Customer Reviews (6)

Good Value
There are a number of recipes I have tried and more I would like to try.I am learning a lot about the way Italians live.

Fantastic!
Well written, though a few of the descriptions need browsing over more than once. Recipes are authentic and made for conversion to the American kitchen and palate. I highly recommend this book, no matter how much it costs!

The Classic Italian Cookbook
The book was not in great condition.It had some sort of embossed substance on the cover and smelled like cigarettes. It's still outside being aired out.

The Best Italian Cookbook in my collection
There are very few times when I cook that I do not reach for this book first. Marcella has provided extremely detailed, delicious and coordinated methods to put together an extraordinary meal.The way that she lets the reader know what courses should go first or next is amazing and always on target.You WILL impress your dinner guests! This, Rao's cookbook and of course Joy of Cooking are the essentials as far as I am concerned.If you think you understand Italian cooking then test yourself with this book.I guarantee that you will learn new and insightful ways to prepare food that you never imagined.The fresh pasta section alone is worth the cost!

My Favorite Cookbook
I regularly cook from about 10 cookbooks representing most of the great cuisines of the world, and this is my favorite book (perhaps tied with the essential The Joy of Cooking, aka Joy).Marcella's sensible if opinionated commentary provides much of the appeal, but it's the recipes that keep me coming back: they are simple, easy to follow, wholesome, and delicious.Sure, the Bolognese meat sauce takes 4 hours to make, but it's still simple.Rabbit braised in white wine, fried artichoke wedges, home-made pasta, a range of simple delicous antipasto, awesome parmesan-battered lamb chops, and several versions of scaloppini (and you can be sure she tells you how to slice it right!).Verdura (vegetables) are extensively covered with a series of improbably good, simple treatments: fennel becomes a sublime accompaniment, artichokes take center stage, green beans sparkle, and her take on potatoes is simple and great.Everything in this book is wonderful.This is her original, and it's the best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Best cookbook... I use it the most of all my cookbooks
It's too bad that this book is so hard to find these days... It is one of the best i've come across,and every dish is a sure winner.If you can find it, it's worth the search... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Ever
Cooking is my passion and I have many cook books but this one is the best!!Each recipe looks exactly like the picture of the finished dish.The instructions are clear, the ingredients are readily available.This cook book is the perfect Bridal Shower gift.If you can read, you can make it. ... Read more

Product Description
In her hit Food Network show Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same—helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is.

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering—perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you’re in the mood for—whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you’ll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy youryearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù—plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.

What’s more, Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight—whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick sauté for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables—whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that’s what Giada De Laurentiis offers here—the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (343)

Love. This. Book.
As a young one, with lack of culinary experience, I cantell you, that that trait can really bring you down in the kitchen. I have been scared to cook any poultry, steak, fish, and so on...That was until I made Giada's Salmon. She took the guess work out of everything! I was worried sick about whether or not the salmon would cook through, well, not only did it cook through but it tasted wonderful! I love this book, and thank her for giving me the courage to create something more than bread. I would highly recommend this book!

Simply the Best!
People who know me, know I like to cook. They also know I like to eat. However, I do not know how many people have made the connection that I like to cook because I like to eat.

I am not a big fan of cookbooks. I can usually figure things out. Sometimes I find, I need a jumpstart. If this happens, when it comes to Italian, this is where I turn.

I have used this book for years now. Giada's recipes have a quality about them that I like more than other I have tried.

My two favorite of her recipes are Broccoli Rabe with Oricchiette and Spicy Sausage, and Chicken Cacciatore, which is the most unique tasting recipe of this I have found.

I also really like the pictures of the dishes throughout the book. Presentation means a lot, especially when you're entertaining!

Recipes are simple and quick, and good!

Great and easy
I am an absolute fan of Giada at Food Network. I have learned a lot from her shows and the recipes on this book are truly simple to make, easy-to-find ingredients, and since I watch my weight, her recipes are very healthy and easy to adapt to a diet.

Nice cook book
I paired this with a pasta bowl for a Christmas gift.The book looked nice though I didn't use it myself and the person I purchased it for had it on their wish list.However, they have given positive feedback on the book since they started using it.Variety of dishes offered.

HARD TO READ
I love Italian food and enjoy watching Giada so I bought this cookbook.I was disappointed.So many of the recipes were hard to read because there was so little contrast between the print and page color.I suppose it was intended to be young, fresh and pretty.But please!Light green print, white on a yellow page?I don't want to have to write out a recipe already in a book because I can't read the thing.I also found the recipes that I made somewhat bland and had to double the spices to get the flavor that I expected.Maybe everyday Italian food really are like that, but I was not impressed.The book ended up in a charity book sale. ... Read more

Product Description
The award-winning chef of two of New York’s most celebrated restaurants presents his fresh, vibrant approach to Italian cooking with recipes that reveal the secrets behind his most acclaimed dishes.

Scott Conant, chef-owner of L’Impero and Alto restaurants in Manhattan, has been thrilling diners and impressing critics since L’Impero opened in 2003. Now he translates his inspired combination of the best of New American cooking with the best of Italian cuisine into more than 130 sophisticated but easy-to-follow recipes. Here are the dishes that have garnered national attention and unanimous praise, including melt-in-your-mouth beef short ribs, the creamiest polenta, intoxicatingly fragrant roast chicken, and a deceptively simple Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce that transforms an everyday meal into something sublime.

Because Scott understands that home cooks don’t often have as much time to spend in the kitchen as they’d like, his New Italian Cooking includes many dishes that suit hectic weekday schedules—meaning they can easily be made in 45 minutes or less—such as Seared and Slow-Roasted Sirloin of Beef or Grilled Shrimp with Mint, Orange, and Fennel Couscous. When he slows things down for the weekend, it’s with luxurious braises and roasts that require more time but not necessarily more effort, including Oven-Braised Lamb Shanks with Red Wine Vinegar and a sumptuous, long-simmering Bolognese Sauce.

Featuring 30 captivating color photos, new insights on Italian ingredients, and friendly yet meticulous instructions, Scott Conant’s New Italian Cooking is a book to turn to again and again for the best of contemporary Italian cuisine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Italian cookbook for serious foodies
I got this book a few months ago as a gift.I really like to cook, but I tend to be scared off by recipes with long ingredient lists and lots of steps.My husband and I are both very busy during the work week and then on weekends, we tend to cook simply because we have two kids.We typically use gourmet recipe books for dinner parties.Unfortunately, many of the recipes in this book have long ingredient lists and lots of steps.While I am sure they are delicious, I am afraid to select something so involved and intensive when expecting guests.Nonetheless, I have tried some basic recipes.This book is worth it just for the creamy polenta!That recipe is simple albeit time consuming and a good side for many dishes.

