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 31, 2023
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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 and innovative 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. I hope you enjoy the recipes and culinary history posted here.

Read Clifford's blog www.cook-coquus.com

Order Clifford's comprehensive gastronomy of Italy, AN ITALIAN FEAST here: https://https://a.co/d/hTDv2Hd






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



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Pizza Dough
(Bread Doughs, Short Doughs, and Batters)
pizza dough
posted: 03/13/2018

Crêpes
Crespelle
(Bread Doughs, Short Doughs, and Batters)
Classic recipe for French crêpes
posted: 03/04/2018

Braised Duck
Anatra in Umido
(Fowl)
Braised duck
posted: 01/02/2018

Sausage, Rice, and Chickpea Soup
Minestra di Salsicce, Riso, e Ceci
(Soups)
Thick soup of rice, sausage, kale, and chickpeas
posted: 12/01/2016

Snail Fritters
Beignets d'Escargot
(Antipasto, Meze, Tapas, and Hors d'Oeuvres)
Fried snail fritters
posted: 08/02/2016

 


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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


"Grill Italian hooks the cook in the introduction. Who would not want to light the grill after reading the author's description of an alfresco dinner in Sicily ? The recipes are generally on the simple side, relying on the fresh ingredients and herbs for flavor rather than on heavy marinades and bastings. I love the frequent trick of alternating items on skewers with cubes of oil-soaked bread or that of sprinkling on bread crumbs to add texture ? Sausages, onions and oranges skewered together offer a delightful change of pace."
- Florence Fabricant, New York Times

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