The Silver Spoon

I think I'm already bored of mediocre food. maybe it's my cooking. Maybe it's the books I'm using. Maybe it's from watching too much of the Food Network and Top Chef. Either way, I find myself having violent cravings for top quality cuisine...shellfish, gourmet French cooking, etc. So to satisfy myself I think next I will be turning to the Silver Spoon...the Italian Bible of cooking. It's a book I don't run across all that frequently, and I stumbled across a used copy for just $8 at a library book sale last year. Apparently every self respecting Italian has this on their bookshelf, and from what I've tried out of this book so far, so should every American. 

I should probably interject at this point that I have a very strong propensity to love mainly French and Italian food so I suppose I was already predisposed to love this book. I'm wondering if those tastes will change this year or only intensify. 

The Silver Spoon is a book I could get lost in. There are easily over 1000 recipes in this, and each one makes my mouth water desperately. I could easily spend a year with this book alone. A year. Or two. Or three. 

Each recipe in this is classically Italian...simple, fresh ingredients, basic instructions, nothing overly complicated, and very, very accessible. It will make you love food if you don't already. 

For example...brussels sprouts. I've hated them my entire life. They're stinky, they're bitter, and they look like little green brains. I originally made the Parmesan Brussles Sprouts recipe for my husband as he loves the nasty things. Of course,  I tasted my own cooking to make sure it was edible. It was delicious. Now I must have made this recipe 3 or 4 times since, and I usually make it just for me. It's simply boiled brussels sprouts that are then sauteed in browned butter with a little nutmeg and a lot of Parmesan. I think the trick that makes it so delicious is that they cook long enough to kill any bitterness, and that browned butter. Mmm.