Conant gives lots of great tips about selecting Italian ingredients and has recipes for great foundational items such as reductions and broths. The recipes also include lots of helpful tips about selecting cuts of meat, types of cheese, etc.I also like Conant's wine suggestions at the bottom of the recipes.

This book doesn't have many pictures.Most recipes are not pictured at all.While I appreciate Conant's chatty style, I prefer cookbooks with numbered, less wordy steps.

Overall, I reach for Giuliano Hazan's Every Night Italian more quickly than this book when I am looking to prepare a main course for guests.I am more likely to select a side dish from this book than a main course due to the complexity of the recipes.

pleased
The book is great for the home cook. There are recipes for all types of courses plus very helpful and interesting comments by the chef about each dish. Pictures are beautiful and inspiring.

It's not Le Guide Culinaire, but it's functional.
I think this book is ok. Scott is selling pots and pans on qvc now. It's not a great cookbook, but it is ok with some good dishes that many people could adapt easily to make their own which is what Chef Scott was trying to explain in the book.

A generally good cookbook with some flawed recipes
At first perusal I felt some reservations about Scott Conant's modernizations and reworkings of classic Italian fare, but these were misfounded.Conant really is one of those exceedingly rare chefs who can take a classic dish and bring it to new life through creativity, free thinking, and great technical chops.So, after cooking many of his recipes, I can comfortably and gratefully say that Conant knows his way around the international kitchen. No doubts there.

Trouble is, several of these recipes just don't work.I know that in saying this I'm in danger of admitting incompetence in the kitchen.But I am a very accomplished home cook and I have never experienced the same frustrations cooking from Marcella Hazan's equally refined recipes.I have to conclude, with respect for the chef, that whatever alterations he and writer Joanne Smart made to the restaurant recipes [to make them suitable for home kitchens] were not carefully edited.

For example:the Tuna Poached in Olive Oil Infused with Thyme, Rosemary, and Lemon was realy quite bad, despite two attempts with premium ingredients, including sushi-grade tuna.The results were overpoweringly flavored of thyme and Rosemary, and the fish turned to an indigestibly oily mush.Not edible.I consulted our excellent neighborhood seafood-loving chef, who suggested reducing the herbs to 1/10 of what's in the recipe, using the oil as a marinade at room temperature, and then searing the tuna briefly.I did this and loved it.Note that my attempts cost me 40 ounces of premium tuna at $10.99/lb, and two QUARTS of my best olive oil.Grrrr.I wish this recipe were a fluke.The Silken Brussels Sprouts for Two, besides being a nuisance to make, has resisted several attempts at something appealing: it results in an unattractive, oily mass.It tastes pretty good, but if I were to serve it as part of a "romantic dinner for two", as the author suggests, I would lose my dinner date and spend the evening wiping olive oil off the stove, alone.I have several other black marks in the margins of this book.

But there have been glorious successes, too.The White Bean and Escarole Soup is excellent.The Braised Short Ribs have great bang for the buck.The Warm Fagiolini and Goat Cheese Salad is very nice indeed, and the Wild Mushroom Ravioli isoutrageously yummy.I could go on.

Some of these recipes suffer from their trip from restaurant to home kitchen.Read the recipes carefully before you start, and remember that art-house cuisine is a high-wire act that few can follow, no matter how competent we are as home cooks.

Superior Chef's Cookbook for Serious Foodies. Buy It.
`Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking' by, you guessed it, Scott Conant (chef-owner of L'Impero in New York City) and cooking writer for hire, Joanne McAllister Smart impresses me as being the kind of book I was really expecting from Terrance Brennan's `Artisanal Cooking'. While it is not quite as cerebral as Paul Bertolli's `Cooking by Hand', it is definitely more thoughtful than some other leading neuvo Italian cookbooks such as those from Rose Gray and Ruth Rodgers of London's River Café or their irrepressible protégé, Jamie Oliver. While Oliver and River Café offer lots of smart but easy recipes, Conant gives us somewhat more involved recipes dealing much less with pasta and more with some of Italy's more exotic ingredients such as bottarga (dried, pressed fish roe) and guanciale (cured pig's jowls). And Senor Conant is totally unapologetic about using these hard to get ingredients. While my hero Mario Batali will often specify this ingredient and say you can substitute pancetta, Conant insists that the real guanciale have a flavor that simply cannot be reproduced by protein from some other part of the pig.

Conant's sense of `new Italian' cooking is also different from Mario, who, with his love of ramps and other local ingredients, sees himself as adapting the Italian concentration on local ingredients with those ingredients which are local to the farms around the New York metropolitan area. Conant relies on purely Italian ingredients with an emphasis on Italian techniques such as carpaccio that may not be familiar to most American fans of Italian cuisine.

Conant is also very big on pairing dishes with wine and being almost totally ignorant of wines, I will take it for granted that Senor Conant knows what he is talking about in this area and, if wine is your thing with Italian food, this book is doubly valuable to you.

Conant's culinary center of gravity seems to be the northern coasts of Italy, with much more risotto, polenta, and gnocchi dishes than dishes with dried pasta. He also does a lot with seafood.

Many of the recipes in this book are relatively easy. But, on average, they are not as easy as Rodgers, Gray, and Oliver. Many recipes also seem to be not too far removed from the professional kitchen, as there are a lot of instructions for prepping up to a point and bringing to table readiness at the last minute. This restaurant orientation also gives us several very interesting pantry preparations. One, in particular, is a ginger flavored oil which almost seems like a throwback to the Medieval European lust for oriental spices including ginger and the now-rare galangal.

The book is also filled with very nice insights about Italian cuisine and food in general. I found his comment on salmon very interesting when he said that he rarely serves salmon as a main course, as it is easy to become bored with the tastes from a big chunk of this fish. I never thought of this before, but it is really true that grilled or poached salmon can get old in the mouth really fast, although I have a hard time imagining becoming bored with lox.

The chapters are quite conventional, with one each for:

Small Tastes
Salads and Soups
Pasta and Gnocchi
Risotto
Main Courses
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Sweets and Cheeses

There are several comments which go to the heart of cooking technique, such as his recommendation to quickly pan-sear beef and other meat, followed by a slow roasting to bring it up to serving temperature through and through. This means the book has, for me, the most important quality in a restaurant cookbook. It gives valuable clues on cooking common ingredients which help you deliver good, hot food to the table.

The one thing I find totally puzzling about this book is how poorly it is designed, especially compared to some other recent publications by Broadway Books. While Sara Moulton's new cookbook by Broadway is a model of typographical clarity, almost worthy of something from Alfred A. Knopf, this Conant volume is done in stark black and white with a really light, uninteresting font and ascetic gray borders around the headnotes. Some of these borders are in slightly more interesting colors, but I get the impression they gave Broadway's artistic staff the day off when they designed this book. The cover and the few color photographs are nice, but there are none for the important section on how to make fresh pasta. You can read this and go visit one of Marcella Hazan's excellent illustrated tutorials on how to do this. This artistic economy is surprising in light of the conventionally high list price of $35, compared to Ms. Moulton's nicely modest $29.50 list price.

