Lidia Matticchio Bastianich - Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

M Y HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THIS BOOK: TO JUDITH JONES FOR her wisdom and guidance in shaping my books into a personal expression of my passion for cooking; to Ken Schneider for connecting all the dots; to David Nussbaum for his tireless research and help in writing; to the ever-dependable Amy Stevenson for testing all the recipes and serving as culinary producer for the TV series; to Christopher Hirsheimer for capturing with her camera my love of food and, with the collaboration of Melissa Hamilton, for the design of the book; and to Paul Bogaards and Sheila OShea for their tireless marketing.

Thanks to Jane Dystel for her invaluable advice, as well as to Miriam Goderich and the staff at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

Mille grazie to those in Italy who helped make our research and filming so productiveand fun:

In Lombardy: the people at Peck Milan, conte Paolo Salvadore and contessa Rosetta Clara Cavalli at Principato di Lucedio; my wonderful and inspirational friends Mario and Costanza Donizetti; the staff at Ristorante il Pianone of Bergamo; Emanuele Rabotti from Monte Rossa winery and his friend Bruno Zamboni; olive oil producer Alex Nember and his wife, Francesca Donati, at Bellavista winery; Rinaldo Rondolino and his family at Acquarello, where some of Italys best organic rice is produced; Luigi Guffanti, maker of excellent gorgonzola and fontina; and dott. Marco Arrigoni of Caseificio Arrigoni Battista.

In Trentino: Deborah Dorigoni and dott.ssa Paola Pancher from the region of Trentino, the organizers at Consorzio Melinda and signor Endrizzi; Mayor Schwartz, DAntona and Partners; to the folks at Trentingrana; signora Rossi of El Banchet dei Rossi in the mushroom market; Enoteca Grado 12; Ristorante Antico Pozzo; the folks at Birreria Pedavena and Pfefferlechner for enlightening us about good Italian beer-making; and the Sandri family of Az. Agricola Pojer e Sandri for a fun-filled day of drinking and dancing.

In Valle dAosta: Pietro Vallet and his son Roberto of Caseificio Pietro Vallet and Sons for their extraordinary fontina, and Matilda Squinobal and Stefano Peretto, whose cows produce such rich milk; signor Charrere of Les Cretese di Charrere; to the Bertolin family of Dinus Donavita Azienda Agricola di Marilena Peaquin; and to Loretta Maschio and Roberto Domaine from the Associazione Turistica Culturale pro Loco di Issogne.

In Emilia-Romagna: Mirella and Carlo Galloni; signora Monica Maggio and her very knowledgeable husband, Maurizio, from Il Feudo Azienda Agricola; Carmen Maletti and family from Agricola Due Vittorie di Maletti balsamic vinegar; the Venturi family from Le Sfogline in Bologna and Giorgio Salvatori; the Tamburini family; the Antica Riseria Ferron Gabriele e Maurizio; the lovely owners of La Buca in Zibello; and Andrea Babbi, Barbara Candolfini, and Raffaella Rondolini from the region of Emilia-Romagna for facilitating our trip there and for their hospitality.

In Umbria: my in-law Gianfranco Manuali, Tanyas father-in-law, for introducing us to his native region; Marco Caprai and his family for sharing his wonderful wines in Montefalco; Carmela Coliacovo of the Park Hotel ai Cappuccini in Gubbio; Hotel Palazzo Seneca in Norcia; the people at Brancaleone in Norcia and La Tagliavento Macelleria in Bevagna; signora Dagnelli of Sberna and Katia Baldelli of Ceramiche Duca di Montefeltro in Gubbioboth makers of beautiful ceramics; and the Trattoria Il Panaro for their crescia.

In Le Marche: Attilio Scortichini from Nenetta in Porto Recanati and his friend Miranda Galassi for their generosity and for introducing me to delicious seafood; the Petrini family from Fattoria Petrini; the wonderful and inspirational Vittorio Beltrami and his wife; and, near Le Marche, Bianca Maria Canepa for the gorgeous pottery of Faenza that she creates.

In Liguria: everyone at the Antica Osteria di Vico Palla; Paolo Fellegara for introducing me to the topography of Riomaggiore; Walter de Batte for sharing his delicious Sciacchetr; and my cousins Lidia and Giovanni Bosazzi.

In Sardegna: the Corrias family and the ladies that make the delicious pane carasau at their Pintapane bakery; Anna Farnello, who makes it by hand; Franco Azzara and his wife, Lina, for showing me their island; the Isoni di Monti brothers and their families for a special day at the Pedra Majore winery.

In Calabria: Enzo Monaco, the president of Accademia del Peperoncino, and his staff; Raffaele La Gamba, who introduced me to mayor dott. Franco Barbalace of Spilinga; sausage-maker Caccamo Luigi of Spilinga; Pina Amarelli for her wonderful licorice; friend and attorney avv. Tommaso Manferoghi, who fed us a delicious Calabrese lunch.

In Abruzzo: Gregorio Rotola and his family for their superb pecorino; Cesidia Silla for his gorgeous photos of Scanno; Gina Sarra, manager of the small local agriturismo in Civitaretenga, Casa Verde, where with her brother Silvio she showed me the harvesting of saffron; and Leonardo Pizzolo from Valle Reale in Popoli for sharing his wonderful wines.

In Basilicata: Franco Luisi and his sister Angela, for those ferricelli we ate one Sunday afternoon; the father and son team that run the Azienda Cracco; Paternoster, which produces some of the best wines from the region; and Pina Cerimieli, maker of copper pots in neighboring Molise.

Special thanks to Augusto Marchini from the Ufficio ICE (Italian Trade Commission) in New York and the Fondo Ambiente Italiano for giving us entre to castles and villas, and to the helpful legal counsel of Kranjac, Manuali & Viskovic.