Bianco: Pizza, Pasta and Other Food I Like

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Now the owner of a legendary pizza mecca and a James Beard award-winning chef, Chris Bianco brings us a full-color, fully illustrated cookbook illuminating the fundamentals of pizza making, from the basics of flour and water to the philosophy behind Bianco's cooking. The book features recipes for his signature pies as well as strategies and techniques for translating chef's methods to the home kitchen.

It is fun, especially in this case, when I have tasted the food before, to learn about how the recipes came to light. Bianco's love of using local ingredients, and finding the right balance between different flavors and textures, is a joy to read about. It gives the restaurant experiences that I have had even more depth, and I look forward to dining there again as well as trying to make these wonderful meals at home.

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With beautiful food photography by David Loftus, Chris’ distinctive first book will inspire novice Italian food lovers as well as more confident cooks looking to learn from the best. In his much-anticipated first cookbook, Chris finally reveals the secrets behind his phenomenal Italian food. Chris guides you through the alchemy and history of flatbreads and pizzas, pasta and bread doughs. He explains the magic trio of flour, water and tomatoes, the science of leavening and bringing your food together with ‘fire and smoke’ – or the simple domestic oven and hob. This seems to be a cookbook for Chris Bianco's restaurant's dishes. I think a lot of the dishes would be a pleasure to eat. A number were intriguing; I'd gladly eat them if someone else made them, but not many of them made me want to cook like books of Alton Brown, Michael Pollan, and Marc Vetri (among others) have done. Now the owner of a legendary pizza mecca and a James Beard award-winning chef, Chris Bianco brings us a full-color, fully illustrated cookbook illuminating the fundamentals of pizza making, from the basics of flour and water to the philosophy behind Bianco’s cooking. The book features recipes for his signature pies as well as strategies and techniques for translating chef’s methods to the home kitchen. In his much-anticipated first cookbook, Chris finally reveals the secrets behind his phenomenal Italian food. Chris guides you through the alchemy and history of flatbreads and pizzas, pasta and bread doughs. He explains the magic trio of flour, water and tomatoes, the science of leavening and bringing your food together with ‘fire and smoke’– or the simple domestic oven and hob.

I don't remember seeing a photo of the author smiling. Every photo of him (outside of childhood) that I recall had him scowling in the heat of the oven or grunting in labor over dough. My initial thoughts before reading about his heartwarming love for his family was, "does this guy even like his job?"

Chris’ infectious approach combines cheffy knowledge with down-to-earth accessible recipes; after all, Chris explains, pizza is only ‘posh cheese on toast’, to deliver a cookbook that is both insightful and doable. In 2005 Chris opened Pane Bianco, serving foccacia breads and sandwiches, then his Italian Restaurant. The road to pizza Nirvana goes through Phoenix...it just might be the best pizza in America." -Ed Levine, New York Times