This is an excellent supplement and alternative to one of the recent encyclopedic Italian cookbooks from Batali and Michele Scicolone. It may put off the casual cook, but it is pure gold for the serious foodie.

Highly recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
Introduces more than 130 delicious low-fat and fat-free recipes representing the best in Italian cuisine, from new versions of traditional favorites to bold contemporary dishes. Original. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour. IP. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Portions are not accurate
I made the Rigatoni in Spicy Olive Sause. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of rigatoni. This is not enough to feed 2 people. The sauce 8 plum tomatoes chopped also was not enough. This is the only recipe I have made. I am not pleased. If the recipe was for one person, it should have said so.

Secrets of Fat-Free Italian Cooking
Some things ae pretty good.Others taste fairly bland.Concept is good.Not having an upscale market nearby, it is sometimes tough to use cook books that simply put the words "Fat Free" in front of every ingredient.Fat free meat, fat free chicken, fat free cheese...some of these recipes would be a lot better with some fat - and upgrade to the the "low-fat" version.

Secrets of "Low-Fat" Italian Cooking... Minor Difference.
It's hard to find a good "Non-Fat" cookbook, since most cooks don't truly go "fat free," they simply reduce the amount of fat but still use it. While that's a good start (and I wouldn't claim that less than a gram of fat per serving will kill ya'), I'm still looking for actual cookbooks that eschew fat / cholesterol entirely according to something not unlike Ornish or Esselstyn type diets (meat, dairy, oils, avocados & nuts are generally all verboten or at best strictly limited).

That said, it's a pretty good low-fat cookbook, and should be relatively easily adaptable to "non-fat" pantries, by those looking for truly *non-fat* vegetarian dishes.

Anyway, for those less strict about the low-fat/non-fat divide, this seems like a very yummy cookbook to peruse...

It has about 200 recipes, as well as a section in the front about low-fat substitutions, healthy cooking, etc. It seems moderately well organized into sections for appetizers entrees, soups, salads, pastas, breads / pizzas, sauces, entrees and desserts. Most pages are black and white with ingredients instructions and nutritional information. There are interspersed cartoonish line art drawings, and there are also occasional full color plates showing a number of the dishes. Most, however, don't have pictures or cartoons.

Recipes are from meatballs to marinara, gnocchi to minestrone salad, chocolate-hazelnut biscotti to baked spinach and artichoke spread. All things Italian and Italian-inspired seem to be included in this volume. If not all things, then certainly plenty. It runs the gamut.

God help me: I dislike her recipes.
I've tried, really really tried! I went on a fat free and low-fat cookbook buying binge over a year ago. I bought just about every "Fat Free" book Sandra Woodruff put out. Know what? Not one good recipe out of any of them and I gave away the books or donated them to Goodwill. How is it that I can't find one recipe out of these books that tastes even halfway decent but others can? Are my standards so high? I just want low fat, low calorie foods that have a lot of flavor and aren't going to take all day to make....is that too much to ask? Of her books, apparently so. Read my reviews and you'll find some much better books to spend your hard-earned fatfree/lowfat cookbook dollars on. I swear that at one time I had a row of FF/LF cookbooks 15 feet long....there are a lot of ff/LF cookbooks but not many worthy of the name. Shop smart! Don't buy this book!

Can't fool me---I'm Italian!!
OUTSTANDING and FABULOUS!!!!! Her recipes are so delicious and her cooking tips have allowed me to adapt my mother and grandmother's regional recipes into healthier versions. Try Ms. Woodruff's version of Tiramisu---I serve it often and it's to die for!!

I collect all her cookbooks because the recipes taste authentic to the higher calorie ones. Good food is all about nutritional value and flavor. This book is a winner!!! ... Read more

Product Description
This book features over 300 classic meatless recipes covering the geographical and culinary range of Italian cooking, from antipasti to desserts. A Harvest Book. Line drawings throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Just a great Italian cookbook
I'm not sure I'd give this 5 stars (who am I to consider anything to be perfect?). However, Amazon suffers from grade inflation, so I have no choice but to grade on a curve.I'm a food geek and a herbivore who spends too much time thinking about food, and who owns way too many cookbooks.I received this years ago, and it's one of the most used books on my shelf--along with Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything," "The Joy of Cooking," and Faith Willinger's "Red White and Greens". This cheap paperback is an under-appreciated gem, and one of the few cookbooks you can actually use in the world you inhabit.It's a steal--get it.

Classic cookbook
I've been a vegetarian for many years and this is one of the first cookbooks I used. The recipes are amazing and authentic Italian. I wish they would reissue this book as I would like to buy a bunch of copies to give as gifts.

Wonderful cookbook
I'm not much of a cook, but I was delighted to receive this book from my friends Paola Scaravelli and Jon Cohen some years ago, and have occasionally turned to the recipes here when all other ideas fail me. It's a fantastic collection of meatless meals and other delights, and will be sure to please vegetarians, health-conscious cooks and anyone who's simply curious. A great book, even for those of us not known for our kitchen expertise.

This is a great meatless italian cookbook
I love looking and cooking from this book. The soups are wonderful and have spent endless reading and cooking from this gem!

If you like Italian and Vegetables, this is the one.
I have tried out dozens of recipes from this charming book, none have failed. Although the recipes here are all meatless, the book rises above the genre of vegetarian cooking; my carnivor friends have not even noticed the absence of meat. There are, after all, only two kinds of cooking, bad cooking and good cooking, and this book is about good cooking. ... Read more

Product Description
The Fine Art of Italian Cooking is considered the definitive cookbook on Italian cuisine, and Giuliano Bugialli is one of the foremost teachers of that country's revered cooking techniques. Now, this incomparable cookbook has been updated, expanded, and beautifully redesigned. With over 300 recipes, including 30 specially researched for this edition, and 75 detailed easy-to-follow line drawings, this complete revision has made the classic cookbook even better.

Bugialli focuses on the extraordinary. range of Tuscan cooking and includes popular recipes from the other regions of Italy The book's extensive chapters cover every kind of pasta -- fresh, dried, stuffed -- breads, sauces, antipasti, meat and fish, poultry, risotti, vegetables, and the wonderful range of Italian desserts -- from simple poached fruit to magnificent filled pastries and tortes. Among the dishes are: risotto with spinach; ossobuco with peas; Florentine style polenta with meat sauce; Italian spongecake.

Bugialli has refined and corrected the entire text. The ingredients lists, instructions and cooking times for all the recipes have been improved and clarified, wine lists have been revised, and notes on such staples as olive oil, dried Italian herbs, and cheeses have been updated to reflect the public's increased knowledge of and interest in Italian cuisine.

