Entre Cuisine et Bambini

Hi – my name’s Hilary and I’ve been working with Jonathan and Michelle for almost 2 years now and I love cookbooks. I used to work in professional kitchens as a cook but the lifestyle afforded me very little in terms of “me time.” As a former Literature major turned cook, Appetite for Books is the perfect spot for me. Starting today, I’ll be doing a book review every month. Enjoy!



Reading recipes in anything other than your mother tongue is a little daunting. Actually, reading anything in a second language can be tough. My sweet and loving boyfriend got me some French books for Christmas and I hate to admit that I have a hard time reading them. I grew up in Montreal and have spent the majority of my life here yet I am not a true Montrealaise, as they say, since my French is slightly short of spectacular. It’s always bothered me that my French isn’t “comme il faut” and I’ve decided to finally do something about it. Enter Stefano Faita and his wonderfully Italian cookbooks, written in French and bursting with deliciousness. Anyone who has ever set foot in Montreal’s Little Italy will tell you of their affinity for Qunicaillerie Dante, a kitchen supply institution cum gun store masquerading as a hardware store. Confused? I was too the first time I went in. Guns? For a second I thought I was visiting my relatives in Texas and made a mental note to hide my liberal sensibilities. Reality flooded back as I examined the Bialetti espresso carafes, Mario Batali cookware and amazingly awesome meat grinders. I get excited in these kinds of places – there is so much to see and touch and fawn over that I become paralyzed and stagger around making the staff eye me suspiciously. Hmmm…is she casing the joint? Should we bust out one of those guns?

Stefano has just published his second cookbook called “Entre Cuisine et Bambini” hot off the heels of his 2007 publication, “Entre Cuisine et Quincaillerie.” The philosophy behind his latest book is one that I subscribe to, the idea that food is about friends and family. That sharing a meal with the ones you love is the ultimate satisfaction and is really what life is all about. A new father, Faita dedicates the book to his daughter, Emilia, and what follows are a series of not only delicious but kid friendly dishes. The book doesn’t follow your traditional Table of Contents so instead of the usual appetizer, chicken, beef and fish you’ll find sections like “La famille dans la cuisine” and “L’Italie en Famille.” There’s a brunch section, a Christmas section and a bit on barbecuing. The book is chock full of Faita’s own family gatherings – those he loves laughing, cooking, eating and most of all, enjoying life. You feel as if you’ve been invited into his world, that if your approach to food was half as enthusiastic as his, your life would be that much warmer.

So back to my original thought: how easy is it to read a recipe, let alone feel inspired by it, when it’s written in anything other than your mother tongue. And with me being the mother of all Anglos – how would I react to this book? I take comfort in the fact that I am not alone in this department as many of you have assured me that you too are not totally at ease reading recipes in another language.
I gave it a try and it paid off – in spades. Enter this month’s Recipe Review, which is effectively a quick bolognaise sauce served on ziti (or gemelli, if you can’t find ziti) and garnished with diced salami and ricotta. It was the garnish that got me – that and my usual bolognaise needs at least 3 hours to cook. I’ve taken the liberty of translating it for you here but you can find the original French version at Appetite for Books.

Pasta di Giuliano

• 60ml olive oil
• 1 diced onion
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 1 finely diced carrot
• 1 finely diced celery stalk
• 70 grams finely diced pancetta
• 600 grams ground veal
• 100 ml white wine
• 200 ml tomato puree
• salt and peper
• 400 ziti or any other short pasta – I used gemelli
• chopped parsley
• 80 grams diced salami
• 125 grams ricotta
• 60 ml parmesan



1. Heat up oil and gently cook garlic and onion a few minutes – add carrot and celery, veal and pancetta.
2. Let cook around 5 minutes or until the water from the vegetables has evaporated. Add the wine and let reduce until dry.
3. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce heat and let cook 25 minutes.
5. Cook the pasta in lots of boiling, salted water.
6. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce – add chopped parsley.
7. Serve in individual portions garnished with the diced salami, a spoonful of ricotta and parmesan to taste.


So many fun, fast and soul satisfying dishes that I can’t wait to unleash on my friends and family. Surely they’ll know how important they are to me after eating pizza with bacon and eggs, Italian style ribs, fried cheese sticks, grilled peppers stuffed with mozzarella and ricotta, espresso mousse.

So I invite you to expand your linguistic horizons. Put down your copy of “La Presse” and pick up one of Stefano’s books. Invite your friends over. Tell them to bring their kids, their parents, their dearly loved dog. And above all – Bon Appetit