Winner of the James Beard/ KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year 2000 and Winner of the Beard Award for the Best Writing on Food 2000.
 
 
May 23, 2012
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Welcome to your source for the authentic and traditional foods of Italy and the Mediterranean in their cultural and historical context illustrated with hundreds of heirloom Italian and Mediterranean recipes fully-tested in the kitchen of James Beard award winning cookbook author Clifford A. Wright.

This is the site for people for whom food is glorious and not fearsome, for people who watch their happiness before they watch their weight, for people who believe that behind every swallow is an insight into who they are. Here is your entry into the world of the most popular cuisines in the world, the world of all the culinary regions of Italy and the Mediterranean. You will find the culinary cultures of Italy and all the countries of the Mediterranean offered with the same depth and balance of recipes and their histories as you would in a flavorful bouillabaisse.

Cuisine does not spring from nowhere and it does not spring from restaurants. Cuisine is a cultural phenomenon that evolves from real people in kitchens cooking to provide food for their families guided by culture, history, agricultural, and need and wants. Here you will find REAL food. We hope you enjoy the recipes and culinary history posted here.


(Also please visit Zesterdaily where Clifford writes regularly and type in "Clifford Wright" in the search box for a full listing of all his articles. Clifford's blog, Cuisines-Mediterranean, is a companion to this web site.)


[photo of Clifford A. Wright: Michelle van Vliet]


Hot & Cheesy

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The Best Soups in the World

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Bake Until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Book

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Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites from the World’s Hot Zones

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Real Stew: 300 Recipes for Authentic Home-Cooked Cassoulet, Gumbo, Chili, Curry, Minestrone, Bouillabaisse, Strogan

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A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean from the Merchants of

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Kohlrabi Chieti Style
Cavoli Rapa all Chietina
(Vegetables)
Batter-fried marinated kohlrabi slices
posted: 01/30/2012

Fasting Soup
Potaje de Vigilia
(Soups)
Chickpea, potato, spinach soup with saffron, pine nuts, and sherry vinegar-soaked bread
posted: 01/02/2012

Makdus al-Badhinjan
Walnut-stuffed Pickled Baby Eggplants
(Antipasto, Meze, Tapas, and Hors d'Oeuvres)
Baby eggplant stuffed with walnuts and pickled with chiles
posted: 11/30/2011

Pizza Flamiche
Pizza Flamiche
(Pizza and Focaccia)
A Corsican version of the Alsatian pizza flamiche with onions and brocciu cheese.
posted: 10/27/2011

Cauliflower Gratin
Psito Kounoupithi
(Vegetables)
Cauliflower gratin with Bechamel sauce
posted: 10/02/2011

 


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Just like what’s happening with barbecue and grilling books (and Italian cookbooks), publishers feel obliged to regularly come out with books covering the same subject over and over again. This is because it is difficult to keep books in print, and older books (with a few exceptions, like The Joy of Cooking) are simply not as marketable as newer books. That said, Wright’s collection of hot and spicy recipes from around the world [Some Like it Hot] is much like the dozens that have come before it. It is comprehensive and the recipes look like they are authentic and complete, with a lot of anecdotal information to delight the reader. ...  Anyone who can write a chapter title like “Hot Chicks, Wicked Ducks, and Killer Rabbits” gets a pat on the back from me! 
- Dave DeWitt, author of The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia; Fiery-Foods.com


The directions [in Cucina Rapida] are clear and simple and the results are delicious.  In testing some of the recipes from Cucina Rapida I found that Wright lived up to his promises.  The garlic and parsley shrimp was incredibly easy, took less than 30 minutes and provided one of the best meals my family has enjoyed in some time.
- Ann Wesley, Bloomington Herald-Times

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Gourmet Foods At PastaCheese.com

Gourmet Foods At PastaCheese.com

Gourmet Foods At PastaCheese.com

Gourmet Foods At PastaCheese.com

Gourmet Foods At PastaCheese.com