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Contact: Joanne Tehrani
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Joanne.Tehrani@edelman.com
SUMMER READING MEETS SUMMER EATING
Barilla and The New York Public Library
Compile Summer Reading List for “Foodies”
NEW YORK, NY, June 2003 — Summer is just around the corner, which means it’s time to begin gathering a stack of books to enjoy while lounging on the beach, relaxing in the mountains, or enjoying a fresh glass of lemonade in the backyard. Whatever your plans are for the summer months, Barilla, the Italian food company, has partnered with The New York Public Library in compiling a list of eight food-focused books and provided original recipes inspired by the selections that will tantalize your imagination as well as your stomach.
“As part of our ongoing celebration of the role of food in culture, we are spotlighting favorite food-inspired books and are helping bring them to life through original recipes that will make the reading experience richer,” said Paul Davis, President of Barilla America.
Library President Paul LeClerc said, “The New York Public Library is delighted to continue its ongoing partnership with Barilla with this new summer book list that offers suggestions for light, food-related reading. Of course, we hope readers will check these books out from their local library on their way to the beach. The New York Public Library’s mission is not only to preserve literature and rare manuscripts, as we do in our renowned cookbook and menu collections, but to disseminate information to the broadest possible public, and we thank Barilla for supporting us in this quest.”
Barilla’s and The New York Public Library’s recommended food reads are as follows:
• Pasquale’s Nose by Michael Rips
• Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
• On Persephone’s Island: A Sicilian Journal by Mary Taylor Simeti
• The Tummy Trilogy by Calvin Trillin
• Secrets of the Tsil Cafe: A Novel with Recipes by Thomas Fox Averill
• Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
• Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
• With Bold Knife and Fork by M.F.K. Fisher
Following are two original recipes created by Barilla to be enjoyed with some of the summer reading selections:
Penne with Radicchio & Gorgonzola Red Wine Cream Sauce
Inspired by Pasquale’s Nose by Michael Rips
Servings – 6 each
Ingredients
1 box (16 ounces) Barilla Penne
3 Tbsp Shallots, chopped fine
1 each (4” dia.) Radicchio, red, cut into ¼” strips
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 cup Red wine, Italian drinking wine
1 Tbsp Sugar, table
1 cup Heavy cream, whipping cream
½ cup Gorgonzola, pinch-off in small pieces
Procedure
1. Cook the shallots in extra virgin olive oil slowly with medium heat until they start to turn color.
2. Add the radicchio stripes to hot shallot and oil mixture and cook for about 10 minutes. Radicchio will start to turn limp and brownish color.
3. Add the red wine, sugar, salt and pepper and reduce liquid by half.
4. Lower heat and add cream and gorgonzola to sauce. Mix until the gorgonzola melts and mixes into sauce.
5. Cook Barilla pasta according to instructions on package.
6. Add the cooked pasta to sauce and mix thoroughly.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms & Truffles
Inspired Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes’
Servings – 6 each
Ingredients
1 Box (16oz) Barilla Fettuccine
1 tsp Garlic, sliced thin
¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces Porcini mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces Chanterelle mushrooms, rough chopped
4 ounces Domestic button mushrooms, sliced
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
½ stick Butter, unsalted
2 tsp. Black truffles, pate or chopped fine
1 tsp. White truffle oil
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Procedure
1. Add sliced garlic to extra virgin olive oil heated on medium heat
2. Add butter and mushrooms, when garlic begins to brown
3. Add black truffles & white truffle oil, toss until all ingredients are evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste
4. Cook mushrooms for 10 minutes on medium heat (they will start to wilt)
5. Cook Barilla pasta according to instructions on package.
6. Add the cooked pasta to sauce and mix thoroughly.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Chef tips – substitute any of following mushrooms (shitake, oyster, portabella). *Garnish with shaved parmesan, chopped flat leaf parsley and sliced black truffles.
“These reading selections and recipes are a way to celebrate food in culture with family, friends, or add some zest to a book club meeting,” said Davis. “We hope to inspire people to make reading a culinary experience that can be shared with others, enlightening the mind while also pleasing the appetite.”
Barilla has long expressed its passion and respect for culture and the arts. In the U.S., they are a corporate member of The New York Public Library and hold an annual “Barilla Feast” in New York City where they celebrate the role of food in culture. In Italy, Barilla’s Parma headquarters is home to an extensive modern art collection started by the Barilla family in 1957. Additionally, Barilla has commissioned filmmakers such as Wim Wenders, Ridley Scott and Federico Fellini to develop commercials and other communication for the company.
Since 1877, the Barilla company has been producing pasta and other grain-based foods for consumers around the world. The company's basic animating principle has been to make these healthy products affordable to all, no matter where they might be. Barilla has remained true to its entrepreneurial roots over the past four generations, by combining ancient Italian traditions with cutting-edge technological advances. The result is a globally successful company, built on a foundation of principles that allow for continuous growth to reach ever-expanding goals.
The Barilla Group - whose brands include Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Wasa, Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), and Yemina and Vesta (Mexico) - is headed by the Barilla family for 125 years. The Group has 25 factories (18 in Italy and 7 abroad). It is the worldwide leader in pasta and one of the largest baked goods producers in Europe. Currently realizes 31% of sales in volume in more than 100 countries outside of Italy.
