When world famous food authority Nika Hazelton cooks for herself, she most often turns to the wonderful and varied cuisine of her native Italy. In this vintage cookbook Hazelton shares hundreds of her personal favorites from every region of Italy with delectable yet refreshingly simple dishes that reflect the enormous variety and incomparable tastes of real Italian home cooking, la cucina casalinga. Drawing on her firsthand knowledge of the Italian kitchen, her extensive travels in the country, and, most importantly, her deep understanding of the food of her native land, Hazelton has chosen more than 250 of her favorite recipes to inspire both beginner and expert. Every region of Italy contributes something to this unusual collection: from the seafood and rice dishes of Venice and the savory bistecca of Florence, to the sweets of Sicily, the pasta of Naples, and the sophisticated cooking of Rome.