"At the southern tip of the Italian peninsula lies an Italy that few people know: a land of fragrant citron and bergamot orchards, ancient olive groves and terraced vineyards; a place of tradition and ritual, where the annual swordfish catch and hot pepper harvest are celebrated with elaborate festivals, and where women still roll pasta dough around knitting needles." So begins MY CALABRIA, a cookbook devoted to the distinctive cuisine of Calabria.

In MY CALABRIA, Rosetta collects 150 heretofore-unrecorded recipes, from antipasti to dessert, inspired by her family's lush garden and the old ways of Calabrian cooks. Her recipes create delectable, healthful meals that let seasonal ingredients shine, showing how perfectly suited Calabrian cooking is to the way we eat today.

The book also includes an armchair tour of the region for travelers: a list of places to stay and eat, a resource guide for less-familiar ingredients and a section on the culture and history of Calabria. San Francisco wine authority Shelley Lindgren has provided southern Italian wine suggestions for the recipes, along with more widely available alternatives.

MY CALABRIA documents a vanishing way of life, a region whose people celebrate the homegrown and homemade, a place where recipes are not written down but passed down. With Sara Remington's beautiful color photography, MY CALABRIA will be savored and admired. A story of a place and a family, this is a must-have cookbook for every home cook in search of new recipes for uncomplicated, delicious Italian food.

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"No one is in a better position to introduce you to the true food of Calabria than a Calabrese. And no one has done it better than Rosetta Costantino in My Calabria. These simple recipes will bring to your table the deliciously complex flavors and the fiery soul of Calabria. Buon Appetito."
--Lidia Bastianich

"This rare book is not only the most authentic reflection of the cooking of rural Calabria but a matter of heart."
--Paul Bertolli, founder and curemaster, Fra'Mani Handcrafted Salumi

"My Calabria is a rich portrait of remarkable recipes, traditions, and celebrations told through family stories and cooking secrets. Rosetta is an ideal teacher with reverence for the past."
--Carol Field, author of the Italian Baker and Italy in Small Bites

"I love this book. It's exactly the kind of cookbook I'm always looking for, an introduction to a distinctive kitchen that I don't know all that well and at the same time a brilliant portrait of a place and a time that has all but disappeared." --Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of Cucina del Sole

"In Rosetta Costantino, Calabrian cooking has finally found its ambassador. Her hearty and tempting recipes are flavored with family tales of hardship and resourcefulness, spotlighting the ingenuity born of geographic isolation that gives special character to the food of this dramatic region and provides a stimulating example for today's aspiring locavores."
--Mary Taylor Simeti, author of Pomp and Sustenance

"Between these covers is an alluring piece of Italy we know next to nothing about--and one that will make you very hungry. My speculation is that years from now this book could still be a touchstone for all of us who want to understand and eat the true food of Calabria."
--Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host, The Splendid Table,
public radio's national food show from American Public Media