Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food

by Mary Taylor Simeti

Book Overview

This gem is more than just a cookbook. Walk through history with Pomp and Sustenance author May Simeti as she shares the secrets and eccentricities of Sicilian cuisine. Straddling the East and West,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394568508
• ISBN13: 9780394568508
• Release Date: September 1989
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.1" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

This Is The Real Thing

This cookbook is the real deal. If you have some familiarity with Italian food and are looking for different regional cuisines(and especially if you're Italian and Southern)you will find a lot of joy in this book. There aren't really that many recipes, but there is a lot of interesting background about all of those invasions in Sicily. Sicilians are Arab,Norman, Greek, Spanish,French and God-only-knows. That makes for an interesting mix, and the food is the most interesting of Italy if not what you usually get in a restaurant. The recipes however aren't that different from Neapolitan dishes, just imagine more Arab and Greek influence. The food: I tried a fantastic baked ziti with hard-boiled eggs, cheese and a pork meat sauce, all covered with fried eggplant(no breadcrumbs) from the bottom in an upside-down cake sort of way. It was very good. Also interesting: chickpea fritters; mint and caper tomato sauce; fennel and olive pasta; an "Arabian" pasta timbale. Simetti doesn't hold you to weird recipe confines, her explanations just makes sense and if you play around with them, it's still fine. If you're at all interested in food this book is a good investment. (And don't you want to know why Sicily is said to be the only Arab country that recognizes Israel?)

A true Treasure

I found this book years ago in a vendor book sale...At the time I never imagined what a real treasure I had found. Being of Sicilian heritage I found that many of the recipes handed down to me came from way back into the 11th century. That along with all of the wonderful stories made me realize that my grandmothers left me with such a rich treasure. All the stories blended to gether with the history in the book. It made me so proud to be of Sicilian heritage...My grandmothers left me the richest treasure of all...Love, Great Food and a wonderful sense of worth.

An exquisite book!

This book is a treasure! The wonderful anecdotes and evocative descriptions make it a delight to read in bed, and the fabulous recipes ensure that it is the most cooking-stained book in my kitchen.

A Sicilian Treasure

As the Daughter of Sicilian Imigrants, I am naturally cautious of books that claim to be about a culture I know well and the land I think of as my second home. This book is wonderful! It has the rich history of Sicily interspersed with Recipies that are as my own mother made them. The real thing! It is written with great fondness of the Island and of its people. My father, of 88 enjoyed the book also.. saying that much of the history is how he remembers it from tales told to him by my great and great great grandparents. My advise is .. If you love Sicily, the history culture and food.. this book is a must have. It is a joyous work that Simeti has crafted well! My thanks to her!

Don't read this on an empty stomach!

I bought this book after reading Julia Child's glowing review of it... Ms. Simeti's narrative is engaging and witty, and most recipes are easy enough for a beginner to follow with great success. My favorite is the recipe for Caponata (Sweet & Sour Eggplant). The narrative is beautifully complemented by the prints and artwork used throughout and it is truly difficult to set this book down without first becoming ravenous.