In its elegant modernized format, loaded with expert advice accumulated in Bugialli's nearly twenty years of teaching and cooking experience, the revised Fine Art of Italian Cooking will continue to bring the great Italian culinary tradition to the American table. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fine Art of Italian Cooking Deliicious!
Fine Art of Italian Cooking is a truly beautiful book.I looked through it thoroughly, and it certainly appears tocover
every aspect of fine Italian Cooking.If anyone wantedsomething better,in the way of a reference, I would be hard-put to know where they would find it.Unfortunately. I will not be working with the book.I purchased it as a gift for a friend.
I know she will enjoy it, and her family, friends and neighbors will all be the beneficiaries of her gastronomic master-
pieces.This book was purchased at the Amazon Marketplace which I assume qualifies as anAmazon Verified Purchase.

The best
Simply put, this book is pretty much my cooking bible. I have made many of the recipes, and they have all been astoundingly fabulous. Do yourself a favor, and get yourself a copy immediately, and be sure to try some of the recipes that call for home made fresh pasta (the duck lasagna in particular). They can take a while, but are well worth the time and effort.

For the intermediate cook
While not exactly for the beginner, this book will allow anyone with some basic cooking skills to create absolutely marvelous dishes.Be forewarned that many of these recipes take quite a bit of time.You might be better off starting with simpler recipes (such as risotto or sformati) and working up to a more complex one, like the stuffed whole boned chicken.
I have made many of the recipes in this book over the last several years.It has just the right amount of detail on technique--I refer to it from time to time to clarify techniques that are missing in other cookbooks.I cannot imagine a kitchen library without it.

A Classic Italian (Florentine) Cookbook
My main quibble with this book is it's title.It isn't really a book about "Italian" cuisine as a whole, but about Florentine cuisine with a generous salute to cooking from other regions and cities.A solidmajority of the recipes and comments are, self-admittedly, about Florentinecuisine.Having said that, this is still an excellent book brimming withrecipes.As with most of Bugialli's books the recipes occasionally requiredifficult to find ingredients (potato starch, bitter almonds, etc.) usuallywithout suggesting an acceptable compromise for US cooks.On the whole,however, the recipes are generally very accessible to US cooks.And, sofar, every one I've tried has been a success.It's not a book for neophytecooks, as there are times when certain techniques are assumed.

There areno full color photos as in some of Mr. Bugialli's other books.THERE AREmany simple, basic Florentine and Italian recipes that help you understandthat much Italian cooking is based on simplicity, good ingredients,wonderful flavors, and a certain refinement, elegance and finesse that isthe essence of Italian cooking.

I personally find all the informationfrom the Florentine perspective very interesting. I plan on doing severaldinner parties based on purely Florentine recipes, just because this bookhas inspired me to do so. ... Read more

Product Description

Of all the world's cuisines, Italian is by far the most popular.whether it's the comfort of hearty southern Italian or the more delicatedelights of lighter northern Italian cuisine, the simple truth is allItalian food tastes great. Now, with365 EASY ITALIAN RECIPES,you can serve your family their favorite Italian dishes every day ofthe year.Here in one volume are all the Italian classics, from "Shrimp Scampi,"Linguine with Clam Sauce," and "Veal Piccata" "to kids" favoriten such as "Spaghetti and Meatballs", "Eggplant Parmigiana," and"Chicken Cacciatore." There are even two pasta chapters - one for dried and one for fresh - a whole section on the Italian way with vegetables, and a generous collection of antipasto dishes, which many people consider the best part of the Italian meal. One especially tantalizing chapter teaches you how to turn store-bought bread dough into pizzas, calzones, flavored bread sticks,focaccio, and old-fashioned heroes. Finally, for a real treat, try one of the recommended Italian desserts like "Biscuit Tortoni "Cassata alla Siciliana," or "Italian Cheesecake." Whether cooking for a crowd, your family, or simply indulging yourself, 365 EASY ITALIAN RECIPES will bring a bella vita toyour table. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

365 Easy Italian Recipes
I was thankful to find this book at such a great price.This is a gift for a friend who loved my copy.The book arrived quickly, and in excellent condition.

Helps make a good cook!
Many easy & yummy recipes! Gave as gifts to our daughters who are learning to cook and they love it!Use it all the time.

Fabulous Basic Italian Cookbook
Nothing too fancy, just reliably delicious Italian-American dishes.My mother (2nd generation I-A) loves this book and bought copies for all her daughters.

Don't let the title fool you - these are some terrific, easy recipes.

An Underrated Classic
This was the first cookbook I ever bought, back when I moved into my own apartment about 12 years ago.Many times I relied on the straightforward recipes and advice to easily create wonderful meals.These are the kinds of recipes you can knock off at a moment's notice, invite a few people over for dinner, and listen to them rave about your cooking for YEARS after that.

To keep in mind, they are mostly Italian-American recipes, so they're more hearty immigrant fare than complex northern italian-style (though there is a whole chapter on risotto - which breaks down the process so simply that literally anyone can make homemade risotto).Also no pictures, but every word of the text is helpful.

Very highly recommended!

We love this book!
I originally got this book because I was looking for [an inexpensive] Italian cookbook.I had low expectations, just wanted a couple of quick recipes.Instead, I got one of the best cookbooks I have ever owned.My wife and I love this book and use it all the time.The recipes are usually very easy, and always delicious.We are constantly amazed at how good the food turns out. ... Read more

Product Description
From pizza to pasta to the classic cannoli, Americans have an enduring love affair with la cucina Italiana -- renowned for everything from its great taste to its beautiful presentations.

Betty Crocker's Italian Cooking has been completely revised and updated, with recipes by Italian native Antonio Cecconi, who provides tantalizing and authentic Italian recipes to delight the palate. With chapters ranging from appetizers to desserts, it is easy to find the ideal, authentic creation for any occasion. But there's more to this book than just recipes -- special features enable you to expand your understanding of Italian cuisine:

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Great, easy-to-use book
This is a great gluten-free book for just about anybody. There are a lot of easy, fun recipes with all sorts of options for great Italian food. The dessert section is exceptional with yummy cakes and sweet treats that are divine. The Walnut Cake and the Genoa Rum-Raisin Almond Cake are wonderful. Super moist and delicious. I have tried several recipes and all of them are quite successful and great for any kitchen.

pasta for those who are wheat-intolerant
Great ideas, good food. I just haven't trained my palette to accept gluten-free pasta as being as tasty as the "real" stuff!

Disappointed
I bought this book because it was a Pasta book. I wanted to learn how to make gluten-free noodles. The book didn't have that recipe in it. The noodles they used were packaged. I live in Farm Country, and there are no frozen gluten free noodles out here, nor are there GF packaged noodles either. So I was disappointed.

