Chef at the Arcodoro in Texas, Efisio Farris's recent cookbook Sweet Myrtle, Bitter Honey is the type of cookbook you take out of the kitchen and to bed with you to ensure that you'll have sweet --and savory, and pungent, and aromatic-- dreams.

In my modern Italian literature class we studied the early 20th century writer Grazia Deledda, another Sardinian who was molta apassionata for her island, and her writing, my professor's lectures on the wonders and uniqueness of the second largest island in the Mediterranean's culture and very ancient history and now Farris' book have got me itching to spend a month there at least.
From the prehistoric nuraghe (from which Sardinia's first civilization, the nuraghiche, or nuragic, draws its name); sometimes called "giants' tombs", sometimes "fairy homes", the intent behind their construction remains a mystery to archeologists...



and the island's interior, the cities of Oristano and Nuoro and all of Sardinia's colorful pageantry of festivals, like the rose petal-strewn procession for Sant'Efissio, Mamoiada and the Sa Sartiglia festivals. The costumes, masks and ceremony are all so detailed...



Above all I want to sit and enjoy a sunset while feasting upon some of the fresh, local dishes Farris describes.
Store-bought Sardinian flatbread, carta da musica ("music bread" - so called because because of its resemblance to the parchment used for writing musical scores) - which looks far more appetizing when freshly baked.
From Efisio's book and my own reading, I get the impression that Sardinia is a very "earthy", fertile land, truly unique in its language, customs and society.
Surprisingly for an island people, Faris repeatedly mentions that the majority of sardinians rely upon their herds for food and favor pig and lamb over the seafood catch. However, there are many seafood recipes in here for all you baccalao fans or the Sardo specialty: bottarga, salted, dried fish roe.
Sardinia has many unique specialties, but as the title highlights, two of its most distinctive are the island's bitter honey and the sweet myrtle branches laid out over charcoals to lend its distinctive aroma to lamb and fish.
There are recipes for those who care about:
-tradition - regional recipes only to be found in Sardinia





















These girls have got some long legs...



Maps on paper 






Or these from your
OR I could get these from your American site:




