Loggia’s cookbook a flavourful feast
16 menus designed around the seasons
The immense popularity of cooking teacher and cookbook author Maria Loggia is no surprise: She’s a terrific teacher, for one — informed and energetic and just brimming with enthusiasm. The classes she gives in Italian cooking, held in the kitchen of her Hudson home and culminating in a full-course meal served in the dining room, with wine, make students feel as if they are guests at a dinner party. Because they feel welcome and wanted, they return, again and again.
“For me, cooking is synonymous with sharing,” she writes in the introduction to her fine new cookbook, Everyday Celebrations with Maria Loggia (Les Éditions Cardinal, $34.95). “Entertaining isn’t so much about being a brilliant cook or serving exquisite dishes as it is about being a generous host, making my guests feel welcome and special and at home in our house.”
She laments the fact that so many people say they are too busy to host dinner parties. “Inviting friends over doesn’t have to be complicated,” she writes. “I don’t even like the word entertaining. It sounds too staged to me, too fraught with stress and fussy plans. My gatherings are always relaxed meals. They are never stiff or formal.”
The book, her second, features 16 menus, designed around the seasons. An autumn menu called Funghi, Funghi, Funghi, for instance, features a pizza with mushroom-truffle cream and Taleggio cheese, a mushroom, chickpea and sweet potato soup, a pasta dish, tagliatelle with mushrooms, chicken and mascarpone, and a fall fruit platter for dessert.
There’s a mid-winter feast starting with cauliflower and cannellini soup with rosemary mascarpone, followed by chicken breasts stuffed with grapes and walnuts, served with sage-roasted carrots and, for dessert, a pear and chocolate tart.
Like her 2009 book, At Home with Maria Loggia, the new one is being published simultaneously in English and in French.
“After almost 13 years of classes, people wanted menus,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Let’s try that.’ You could do the dessert from one menu and the appetizers from another, if you like.”
These are not meals prepared in 30 minutes — they demand a certain focus, a certain organization — but they are not overly complicated, either. The flavours are wonderful: Loggia really gets food. And the warmth and generosity of Loggia’s personality seem to jump off the page through the recipes, which are identified in English as well as in Italian.
The book features lovely photos of food — and of family and friends.
“It’s nice to see life,” she said. “Food without people is just food.” cellent complement to such game birds as quail. Prepare a second batch and, that way, you can make a lovely cream soup the next day. Add vegetable or chicken broth to cover the roasted vegetables, heat and then purée with a hand-held immersion blender or in a food processor. 2 large celery roots, about 11/2 pounds, peeled and cut into wedges 2 baking apples, such as Cortland or Empire, cored and cut into wedges 3 sprigs fresh sage 3 to 4 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, for garnish
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well to coat. Transfer to a preheated baking sheet large enough to hold everything without crowding or the apples and celery root will steam and not brown. Roast in a 425 F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.