An excellent Italian cookbook for all cooks
This is a very nice Italian cookbook, with interesting insights into Italian food, comprehensible information on gluten and wheat issues and well-written recipes. While obviously a useful book for delicious gluten free cooking, it would be a nice addition to any cook's bookshelf. I have many cookbooks, and am able to eat gluten, but I find myself turning to this book when I want to make something appealing and delicious.

Tirimisu is something to ejoy again!
This is great, because I love Italian food.But, even when you use gluten free pasta, some of the sauces are off limits.Now I can enjoy classic Italian favorites at home. ... Read more

Product Description

Welcome to Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen--not so much a place as a philosophy. Here food isn’t formal or fussy, just focused, with recipes that honor Italian tradition while celebrating the best ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer. We’re talking about a generous bowl of steaming handmade pasta--served with two forks for you and a friend. Or perhaps an impeccably fresh crudo, crunchy cucumber and tangy radish accenting impossibly sweet spot prawns. Next up are the jewel tones of a beet salad with lush, homemade ricotta, or maybe a tangle of white beans and clams spiked with Goat Horn pepper--finished off with a whole roasted fish that begs to be sucked off the bones. Oh, some cheese, a gooseberry compote complementing your Robiola, or the bittersweet surprise of Campari sorbet. 
 
This layered approach is a hallmark of Ethan’s restaurants, and in his New Italian Kitchen, he offers home cooks a tantalizing roadmap for re-creating this style of eating. Prepare a feast simply by combining the lighter dishes found in “Nibbles and Bits”—from Sardine Crudo with Celery Hearts, Pine Nuts, and Lemon to Crispy Young Favas with Green Garlic Mayonnaise—or adding recipes with complex flavors for a more sophisticated meal. Try the luscious Corn and Chanterelle Soup from “The Measure of a Cook;” or the Cavatelli with Cuttlefish, Spring Onion, and Lemon from “Wheat’s Highest Calling.” Up the ante with a stunning Duck Leg Farrotto with Pearl Onions and Bloomsdale Spinach from “Starches to Grow On,” or choose one of the “Beasties of the Land,” like Skillet-Roasted Rabbit with Pancetta-Basted Fingerlings. Each combination will nudge you and your guests in new, unexpected, and unforgettable directions.
 
Every page of Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen captures the enthusiasm, humor, and imagination that make cooking one of life’s best and most satisfying adventures. It’s got to be good--but it’s also got to be fun.

Amazon.com Review
Fall into Cooking Featured Recipe from Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen: Mob-Hit Squid

Mob-Hit Squid is one of my favorite recipes in the book, clean fresh flavors, not too challenging to prepare and easy to serve at a party. It’s not so much "new" Italian as it is classic Italian with a playful name to make sure you know that cooking is meant to be fun for all. --Ethan Stowell

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup Controne Beans (recipe following)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
8 large squid, cleaned
1/2 pound Home-Cured Bacon (recipe following), diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the grill on high.

Pulse the beans in a food processor into a rough purée, then place in a bowl with the parsley and the olive oil.

Cut the tentacles off the squid bodies in one piece, keeping the legs intact and creating a large opening at the bottom of each squid body. Grill, turning once, until the tentacles are just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and give the tentacles a rough chop. Add the grilled tentacles to the bowl with the bean purée.

Place the bacon in a sauté pan over medium to medium-low heat and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the bacon slightly crisps and renders some of its fat. Drain the bacon and add to the rest of the ingredients. Mix gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Season with salt and pepper.

To stuff the squid, you can use a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, a resealable bag with a corner cut off, or a small spoon. Fill the bodies loosely because the stuffing will expand during cooking. After filling, close the top of each squid by threading a toothpick through twice.

Rub each body with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the squid until the bodies are opaque and the filling is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Controne Beans

1 cup controne beans
1 head garlic, halved horizontally
1 large carrot, peeled and halved
2 stalks celery
1 thick slice lemon
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

Put the beans, garlic head, carrot, and celery in a large pot over high heat and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender. Remove the vegetables and strain the beans, then put into a serving bowl. While the beans are still warm, add the lemon slice, garlic clove, olive oil, and salt to taste. The beans will absorb the flavors and seasoning as they cool; they will be ready to serve after 10 minutes, but are equally good served at room temperature.

Note: To prepare the beans ahead of time, cook until tender, then cool in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator. Reheat in the liquid, then strain and proceed with the recipe.

Home-Cured Bacon
Makes a heck of a lot of great bacon

1 fresh pork belly, skin removed, 7 to 9 pounds
2 to 3 tablespoons ground Aleppo pepper, to taste
3 pounds kosher salt
1 teaspoon curing salt
1 pound granulated sugar
1 pound brown sugar

Rub the pork belly top and bottom with the Aleppo pepper. Combine the kosher salt, curing salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large, nonreactive container and bury the belly completely in the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days.

Remove the belly from the refrigerator and discard the cure. Rinse the remaining cure off the meat and pat it dry. Set the belly on a baking sheet and loosely cover. Allow to sit in the refrigerator another 2 days.

Using a conventional smoker, smoke the belly until the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Once the belly is smoked and cooled, cut into 4 sections. Wrap the sections well in plastic wrap and foil and store in the freezer until needed, up to 3 months.

---

... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Beautiful, but over the top
This is a book on art. But try finding the ingredients anywhere but a large city. I doubt it can be (reasonably) done.

A lovely experience, but for practical foodies, caveat emptor.

Many Unusual Ingredients
I love cookbooks and I am a fairly accomplished home cook so I was really looking forward to this book.

There are some nice recipes in here and the instructions are good but it will be more of an occasional 'go to' book for me.

There are some nice recipes here, that I have tried like Baby Beet Salad with homemade Ricotta - I love to make fresh cheese from wonderful raw milk - and there's a great recipe for Pie Cookies. There's also a nice basic recipe for pasta and gnocchi.

But there are a number of recipes that have very season and/or unusual ingredients like Pig Ears, Geoduck, Lambs Tongue, Oxtail (which I have used to make beef broth:) and Goat Leg.

I have a pretty well stocked pantry and I consider myself adventurous but some of these ingredients are not things I have around or can easily buy.

So, I'd rate this book 3 1/2 stars if I could. There are some nice recipes here but many more that I don't think most people would be able to find the ingredients to try.

This book may not be for everyone, but I LOVED it!
I have been a serious amateur cook for a couple of decades now and I have made friends with others that share my passion.When I entertain my foodie friends they are always polite and complimentary, but I can tell when my dish has fallen short of their expectations (especially when some of them are professional chefs).More than anything, what we are looking for is unique flavor combinations, dishes that make you say, "Wow, I had no idea that those ingredients could work together like that!"However, coming up with truly new and innovative recipes is not always easy.This book has given me the confidence that I will aways be able to blow my guests away with exciting culinary creations.

