Celebrating Marcella Hazan and Paula Wolfert: CHAA Dinner

This afternoon was the summer dinner for the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor (CHAA). Everyone was asked to
bring a dish from a cookbook by Marcella Hazan or Paula Wolfert. Above: my two contributions --
orange salad flavored with cinnamon and rosewater (Paula Wolfert Moroccan recipe) and
peaches, blueberries, and raspberries in Prosecco (Marcella Hazan).

Preparing the dessert table. Some dishes were from other Mediterranean cookbooks.

Turkish pumpkin and walnut dessert: Kabak tatlısı.

Vitello Tonnato (Marcella Hazan)

Baked Pasta with Sardines (Marcella Hazan)

Pita bread with zatar. 

Early view of main-dish table.

More dishes: a cauliflower salad (Marcella Hazan), tagine of chicken smothered in olives (Paula Wolfert),
stuffed grape leaves, and mushroom tart (from other sources).

We enjoyed the potluck very much, both the food and the people. The presentations about each dish were short and very interesting. The flavors were super!

"Marcella Cucina" -- A Great Book

Lunch today: Marcella Hazan's Amalfi-style potato salad with capers, olives, and anchovies. On the side: a few vegetables.
"Marcella Cucina" in Italian means "Marcella cooks" -- such a great name for the book I'm using.

I had all the ingredients on hand for this simple recipe except fresh parsley, so I used dried parsley. My bad.

The Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor have set up their summer dinner in honor of two authors: Marcella Hazan and Paula Wolfert, and everyone is supposed to bring a dish made from a recipe by one of the two. Though I had read Marcella's autobiography, I have never before this week owned one of her cookbooks, and I'm really pleased with Marcella Cucina. It's truly meant for home cooks, and the recipes seem to be the kind I can really follow. I need a bit more practice before I feel confident, but I think I'll enjoy it!

The title page of my new book:
I don't know who Nancy is, but she
obviously owned this otherwise
pristine copy before I
bought it from amazon this week!