River Cafe Rocks!

Categories: Cookbooks

I first read about Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers in a New Yorker article back in the mid-nineties that raved about their London restaurant, The River Cafe. The article was equally enthusiastic about the Rogers and Gray Italian Country Cookbook, which I promptly bought and read cover to cover.  With simple, fresh ingredients and beautiful photographs, the book is a treat to read and cook from.

Happily, Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe, their latest offering, is equally impressive.

A companion to the earlier Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe (another smashing book), this is a handsome, easy-reading and easy-cooking guide to good Italian food and its preparation.  

So what's all the fuss about?  

Just like Rodgers and Hart penned classic tunes, Rogers and Gray cook up riffs on regional Italian food that will have you salivating just from reading. Nothing is complicated or terribly involved, yet their mix of great ingredients and simple preparation yields tremendous eating.

One of my favorite sections of the book covers quick mozzarella recipes that improvise with whatever ingredients you have on hand to create fresh, inviting salads and appetizers.

Along with succulent looking meat and fish recipes (many of which call for simple roasting or grilling), vegetable dishes and tomato pasta dishes are prominently featured and the book ends with luscious lemon and chocolate desserts.

After you beg your gardening friends for tomatoes and zucchini, grab some fresh mozzarella at the grocery and start cooking with Rogers and Gray. While you're at it, put on some Rodgers and Hart. Enjoy.