Pane E Salute

For the past several years, people passionate about food have been making the trek to Woodstock, Vermont, to visit a unique Italian restaurant and bakery: Pane e Salute, which translates to "bread and health." Combing Italy for both rare and traditional recipes, husband and wife Caleb Barber and Deirdre Heekin have brought the flavors and styles of its distinctive regions to their restaurant. Sharing that same food and spirit, this collection of their recipes is more than a cookbook-it is a love affair with a culture, with a way of life. In vignettes taken from their years in Italy, they offer glimpses of a young vibrant Italy: rolling out pizza dough in an ancient hill town at midnight while wild dogs bay in abandoned villages; fogged car windows of an Italian lovers' lane amidst the olive groves near the Villa Ruccellai. The 80 recipes included are every bit as luscious as the memories they share throughout. In Italy, meals are planned in accordance with the seasons; the same is true of each mouthwatering recipe here, all of which are designed to take advantage of the freshest local ingredients. From Baby Peas with Prosciutto in spring to the summer celebration inherent in Roasted Eggplant with Fresh Ricotta, the recipes and anecdotes in Pane e Salute provide rich sustenance in the best tradition of travel and food writing.