Gillian Riley – författare

The popularity of Italian food all over the world is ever increasing. Unhampered by any sense of superiority, and unburdened by the weight of a great classical tradition, Italians cook and eat in the ways they have known and trusted for generations, absorbing new influences while cultivating and maintaining a distinct and esteemed gastronomic tradition.Lovers of Italy, the Italian people, and their cuisine, from the general ravioli revering public to those with specialist skills and interests, will welcome this new A-Z reference. The Companion consists of a short introduction followed by entries covering a range of topics such as the universal appeal of Italian gastronomy, influences from outside Italy, dishes, ingredients, delicacies, obscure terms, cooking methods and implements, regional specialties, personalities, books and writers, and history.This is an inspirational work providing an even blend of history, practical information, quotation, and anecdote.

Here is an inspiring, wide-ranging A-Z guide to one of the world's best-loved cuisines. Designed for cooks and consumers alike, The Oxford Companion to Italian Food covers all aspects of the history and culture of Italian gastronomy, from dishes, ingredients, and delicacies to cooking methods and implements, regional specialties, the universal appeal of Italian cuisine, influences from outside Italy, and much more. Following in the footsteps of princes and popes, vagabond artists and cunning peasants, austere scholars and generations of unknown, unremembered women who shaped pasta, moulded cheeses and lovingly tended their cooking pots, Gillian Riley celebrates a heritage of amazing richness and delight. She brings equal measures of enthusiasm and expertise to her writing, and her entries read like mini-essays, laced with wit and gastronomical erudition, marked throughout by descriptive brilliance, and entirely free of the pompous tone that afflicts so much writing about food. The Companion is attentive to both tradition and innovation in Italian cooking, and covers an extraordinary range of information, from Anonimo Toscano, a medieval cookbook, to Bartolomeo Bimbi, a Florentine painter commissioned by Cosimo de Medici to paint portraits of vegetables, to Paglierina di Rifreddo, a young cheese made of unskimmed cows' milk, to zuppa inglese, a dessert invented by 19th century Neapolitan pastry chefs. Major topics receive extended treatment. The entry for Parmesan, for example, runs to more than 2,000 words and includes information on its remarkable nutritional value, the region where it is produced, the breed of cow used to produce it (the razza reggiana, or vacche rosse), the role of the cheese maker, the origin of its name, MoliA*re's deathbed demand for it, its frequent and lustrous depiction in 16th and 17th century paintings, and the proper method of serving, where Riley admonishes: "e;One disdains the phallic peppermill, but must always appreciate the attentive grating, at the table, of parmesan over pasta or soup, as magical in its way as shavings of truffles."e; Such is the scope and flavor of The Oxford Companion to Italian Food. For anyone with a hunger to learn more about the history, culture and variety of Italian cuisine, The Oxford Companion to Italian Food offers endless satisfactions.

The popularity of Italian food all over the world is ever increasing. Unhampered by any sense of superiority, and unburdened by the weight of a great classical tradition, Italians cook and eat in the ways they have known and trusted for generations, absorbing new influences while cultivating and maintaining a distinct and esteemed gastronomic tradition. Lovers of Italy, the Italian people, and their cuisine, from the general ravioli revering public to those with specialist skills and interests, will welcome this new A-Z reference. The Companion consists of a short introduction followed by entries covering a range of topics such as the universal appeal of Italian gastronomy, influences from outside Italy, dishes, ingredients, delicacies, obscure terms, cooking methods and implements, regional specialties, personalities, books and writers, and history. This is an inspirational work providing an even blend of history, practical information, quotation, and anecdote.

Everyone knows how bad smoking is for them: about half of all regular cigarette smokers will be killed by their habit, but they just can't seem to give up. If you're really serious about giving up smoking then this is the book that will not only help you to stop, but to stay stopped for good.Gillian Riley's techniques allow you to understand your nicotine addiction, take control and break your smoking habit. There is a step-by-step giving up programme that is easy to follow and really works. Even in stressful situations, or when boredom sets in, you'll soon realise that even though the freedom and opportunity to smoke is there, you have chosen not to.How to Stop Smoking and Stay Stopped for Good will even help you to give up smoking without gaining weight.

As anyone who has ever been on a diet knows, they simply don't work. No one can diet indefinitely and, once you stop, the weight simply piles back on. Eating Less is not about dieting; instead, it places the emphasis where it belongs, on healthy eating and eating less. This revised and updated edition offers you a unique and inspiring solution to overeating: its aim is to look at thoughts and beliefs about food, unravel the mind's addictive impulses, and retrain it to have a more healthy, balanced relationship with food. It introduces you to practical techniques that you can apply in your daily life; it shows you how to set your own limits without feeling deprived and becoming rebellious; and it gives you the ability to develop greater control by helping you to overcome addictive behaviour. So simply follow Eating Less and see your weight fall off and stay off.'Eating Less is likely to succeed where diet books fail. The utter simplicity of its message and techniques makes it easy to start and continue with a programme that revolutionises your attitude to eating and weight.' Sarah Litvinoff

You already have willpower. Everyone does. All you need is to learn how to use it. With just a little practice, willpower can work even when you don't feel inspired, when you are faced with your strongest temptations. And the wonderful news is that willpower isn't something that gets handed out to some and not others. It's simply a matter of understanding how to access it and unlock its potential. When you do you'll see just how liberating, exciting and rewarding using willpower can be. Very soon, rather than being your own worst enemy, you'll become your own best friend.Use the brilliant strategies in this book to:- overcome addictive behaviours- quit smoking- take control of overeating- achieve your dreams- enhance your lifeWith a little belief, some confidence and the techniques laid out in this revolutionary book, you'll soon discover just how strong your willpower can be.