Although the recipes in Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen are not what anyone would call traditional Italian cuisine, many of the main ingredients show a definite European influence.The use of rabbit, lamb, duck and goat is common in much of the world and is a welcomed change from the overused chicken, beef and pork that we find in many US cookbooks.The seafood shows an urban-coastal prospective with the use of various clams, geoduck, octopus, Shigoku Oysters and Uni.Finally, the wonderful trend towards shopping for exciting and unusual vegetables and greens at local Farmer's Markets is represented here in all of it's diversity and glory.

It usually takes me a while to review a cookbook like this because I insist on preparing as many of the dishes as possible.Here are the dishes that I've made so far and my thoughts about them:

*Soft-Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Mayonnaise - This was one of the easiest recipes in the book so I tackled it first.I loved soft-boiled eggs and often make my own mayonnaise so this dish appealed to me right off the bat.I had never thought of serving soft-boiled eggs in a deviled-egg style and it was a big hit.It took a little effort to keep the yolk from running out as I cut the egg, but I got it done with minimal effort.Combining anchovies with fresh mayonnaise is not in itself unique, but topping the fresh, runny eggs with it was brilliant.

*Bruschetta with Smashed Chickpeas and Grilled Lamb's Tongue - Many medium to large cities have Middle Eastern butcher shops operating in their boundaries.Lamb is common in these shops and are often butchered right there in the Halal tradition.I live in South-Central Texas and made a quick call to a local Halal store that is known for their fresh lambs.Although they don't usually consume the tongue, he had no problem in saving a few for me.The bruschetta was very well received and I was asked for the recipe by several of my chef friends.

*Corn and Chanterelle Soup - I tried several of the soup recipes and this was my favorite.As mentioned in the book, this dish is all about seasonality.Late August is a perfect month for fresh corn, Walla Walla Onions and fresh Chanterlle Mushrooms.I couldn't help but add some fine Sherry to the simmering soup.Incredible!

*Butternut Squash Risotto with Hazelnut Oil - An inspired recipe but at a price, this dish cost me more to make than some of the main courses.I can't think of a better fall dish; the sweetness of squash, the starchiness of the creamy risotto rice and the richness, savoriness of the hazelnut oil makes for a memorable evening.

*Beasties of the Land... - So many of these dishes called out to my carnivorous nature.So far I have tried the Lamb Chops with Fava and the Seared Duck Breast with Sugared Figs and Arugula.One of my closest friends said that if I served these dishes at a restaurant, she would live there.Although I have served duck with figs before, both dishes were inspired and I plan on making many more of the recipes in this book.By the way, the much mentioned recipe for "Braised Rabbit Paws with Radiatore" actually calls for four rabbit legs (which are fairly easy to find in most gourmet grocery stores), the author was just being playful with the recipe's name.

Ethan Stowell knocked it out of the park with this, his first book.I like his sense of humor, his style and his brassy creativity.I received an advanced, black and white copy of the book and plan on buying the finished edition.I look forward to more from this young chef.

Unusual ingredients may not appeal or be readily available
"Bold Cooking" is code for adventurous and unusual. Many of these recipes have unusual ingredients, such as lamb's tongue, geoduck, anchovy mayonnaise, sea urchin, oxtail, duck eggs, chicken livers, and rabbit paws (Oh my!).

The title and description sound enticing "refined yet unfussy" but, although there are some excellent recipes, many of them seemed to either have shock value or unusual ingredients that one would need to go to a specialty store to obtain. This made the recipes generally more complicate than we are up for, so this is relegated to the shelf until such time we can plan meals a week in advance in order to locate the required ingredients.

The adventure begins...
Yes, I love to cook.I love to try new things and experiment with ingredients I've never used before.I like to `wow' myself and others with food.Oh, and I love Italian food, which is the primary reason why I snatched this up.Upon opening this book though, I realized that this was far more than I anticipated.This isn't your mom and dads Italian food.This is experimental, interesting and unique takes on Italian cuisine.

My heart skipped a beat.

Now, unlike others, I am not one who is going to knock this down a peg because the ingredients used are not familiar to all grocery stores.This is not for the `I just need something quick and easy to feed my family' type chef, so if that is what you are looking for...walk away.This cookbook is for the chef who wants to be something more than he (or she) already is.This is for the person who wants to try new things and learn how to expand their culinary skills.

It's funny because my mother and I were just talking about getting together and making fresh pasta, and then I get this book complete with recipes on FRESH PASTA!I couldn't believe it.That right there is further proof that this is not your average cookbook.

The recipes, despite containing complicated ingredients and despite relying on a certain level of skill to execute (you won't be able to handle all of these recipes the first day in), they are easy to follow and contain nice illustrations that showcase the richness of the food.

In the end, I'm all head over heals in love with this book.Be forewarned, this book contains recipes that use Ox Tail and Urchin Roe, but if want to tap into your culinary wild side, this book is the perfect complement to your impending journey!

Bon appetit. ... Read more

Product Description

Lidia's Italian Table

LIDIA MATTICCHIO BASTIANICH

"Let me invite you on a journey with me from my childhood ..." beckons Lidia Bastianich, hostess of the national public television series Lidia's Italian Table. And what an incredible journey it proves to be.

Lidia's Italian Table is overflowing with glorious Italian food, highlighted by Lidia's personal collection of recipes accumulated since her childhood in Istria, located in northern Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Hearty and heartwarming Italian fare is what Lidia understands best, and each chapter of this gorgeous cookbook is infused with Lidia's warm memories of a lifetime of eating and cooking Italian style.

Since good Italian food is based on good ingredients, Lidia includes an eloquent discourse on those products that are the cornerstones of Italian cuisine: olives (and their green-golden oil), Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt, porcini mushrooms, truffles, tomato paste, and hot peppers. She also explains the importance of regional wines and grappa (in flavors from honey to dried fig) in the Italian food experience. Her recipes are filled with these Italian delicacies--Fennel, Olive, and Citrus Salad; Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushroom Sauce; Seared Rabbit Loin over Arugula with Truffle Dressing; Asparagus Gratin with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese-, and Zabaglione with Barolo Wine.

Lidia explores every corner of Italian cuisine: from fresh and dry pasta to gnocchi and risotto to game and shellfish, all of which Lidia transforms into exceptional Italian dishes. But that is only the beginning. There are Italian soups to savor, like hearty minestre, bread-enriched zuppe, and the light and flavorful brodi. Polenta's delicious versatility is revealed through Polenta, Gorgonzola, and Savoy Cabbage Torte and White Creamy Polenta with Fresh Plums.

And Lidia's luscious dolci, or desserts, invite your indulgence with Sweet Crepes with Chocolate Walnut Filling, Blueberry-Apricot Frangipane Tart, and Soft Ice Cream with Hazelnuts.

