Chronicle Books Blog

We’re delighted that Colman Andrews has graciously made some time from his regular writing gig these days, as Editorial Director of The Daily Meal, in order to be our guest blogger this week.

Colman’s newest cookbook, The Country Cooking of Italy, is a follow up to the highly acclaimed and award-winning The Country Cooking of Ireland.

This time around he travelled through all the regions of Italia to discover and share the foods that home cooks and rustic eateries offer — some familiar, others very much unknown outside of their particular region.

What’s your favorite go-to Italian dish to cook at home? Where have you eaten incredibly well in Italy’s country towns (and not just in Tuscany!)? Leave a comment on this week’s blog and you’ll be eligible to win a copy of the book we’ll give away to a randomly selected commenter (offer eligible only in the USA and Canada).

Photograph by Hirsheimer & Hamilton.

Italy gave me mushrooms. I grew up hating the things. At my house, they came in cans. Little cans. Little mushrooms — “button” mushrooms, the label said. All I knew was that they were unappetizingly greenish-brown in color, dauntingly weird in texture (like slimy, squeaky erasers, I always thought), and predictably bland in flavor. When they’d end up in soups or pasta dishes or — worst of all — in sauce ladled over ground beef patties (an insult to the hamburger!), I’d assiduously pick them out and leave them heaped on the side of the plate.

Then one day, having lunch at a trattoria in Rome with my American-in-Italy friend Karen, I noticed some big, round, meaty-looking slabs of… something, cooking on the wood-fired grill. The chef drizzled them with olive oil from time to time, then showered them with salt. They smelled wonderful. I had no idea what they were, and said so. Karen laughed and said, “They’re funghi porcini — little pig mushrooms. They call them that because they’re so big.”

The following week, back at the same place, I ordered them for myself. They were as meaty as they’d looked, juicy and earthy and crisp around the edges and just about the best thing I’d had in recent memory. I did like mushrooms, I realized. These mushrooms. Which had about as much in common with the buttons of my younger years as the Chianti Classico we were drinking with them had with reconstituted from frozen grape juice. Encouraged by the experience, I went on to order mushrooms every chance I got — more porcini, grilled, sautéed, in risotto; long-stemmed chiodini preserved in oil; finferle (chanterelles) tossed with pasta; the rare ovoli (Amanita caesarea) thinly sliced in salad… All memory of erasers was banished.

Photograph by Hirsheimer & Hamilton.

Potatoes with Porcini

Because Italy’s famous porcini are greatly treasured all over the country but have a limited season, they tend to be expensive. The notoriously frugal (and, to be fair, long poverty-wracked) Ligurians figured out a way to make them go further by intentionally muddling them up with potatoes, so that the latter take on the former’s flavor and it is not always possible to tell where the porcini stop and the potatoes begin. I first learned of this thrift-minded recipe, ironically, from Luigi Miroli, proprietor of the now-vanished Ristorante da Puny in the very un-thrift-minded village of Portofino.

Serves 4

1 pound/500 grams fresh porcini mushrooms
1 small bunch Italian parsley, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound/500 grams waxy potatoes, very thinly sliced
Salt

Photograph by Hirsheimer & Hamilton.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175ºC/gas 5.

Carefully remove the stems from the mushrooms and set the caps aside. Mince the stems and mix them with the parsley and garlic.

Using the oil, generously oil the sides and bottom of a wide, shallow baking dish with a tight-fitting cover. Arrange the potatoes in overlapping layers on the bottom of the dish, salting each layer. Sprinkle half the parsley mixture over the potatoes, then arrange the mushroom caps, cap side up, in a single layer over the potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining parsley mixture over the mushrooms.

Seal the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil, then top the dish with its cover. Bake until the potatoes and mushrooms are tender, about 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Purchase: The Country Cooking of Italy.

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Turkey, eaten. Holiday decorations, glimpsed. Insane shoppers, impossible to ignore. The holidays are here and it is time to sit back and come up with thoughtful gifts for your nearest and dearest.

Happen to have a MAD Magazine fan on your list? Look alive. We’ve got the perfect thing: The MAD Fold-In Collection!

A four-volume set, it includes every fold-in, digitally restored and reproduced in its original size, plus a brand new fold-in created especially for the collection.

Even more perfect? A limited edition of the book, which includes an Al Jaffee designed and signed bookplate, available exclusively at ChronicleBooks.com. Get ‘em now, because when they are gone, they are gone!

Featured in Brain Pickings’ 11 Best Art & Design Books of 2011 and the Reader’s Digest holiday gift guide, the collection also includes essays by cartoonist Jules Feiffer, Pixar director Pete Docter, New York Times columnist Neil Genzlinger and creator of the fold-in, Al Jaffee. Check it out in action here:

Albee Dalbotten
Associate Marketing Director, Entertainment & Digital

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I just spent two weeks traveling through India, and I was blown away by the art and craft I saw there. But one of my favorite sights wasn’t in a palace or museum or bazaar. It was on the highways.

The first thing I noticed when we hit the road from Mumbai was how festive the trucks and buses were. Many had handlettered signs and instructions for other drivers. “Horn please” was the most popular. (Indians love to honk—it’s a way of letting other drivers know you’re about to pass them.) One of my favorites was the swanly “stop” lettering on the back of a rickshaw in Delhi (below, bottom left).

