GOOD TASTES.COOKBOOK In her fifth cookbook, "Lidia's Italy" (Alfred A. Knopf; $35), Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, an Istrian-born chef, owner of several New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of restaurants (among them Felidia), author and television personality who moved to New York at the age of 12 and grew up in Queens (she now lives on Long Island), takes readers and cooks to her 10 favorite regions in Italy for food, family and friends. Among them are Istria (her homeland, now a part of Croatia), Trieste, Friuli, Padova and Treviso, Piemonte, Maremma Maremma (märām`mä), coastal area in Tuscany, central Italy, along the Tyrrhenian Sea and extending E to the Apennines. A flourishing region in Etruscan and early Roman times, it became marshy and was largely abandoned in the Middle Ages , Rome, Naples, Sicily and Puglia. She includes 140 recipes from the journey, along with her hands-on directions and insights for making them. A personal volume (she acknowledges friends and family in her travels throughout Italy in the beginning), the book contains lots of interesting reading -- featuring seasonal, local, often simple, authentic fare like Potato Gnocchi gnoc·chi pl.n. Dumplings made of flour, semolina, or potatoes, boiled or baked and served with grated cheese or a sauce. [Italian, pl. Stuffed With Prunes, Fried Ribbon Cookies, Jumbo Shrimp Buzara Style, Roasted Pepper Rolls Stuffed With Tuna, Braised braise tr.v. braised, brais·ing, brais·es To cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container. Swiss Chard Swiss chard: see beet. and Cannellini Beans, and Anna's Spaghetti and Pesto Trapanese. Lidia's daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, who has a doctorate in Renaissance art history, enriches the colorful and charming volume with a tour of some of the nearby cultural treasures in the various locations. The book accompanies the public television series "Lidia's Italy," which began airing recently. - Natalie Haughton VANILLA COKE RETURNS Hooray! After an 18-month hiatus, Coca-Cola North America, due to popular demand, is bringing back Vanilla Coke (140 calories per 12-ounce can) with a contemporary new logo and packaging but the same signature taste. At the same time, the company is also launching Vanilla Coke Zero (to replace Diet Vanilla Coke, which we really liked but had a difficult time finding in stores -- and which was also pulled 18 months ago) -- containing zero calories and sweetened sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. with aspartame aspartame: see sweetener, artificial. aspartame Synthetic organic compound (a dipeptide) of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is 150–200 times as sweet as cane sugar and is used as a nonnutritive tabletop sweetener and in low-calorie and acesulfame potassium. "The Coca-Cola Zero brand has been embraced by millions of people because it delivers the great taste of Coca-Cola without the calories, and Vanilla Coke Zero captures the smooth taste of Vanilla Coke in the same way," said Andrew McMillin, group director of Coca-Cola North America. Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Coke Zero will be available in a 12-ounce cans, 20-ounce bottles and 2-liter bottles at supermarkets, convenience stores and mass retailers. -N.H. DIET PEPSI MAX Diet Pepsi Max is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, carbohydrate-free, ginseng infused cola, marketed by PepsiCo. It has nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages. Pepsi-Cola North America just launched Diet Pepsi Max, a zero-calorie cola (sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium; regular Diet Pepsi is sweetened solely with aspartame) with extra caffeine (46 milligrams per 8 fluid ounces compared to 24 milligrams in regular Diet Pepsi) and a touch of ginseng ginseng (jĭn`sĕng), common name for the Araliaceae, a family of tropical herbs, shrubs, and trees that are often prickly and sometimes grow as climbing forms. extract. It's designed to get 25- to 34-year-olds through the day by giving the mind and body a boost. "Diet Pepsi Max will bring invigoration to the masses," said Cie Nicholson, chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola North America. Time will tell. Tasters liked the flavor, which was devoid of an aftertaste aftertaste /af·ter·taste/ (-tast?) a taste continuing after the substance producing it has been removed. af·ter·taste n. found in some diet soda counterparts. Look for the product in 20-ounce and 2-liter bottles and 12-can packs (12 ounces per can) at retailers nationwide. Suggested retail is $3.99 per 12-pack. -N.H. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (book: "Lidia's Italy") (2 -- 3 -- color) no caption (diet Pepsi MAX) (4 -- 5 -- color) no caption (Coca-Cola Vanilla) |
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