Bitter Almonds - Brossura

Grammatico, Maria; Simeti, Mary Taylor

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0553814656 ISBN 13: 9780553814651

Casa editrice: Bantam, 2002

Riassunto

Bitter Almonds is a remarkable memoir, a tribute to Sicilian food and culture, and the record of an historic and vanishing craft. At the heart of the book are forty-six recipes of unique Sicilian specialities, written down for the first time.

In the early 1950s, Maria Grammatico and her sister were sent by their impoverished mother to the San Carlo, a cloistered orphanage in Erice, an ancient hill town on the western coast of Sicily. It was a Dickensian existence - beating sugar mixtures for six hours at a time, rising before dawn to prime the ovens, and surviving on an unrelenting diet of vegetable gruel. But it was here that Maria learned to make the beautifully handcrafted pastries that were sold to customers from behind a grille in the convent wall.

At 22, Maria left the orphanage with no personal possessions, minimal schooling and no skills other than what she carried in her head and her hands - the knowledge acquired during a childhood spent preparing delicacies for other people's celebrations.

Today, she is the successful owner of her own pasticceria in Erice, a mecca for travellers the world over. Her counters are piled high with home-made biscotti, tarts, cakes, and jams - Torta Divina, Cassata Siciliana, Cotognata. A frequent customer, Mary Taylor Simeti became first friend and then chronicler of Maria's moving story.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

"'The poignant story of a Sicilian woman...an astonishing account'" (The New York Times)

Descrizione del libro:

Part-memoir, part-recipe book, BITTER ALMONDS tells Maria Grammatico's fascinating story and features 46 classic Sicilian recipes written down for the first time.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Bantam
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0553814656
• ISBN 13: 9780553814651
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 240