When I got home, I stumbled upon Handpainted Type (above, bottom center and right), a project by Hanif Kureshi to document the vanishing art of Indian sign painters.

Signage snapshots from Handpainted Type.

According to Kureshi, more and more sign painters are going out of business as cheap vinyl signs replace handpainted ones. He’s made a video of interviews with the sign painters and he’s developing fonts based on their lettering.

One of the alphabets from Handpainted Type, by Painter Bindra.

Allison Weiner
Designer

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The holiday season is one of the busiest of the year. There so much shopping, partying, and caroling, and all that merriment can add up to stress. Kerry Colburn, author of Mama’s Big Book of Little Lifesavers, is a parenting expert with plenty of holiday time, money, and sanity savers for parents. With her advice, busy parents will be able to successfully navigate the ups and downs of the holiday season.

Take a peek at Kerry’s tips below, and leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of Mama’s Big Book of Little Lifesavers! We’ll choose a winner on Wednesday, November 30, 2011.

Money Savers
*Kids often receive gifts from far-flung relatives that may not be quite right for them—and they cost a fortune to mail. Instead, ask grandparents and others for a membership to a family-friendly attraction, like the zoo, aquarium, museum, or science center. Their shopping is a breeze and you get free outings for the whole family, all year long!

*If you have a baby or small child, resist buying her Christmas gifts. She’ll already be overwhelmed by presents from friends and family and won’t know the difference—plus you can save the cash for a surprise gift on a dull, rainy day in February.

*Start a tradition of a holiday potluck with another family or two that includes a toy/book/game swap. It’s a great way to recycle unused items and get a fresh supply of new stuff.

*Enlist your child to make your holiday cards, wrap, and thank-you notes, rather than buying them. A simple roll of butcher paper and a variety of markers (which you probably already have on hand) makes for terrific gift wrap.

*Stock up on seasonal stickers and other art supplies right after the holidays at close-out prices. (Kids simply don’t care if they’re using reindeer rubber stamps in January.) Same goes for holiday décor like lights and ornaments. Shop the sales, box it up, and next year it will seem brand-new at a fraction of the price.

Time Savers
*During pre- and post-holiday sales, pick up several extras of a favorite toy, book or doll. Keep these on hand for birthday parties for the rest of the year and skip the last-minute run-around.

*Order online from indie retail sites like Etsy.com or Powells.com, and if your child is old enough, let him or her help you select gifts for others. It beats schlepping the kids to the mall any day.

Sanity Savers
*All parents battle clutter, and holiday time is a great time to get rid of the old. Start a tradition with your kids that for every item on their Christmas list, one old toy (or more!) must be donated to someone in need. You may want to include them in the donation process so they experience firsthand what it means to give to others.

*If you’re short on space, create a holiday wrapping station by putting rolls of paper, tape, scissors, ribbon and gift cards in an old garment bag, and hang it in your closet. It stays out of sight and is ready to go when you need it.

*Going crazy finding a place to hide the Santa gifts from curious kids? Zip them up inside your luggage.

Lorraine Woodcheke
Marketing & Publicity Manager

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We’re excited to have Sara from Tea Collection guest posting on our blog today. Tea Collection is an online children’s clothing boutique that embodies the spirit of adventure and world culture.

Just like skipping breakfast, the absence of a bedtime ritual can make evenings unpleasant and meager. Countless studies uphold the benefits of bedtime rituals including lowered stress levels, longer more restful sleep, and happier kids. Including books into the bedtime ritual not only adds to the fun and adventure, but has shown to increase a child’s reading levels, language skills, and even increase their chances of attending college. At Tea, we polled our staff about the bedtime rituals they cherish. Read their answers below:

“I had trouble sleeping as a kid after my parents moved and I had to transfer schools. In order to fall asleep I started reading before bed. Since then, I’ve been an avid reader and a sound sleeper!” – Lisa, Brand & Marketing

“Every evening before bed my mom would sit on the corner of my bed and read me poetry from famous worldly poets. Now, nearly 20 years later, I still love repeating certain stanzas to myself before I fall asleep.” – Katie, HR & Finance

“My favorite bedtime book was Goodnight Moon. Even though my parents read it to me hundreds of times, they always made the moment special with fun voices and expressions.” – Michelle, Marketing

“When my nephews were younger, I would tuck them into bed and say, ‘now you’re snug as a bug in a rug. I loved having this nightly ritual with them. We’re so close that they still call me weekly even though they’re in college.” – Margaret, Planning & Operations

“After a long day at work, I enjoy being able to unwind with my boys by taking part in a simple bedtime routine: bath time, brush teeth, and a book. It’s the perfect way for me to end my day as well.” – Jeff, Marketing

Bedtime rituals may vary from each household, but they all center one important aspect: quality time. What’s your bedtime ritual? Share the answer below for a chance to win a pair of Tea Collection pajamas and two bedtime books from Chronicle: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Twelve Dancing Princesses.

To learn more about Tea Collection, visit teacollection.com. Get a 15% discount off any order $50 or more by using the code CHRONICLE15. This offer expires 12/16/2011. To get a behind the scene look at Tea, visit their blog or Facebook page.

Subscribe to our monthly Chronicle Kids Newsletter.

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