Lidia attributes her passion and appreciation for Italian food to her family. Lidia's Italian Table is filled with stories of learning to make Easter bread with her Grandma Rosa in the town's communal oven; touching and smelling her way through the food markets of Trieste with her great-aunt Zia Nina; fishing for calamari with her uncle Zio Milio; and collecting briny mussels and sea urchins along the Istrian coastline with her cousins.

This gastronomic adventure is more than just a cookbook: It is an exploration into the heart of Italian cuisine.

In sections that includeantipasti, soups, pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta, vegetables, gameand chicken, meats, fish and shellfish, and sweets, Lidia sweepsreaders up into her arms and hugs them with the likes of Baked Onionswith Butternut Squash Filling; Sauerkraut and Bean Soup; Bow Ties withSausage and Leek Sauce; Shrimp Risotto; Fennel, Olive, and CitrusSalad; Braised Venison with Polenta; Baked Squid and Potatoes; andZucchini Cake. Notice how most of these dishes have a familiar"Italian" ring, yet stretch beyond whatever that notion typicallyincludes--the soup with sauerkraut, for example. Lidia's table is setin a part of Italy that doesn't get a lot of ready play. It's Italian,but then some. A little extra. If you try it, you may find itdifficult to get up from Lidia's table. You may just want tostay. --Schuyler Ingle ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

A good Italian cook book
Lidia's Italian Table is not a "classic cook book" like some of her other cook books.If I remember correctly this was her second book and she was just getting warmed up.What I like about Lydia Bastianich, it is not about new molecular or fusion cooking, it is basic Italian cooking.She is the new Marcella Hazan. M Hazan is the person who started documenting Italian cuisine in the seventy's and show Americans that Italian cuisine is more that spaghetti and lasagna. If you are looking to expand your Italian repertoire, this book is a great starting point.Try the crosatas, reminds me of the first time I tried them in Umbria.

Wonderful
A great book.I first got it from the library.It came in perfect condition.Fast delivery with no problems at all.

Yummy
My brother-in-law is full blooded Italian so this is the first thing I turn to when I know he is coming to visit.She makes my life so much easier!

Great!
My friend had wanted this book, so I got it for her for her birthday. She absolutly loves this book!

Nice book!
I love watching the TV show (and so does my friend), so I bought it for her. It looks like there are a lot of cool recipies!
... Read more

Product Description
Expanding on the success of the Williams-Sonoma Essentials series, Essentials of Italian is the series' first foray into the realm of international cuisine. The book reveals the secrets that regional Italian cooks have known for ages for preparing simple, flavorful meals.

The book opens with a thorough discussion of the culinary traditions for which Italy is famous, with information on ingredients and dishes that define each region. Beautifully photographed recipes rely on only the best ingredients.

Features:

Product Description
Rao's, the hundred-year-old restaurant with a mere ten tables tucked in a corner of East Harlem in what was once alegendary Italian
neighborhood, is one of the most sought-after restaurants in all of Manhattan. Its tables are booked months
in advance by regulars who go to enjoy what The New York Times calls its "exquisitely simple Italian cooking" from traditional recipes,
many as old as Rao's itself. You may not get a table at Rao's, but now with this book you can prepare the best Italian home-style food in the
world in your own kitchen. Here for the first time are recipes for all of Rao's fabulous classics--its famous marinara sauce, seafood salad,
roasted peppers with pine nuts and raisins, baked clams, lemon chicken, chicken scarpariello, and on and on.
The recipes are accompanied by photographs that re-create Rao's magic and testimonials from loyal Rao's fans--
from Woody Allen to Beverly Sills. Here too is a brief history of the restaurant by Nicholas Pileggi and a Preface by Dick Schaap.
Both will convince you that what you have in your hands is a national treasure, a piece of history, and a collection of the best Italian
American recipes you will ever find.Amazon.com Review
Rao's is an old, 10-table restaurant in an old, NewYork-Italian neighborhood in which old Italians still may or may notlive (this was never made quite clear in Nicholas Pileggi'scomplete-history-of-Italian-immigrants-in-America introduction to thecookbook), but you can't go there to eat. Not unless you know someonewho has a lock on one of the tables. These are shared occupancytables, condominium tables. Every night (Monday through Friday) isalready spoken for--has been spoken for, in fact, for quite sometime. Mixed in with the names of the obvious rich and famous andpowerful who get to eat at Rao's (and who have enthusiastic things tosay about Rao's throughout the cookbook) are names of thenot-so-obvious to anyone who hails from outside the Italianneighborhood that spawned them. Rao's sounds like a dream of what NewYork once may have been like--joints on every corner full of characterand soul--or what everyone would like to think New York may have beenlike. It sounds a little like a Disneyland nostalgia experience thatjust about everyone will never have.

So bless Frank Pellegrino for putting Rao's kitchen between the coversof this book. If you want the excitement and charm and comfort food ofRao's, you can now cook it yourself and pretend that's Dick Schaapsitting over there, and Rob Reiner coming though the door with WoodyAllen, Brenda Vaccaro, and John-John. Plan on eating lots of tomatosauce, for Rao's springs from the same roots that gave America Italianred sauce restaurants of the checkered tablecloth and Chianti bottlecandle holder stripe. Rao's does it far, far better, and withsoul. The late Vincent Pellegrino, who made Rao's what it seeminglycontinues to be, was particularly fond of grilled meats, and thosesections of the book are exemplary: simple, straightforward, to thepoint. Even the tripe sounds like it might be worth trying.

If you want to cook Italian and not sweat the regional details, this bookis the one to pull off the shelf. --SchuylerIngle ... Read more

Customer Reviews (64)

Excellent !
I love the recipes in the 2 Rao cookbooks. They are usually a short list of fresh ingredients that magically create an authentic, farm fresh Italian dish.

Rao.s Cookbook
This book was purchased because of a review in our Spfld. paper about the history of this N.Y. restaurant. You could just smell the aroma of good cooking from the cover of the book and the pictures throughout. I will enjoy reading ,again and again, the story about how Rao's was started, where it's located in N.Y., and the customers who make reservations months in advance to dine there.I so wish I could have such an experience. Some of these recipes will improve my culinary efforts.I just love this cookbook!

Rao's cookbook: 100 years in Italian Home Cooking
Ordered this book for myself and quickly ordered more as gifts. Book arrived a few days after ordering in "like-new" condition.A must have for anyone who likes Italian food.Excellant Southern Italian recipes, easy to follow and delicious. The celebrity comments are a delight to read.bravo!

Rao's Cookbook - Over 100 Years of Italiain Home Cooking
Incredibly simple recipes that you can tell were developed over a couple of lifetimes by grandparents and parents cooking for their families with their children and grandchildren at their sides with the main ingredients being love and patience. The recipes in this cookbook demonstrate the old saying, "Do what you love and the money will come". Simple recipes...Delicious food - Period! The only complaint that I have is that I cannot get a reservation at Rao's in New York City.

more than a cookbook
Wonderful, easy recipes as used in the great restaurant.A history of same is included which makes for enjoyable reading. Book arrived in perfect condition. ... Read more

Product Description

"My Sicilian grandmother used to make a cookic with red wine, dipped in honey, but I can't find a recipe anywhere."

