
mojosmom; Chicago, IL (amazon.com)


~ The first thing I want to say about this book is that it is BEAUTIFUL. In terms of attractiveness. The pictures and the way she designed the book are EXTREMELY attractive. I loved the gold edges and the beautiful black velvet book marker, but the recipes inside the book are a little difficult to connect to. Only because a lot of the ingredients are not very common here. Some of the ingredients you can substitute for more common ingredients, but not sure if the recipes would turn out very good.

   The vegetable recipes seem pretty good, but I felt like this book was more for reading, and not really cooking. It wasn't a book that I could look through and pick out a recipe and say "I really want to try that". So I don't know if I will use any of the recipes besides the vegetable ones. The fact that the instructions are in italic, makes it look a little complicated. She uses strange terms to explain how look to cook things as well. This is definitely not a book I would pass down to my daughter, because I know she would take one look at it and toss it aside and ask for something that is a little more simple for her. Other then that, it is a book I will put on my shelf and when I'm looking for something eccentric, I will reference this book.
D. Hamilton, Connecticut (amazon.com)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tessa Kiros was born in London to a Finnish mother and a Greek-Cypriot father. She grew up in South Africa and has since traveled the world learning about diverse cultures and tastes. She has worked in restaurants in Sydney, Australia, Greece, Mexico, and London's famous Groucho Club. She lives in Italy with her family.