Italian Food Porn

Last time my in-laws visited, my father-in-law was thumbing through my copy of Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Italy over breakfast one morning. While it's not exactly what you'd expect one to read over their bowl of Raisin Bran, this cookbook is the ultimate in food porn. It's full of glorious photos of Italy and that country's fabulous foods. If you can bear to tear your eyes away from the photography by John Dominis, the book also includes excellent discussion of Italian culture, travel stories, and of course recipes.

Published in 1984, this book is hardly new and it has admittedly been a while since I leafed through my own copy. How glad I was that my father-in-law picked it up off my shelf! He sat there reading the names of dishes and telling us about recipe ingredients. Every now and then he'd show us a photo from the book to make us drool. One of my personal favorites (although it is so hard to pick) is the one of tagliatelle con dadi di prosciutto, presented in a hollowed-out wheel of parmigiano. The presentation of this dish is so striking---the hollowed-out wheel of cheese---and it sets the tone for the kind of beautiful and delicious meals you find within this book.

It's been far too long since I cooked something from Foods of Italy and I need to do something about that. This book conjures up really fond memories I have of my time in Italy and I'm losing myself in it this week with an eye for new dishes to try. Stay tuned for the (hopefully) delicious results.