Whether you're looking for your grandmother's vecchiarelle, a traditional Christmas Lye Neapolitan seafood salad, Italian-style fried chicken for Chanukah, or spice cookies for All Souls' Day, you'll find them together with 150 other classic recipes in Italian Holiday Cooking.

From Christmas to Carnevale, from Sundae dinner to saints' feast days, Italians know how to celebrate. And what's an Italian celebration without food?

With this collection, renowned Italian food and wine writer Michele Scicolone brings the spirit and the flavors of Italian holiday cooking into your own kitchen. Enjoy Christmas Capon, Red Risotto for Rosh Hashanah, and Good Luck Lentil Soup for New Year's Day. Leave it to the Italians to honor the holidays with specific pasta dishes: Pasta for Saint Joseph's Day -- tripolini with almonds, bread crumbs, and anehovy -- Ravioli for the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, and Fettuccine and Chickpeas for the Day of the Dead. There are antipasti and savory pies and hearty second courses. Special cakes, cookies, and other dolci include Chocolate Cake for Passover, Christmas Struffoli, and Carnevale Cannoli. And, of course, all these recipes can be made throughout the year.

Italian Holiday Cooking includes stories and the lore of homeland traditions and celebrations that Italian-American families have kept alive in the United States. So even if you're not Italian, celebrate with Italian Holiday Cooking.

Scicolone's introduction to each recipe includes a bit of background about where it came from, for which holiday it's prepared, and tips for preparation. She also recommends a wine for every dish. And since no holiday would be complete without dessert, Scicolone offers a beautiful selection of cakes, cookies, and other desserts, including a Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake made with ricotta, Creamy Rice Fritters, and the elusive first recipe of the 150 she collected for this project, Vecchiarelle, which are little cookies flavored with red wine and honey. --Leora Y. Bloom ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I was delighted with these authentic Italian recipes but....
This is one of the better Italian cookbooks I have come across
but I ran into a problem with the first recipe I tried.The orange semolina cake sounded great.I prepared the semolina, made the ricotta mixture and beat the egg whites.The recipe never tells you what to do with the cooked semolina!I'm an experienced cook, and I figured it went into the ricotta mixture, but who knows?We're eating it tomorrow, Christmas Eve and I guess I'll find out then. ... Read more

Product Description
Eat Spaghetti and Still Fit Into Your Skinny Jeans

To many of us, "diet" is a four-letter word. And rightfully so. Starving yourself thin or keeping track of each bite like pennies in your checkbook is no way to live. So what's a girl with skinny jean dreams supposed to do?

Teresa Giudice has the answer. In fact, she was born with it. The first-generationItalian-American mom of four and svelte star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey credits her knockout figure to her Old World upbringing. And now, in her fun, encouraging, and budget-friendly cookbook, she skewers the myth that looking fabulous has to be a chore.

In Skinny Italian, she reveals how to:

• substitute tedious meal plans with simple, flavorful recipes
• choose fresh, flavorful ingredients instead of counting calories
• slow down and enjoy a faster metabolism
• replace starvation with celebration by adopting an Italian attitude to cooking, eating, and entertaining
• love food, love eating, and still love your body afterward

Teresa shows how anyone can master the cornerstones of Italian cuisine. Learn how to make six different tomato sauces from scratch, how to choose and use the right olive oil, and how to prepare over sixty Giudice family recipes straight from Salerno. From Gorgeous Garlic Shrimp to Beautiful Biscotti, you'll want to make these sumptuous recipes again and again. Discover how easy and economical wholesome, homemade cooking can be.

Skinny Italian is not a diet book. It's an "eat it and enjoy it" book. Join Teresa and discover how gorgeous can be a sumptuous side effect to living la bella vita.

Customer Reviews (190)

I LOVED IT!
I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered this cookbook, but have to say, I totally loved it!Not only that, but I had to "repossess" it from one of my co-workers who saw it on my desk and took off with it!My mom now has it and is reading it with zeal!Lots of laughs and good information all tied up in a beautiful package.

great cookbook
this is an awesome cookbook. italian food that you can easy cook. the best price for this book was on amazon. i recommend this!!

perhaps the worst cook=book ever written
This cook-book is perhaps the worst book ever written. The recipes are simple, nothing new. Author is more interested in writing about herself than in developing cooking ideas. Poorly researched-this book serves only one purpose-use as toilet paper..

Yummy!
This book is awesome! Recipes are delicious and I just love Teresa! She kept the book very entertaining.

absolutely favorite cook book
This book is not your normal cook book with just recipes in it but so much more.There is so much substance in this book and I learned so many new and interesting things.There was information in there that I never knew about how to cook with certain herbs and items and everything was understandable and not over my head.I have cooked from it almost every day since I started reading it and I've had it for at least 3 weeks.My family loves the recipes and have not disliked any of them.They are easy and good for you and so tasty.I have definitely changed the way I look at food and cook it.I'm cooking with more natural ingredients and really enjoying what I have learned.I love the personality of the cook book with the flow of conversation, the tips, the additional comments from Joe, the history and family pictures.I am recommending this book to all my friends. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

great paperback italian cookbook
I purchased this paperback in the early 1970s as a newlywed when I wanted to prepare italian dinners for my husband and my children.I don't know why I bought this cookbook, in particular, but it was great for the novice I was. I was able to make easy but very delicious tomato sauces, the best lasagna, tasty chicken cacciatore, veal marsala and veal cutlet parmagiana and received many compliments for each dish prepared from this cookbook.There were different recipes for making sauce for pasta and for making lasagna; and different ways of making chicken cacciatore. I particularly liked the format of the book. I used the cookbook so much that the book became tattered and torn and finally got thrown out.Since that time,I've bought several hardcover italian cookbooks by well-known italian cooks, but none compares to this one for its simplicity and the great tasting dishes one can make. I have tried unsuccessfully to find this cookbook and today I see someone has a used copy that I can purchase. I am so happy that I can have this great little italian cookbook in my library once again.

Best Lasagna Ever
About 40 years ago we were invited to a friend's house for dinner.The lasagna she served was the best we had ever had.When we asked for the recipe she gave us a copy of this cookbook which her Italian grandmother had given to her when she was married.It is still the best Italian cookbook we have used.The sauce recipes are wonderful, each designed for a specific dish.Other great recipes are the veal parmesan and the veal marsala . Our old copy is worn and falling apart but we constantly use it despite having an extensive cookbook library. The lasagna is still the "best ever" and gets rave reviews whenever we serve it. This cookbook is a must have for anyone who loves good authentic Italian cuisine. ... Read more