The Good Food of Italy

A few years ago there were so many irresistible Italian cookbooks in print it seemed the market couldn’t bear another. By now I’m willing to concede that there can never be too many. The Good Food of Italy, a region-by-region sampling of everyday Italian food, began as a prize-winning London Sunday Times series by Claudia Roden, best known for her excellent A Book of Middle Eastern Food. Here Roden has brought a fresh eye to old recipes and an open mind to the ways Italians cook and eat today. She comes away with some happy finds and several superior versions of abiding favorites. A