Cooking Chats with Luigi Trianni, by Milan V. Petrovic. E adesso cari amici vi Auguro, "Buon Appetito", Luigi

New York: [Milan V. Petrovic, 155 East 38th Street, 1948. Comb-bound octavo (23 x 16 cm.), 71 pages (printed and numbered rectos only). Publisher and date of publication from table of contents. FIRST EDITION. It's hard to find the "cooking chats" in this book, as it contains nothing but recipes; no preface, no introduction, no other text at all. Occasionally, however, a second voice creeps into the recipes, "Ask Luigi to cut up a tender young chicken for frying..." The recipes are comprised of just four sections: Fish, Fowl, Meats, Miscellaneous (Minestrone, Trippa alla Luigi, Sweetbreads, Pork Ribs, etc.). Individual dishes include: Oysters alla Gourmet, Broiled Porgy with Rosemary, Chicken Balkan Style, Duck Sicilian Style, Roasted Squab, Ox-Tail Ragout, Calves Liver alla Veneziana, Osso Buco alla Luigi, etc. Luigi Trianni was a Manhattan butcher who makes an impression with an appearance in Evan Jones' important history, American Food: A Gastronomic Story (see page 155). Trianni walks Jones through the process of preparing a classic Osso Buco. In the single paragraph description, Trianni's chatty style shines through. Milan V. Petrovic was a Serbian-born artist who resided first in Cincinnati, then moved to New York. He has not provided illustrations for this work, but was the publisher. Stiff, printed card covers; red comb binding. Near fine. [OCLC locates two copies (Schlesinger Library, Michigan State)].