Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 088001587X, Hardcover)

Dolci Toscani is distinctly Italian in the way it combines the bitter with the sweet. The sweet part consists of 126 recipes for mostly traditional Tuscan desserts. In counterpoint, an astringent essay by Sandra Lotti, coauthor and a native Tuscan, opens each of nine chapters in this literate book. These pieces focus on attitudes as integral to the notoriously rigid and whiny Tuscan character as the region's legendary obsession with eating well. They range in subject from the close relationship between men and their mothers to the definition of art and the obsession with dieting in order to present la bella figura at the beach each summer.

The book includes an in-depth explanation of ingredients and equipment. It is studded with delectable surprises like fruit-filled, fried Ravioli Dolci and chocolate-chestnut truffles. There is even a chapter of mostly fat- and sugar-free delights such as Pear Risotto and Apricot Bruschetta. But the traditional Tuscan sweets of all kinds are the real stars. There is Zuppa Inglese, layers of seriously liquored sponge cake and custard topped with whipped cream; Diti, the cannoli of Tuscany, crisp puff-pastry tubes filled with ricotta cheese enlightened with custard; Panforte, the dense Christmas confection that combines chestnut honey, candied lime peel and other fruits with nuts and spices; and Chocolate Mousse Meringue, a prime example of the special desserts served at Sunday dinners where Tuscan families gather to feast, criticize, and argue.

Travelers and Italophiles will treasure this book for the achievable authenticity of its recipes. Some do require searching out ingredients like top-quality fresh ricotta cheese, chestnut flour or honey, blood oranges, or vin santo, a dessert wine. Most, though, call for ingredients that are readily available. --Dana Jacobi