Super Tuscan: Heritage Recipes and Simple Pleasures from Our Kitchen to Your Table

Tuscan native Corcos and Brooklyn-born actress Mazar own a casual Italian spot in Brooklyn called Tuscan Gun and cohost the Cooking Channel’s Extra Virgin (also the title of their first book). In this second effort, Tuscan classics such as fettunta (toast with olive oil and topped with sautéed vegetables) abound, but dishes that combine Italian methods with American ingredients really shine. These include a mussel chowder with diced pancetta, as well as eggplant rolls with ham and cheese, inspired by a trip through Tennessee that sparked a culinary epiphany for the authors about Southern country ham. A chapter of breakfast dishes includes a polenta coffee cake and savory scones studded with cubes of pancetta. The narrative is genuine and unpretentious, whether in Mazar’s descriptions of a cookbook titled Joys of Jell-O and her grandmother’s “towering, quivering desserts and salads” or Corcos’s reminiscences about baking eggs in fireplace ash back on a farm in Tuscany. Recipes include suggested wines (and occasionally beers). The authors include personal touches, such as photos of the couple’s home (where a stack of cookbooks stands where you might expect to find a couch in the living room). Many Italian cookbooks aim to convey a homey vibe; this one succeeds with charm to spare. (Oct.)