If you've seen my cookbook posts, you know that I don't necessarily review cookbooks and the cookbooks that I don't necessarily review aren't always new. Last week I talked about two Japanese cookbooks published 25 years apart. This week I'm going to talk about a newish cookbook that I've never actually cooked from but love to read: Nino Graziano's My Sicilian Cooking. Graziano is the Chef-Proprietor of Il Mulinazzo, a Michelin two-star outside of Palermo, Sicily. One of several new restaurants in Sicily to revel in its traditions, its local ingredients, and its local talent, Il Mulinazzo served "New" Sicilian cuisine that was barely related (even through marriage) to the stuff served in U.S. restaurants passed off as food of the old country. Marian Burros wrote a good piece in the New York Times in 2005 on new Sicilian cuisine and writes about her New Year Eve 2005 dinner at the restaurant.
In 2005, the year the cookbook was published, Graziano apparently closed up shop to open up a new restaurant, Semifreddo Mulinazzo in Moscow. Semifreddo, get it? A three-hour flight from Italy, this new restaurant features just-flown-in ingredients served at the peak of freshness in the new traditional Sicilian style. A meal there will set you back a pretty penny unless you happen to be there for lunch - 36 Euros will buy you a three course meal.
But what of the cookbook? Probably the best part of the cookbook, like most contemporary cookbooks, is the photography, food porn images that will leave you breathless and sweaty. The introduction, written by Fabrizio Carrera, has the adoring tone reminiscent of record liner notes of the 1960s and reads like a disingenuous press release touting the brilliance of the chef as he traces the Mr. Graziano's steps from novice to proprietor. The words are juxtaposed with photos of the Chef waiting in the barber's chair for a haircut, sitting on the street pensively, a la Rodin's The Thinker, with an elderly couple and then inspecting produce at the local market.Turn the page and he's supervising a young cook in the kitchen. Look in the back and there's a portrait of his kitchen staff, including two young Japanese cooks (the Japanese seem to be spreading out all over the world in its greatest kitchens, no doubt returning with golden resumes and the clout to open up their own simulacra in some posh district of Tokyo or Osaka. The mention of 'tempura' and 'sashimi' in some recipes seem to indicate that the Japanese have likewise influenced the chef).
Recipes are simple and elegant and focus on fish. Many recipes have multiple components and need to be plated to be appreciated. No doubt you can replicate these recipes in your kitchen, but is it worth it? Because the food is so much a reflection of availability and product quality of Sicilian ingredients, even the best efforts outside of Sicily will yield something that is just a weak approximation. Better to look at the pictures and fantasize about a reservation at his restaurant next time you are in Moscow.
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