Some may say that cookbooks are outdated because you can get almost any recipe on the internet, and cookbooks take up space. But in my opinion, there is something special about holding a cookbook in your hand and opening up to a dog-eared page that usually has remnants of some sort of ingredient from the recipe on it. It brings back memories of dinner parties past, family meals, and cooking for that special someone.
Recently I was sent Chef Michael Ponzio, executive Chef of the Rosebud Restaurants, new cookbook called "CIBO: Anybody's Guide to Italian Cooking". I was really excited about going through the book because pasta has never been a strong suit of mine. I don't have a pasta machine, and it's a food I usually tend to avoid because it can be so rich. I had a chance to speak with Chef Ponzio though and he really opened my eyes to pasta and Italian cooking.
My question and answer session with Chef Ponzio is below, he gave me some really good tips, suggestions and insights into seasonal Italian cooking!
Q: How do you plan to make Italian cooking easier for home cooks? A gnocchi is very hard to make in some peoples opinions, etc.
A: "The whole take on CIBO is restaurant style quality and caliber, and breaking it down and making it more understandable for everybody. My goal was to really walk you through all the steps and have easier options."
Q: I love seasonal fall dishes, what dishes do you have right now at the Rosebud restaurants that are seasonal recipes at any of the restaurants?
A: "The menu's at all the Rosebud restaurants stay the same year-round but our specials change throughout the year. Right now we have butternut squash ravioli, pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi, porcini-dusted walleye, polo dorio, polo delucia, and roasted acorn squash salad as specials."
Q: Do you need a pasta maker to make pasta at home?
A: "It depends on the type of pasta. There is an attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer that is $120 and is really incredible. If you're planning on getting into making a lot of homemade pasta I'd invest in one of those."
Q: How do you feel about fresh ingredients, local, do you ever attend Green City Market, etc?
A: "The whole purpose of Italian food is cooking with the seasons, we will go to the farmers markets, we won't be running tomatoes in January, and we'll have stone fruits in the middle of July, etc"
Q: What is your favorite farmer's market in Chicago?
A: "I like the Green City Market. The atmosphere is what keeps bringing me back, the people talking and music."
Q: Does the book have any healthier recipes, sometimes Italian can be scary to people with all the richness and carbs (pasta)?
A: "There is a whole salad section, the Italian food that I try do is a little simpler and cleaner, I focus more on olive oil and vinaigrettes, but in general it's not a health conscious cookbook"
Q: Do you visit all the Rosebud restaurants?
A: "I'm at all the restaurants all the time. I normally visit four restaurants a day."
Q: What is your favorite foodie season?
A: "Probably the fall and winter, I love to braise items and slow cook them."
Q: You’re a pretty big name chef, how do you stay grounded?
A: "I love going to dinner and relaxing. It's kind of like my hobby outside of work, when I’m not I’m cooking I’m eating. I love going into other restaurants and tasting the chef's hard work and food, it’s a nice change."
Filed under: Cookbooks
Tags: CIBO, cookbooks, farmers markets, gnocchi, homemade pasta, Italian, Pasta, Rosebud Restaurants, Seasonal Cooking
