The Spiaggia Cookbook: Eleganza Italiana in Cucina

As the Chicago four-star restaurant Spiaggia celebrates its 20th anniversary, chef and partner Tony Mantuano, along with his wife (and Spiaggia's former manager), Cathy, present this beautiful tribute to the establishment's Tuscan cuisine, a lovely collection of impressive recipes and stunning photographs. Although the authors emphasize the importance of cooking with food that's in season, readers will be quickly tipped off that this isn't your average Tuscan, fresh cooking cookbook once they look at the ""basic ingredients"" list, which includes caul (a thin membrane lining the abdominal cavity of pigs and sheep), caviar, foie gras, porcini mushrooms and truffles. The recipes are elegant yet, for the most part, not stuffy: Golden Scallops Salad, Grilled Sliced Tuna with Giant White Beans and Romanesco, and ""Guitar String"" Pasta with Red Shrimp and Baby Zucchini. All of them demonstrate the Mantuanos' penchant for mixing unusual but complementary flavors. Still, the book's complex dishes, such as Seared Foie Gras with White Corn Polenta and Quince with Passito di Moscato Syrup, may deter more casual home cooks. Photos.