The Maccioni Family Cookbook: Recipes and Memories from an Italian-American Kitchen

Tuscan-native Maccioni, writing with Kaminsky (The Elements of Taste), offers recipes served in her family's famous New York restaurants, Le Cirque and Osteria del Circo. While the narrative, memoir-ish format lacks spark (""Recipes from a Tuscan Childhood,""""Sirio's Favorites,""""New York,"" and""Restaurant"" are some of the section headings), the recipes themselves are solid--and Zeschin's beautiful colorful photos are enough to whet anyone's appetite. The dishes include a refreshing Panzanella (bread salad) with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and Tuscan bread; My Turkey Stuffing (one of the few American adaptations), made with sausage, chicken livers, mortadella, eggs, chestnuts and black truffle; Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli, sauteed in butter and sage; and for dessert or a snack, Schiacciata con L'Uva, grapes and sugar rolled into pizza dough and baked. This is a perfect book of comfort food for the fall and winter.