Book Review : Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes

A cookbook that actually makes me want to cook!

Before receiving Everday Italian as a Chistmas gift, I hated to cook. From grocery shopping to reading recipes, I despised it all.

Now I've finally found a cookbook that makes me want to cook! Giada's recipes are easy to follow and for the most part, quick to make. Best of all, most of her ingredients can be found at your local grocery store for a reasonable price.

At first I was irritated by the lack of finished recipe pictures in the cookbook. Once I started cooking, I realized I didn't even need them - the recipes are that simple. I'm not a gourmet chef so I don't want complicated recipes, even if they do taste a bit more robust or authentic. I'm just somebody trying to find the inspiration to enjoy cooking and eating again.

I've enjoyed almost every recipe I've made from this cookbook and I look forward to cooking at the end of a long work day. My favorite recipes have been the marinara sauce (I can't believe I made my own sauce), the bolognese sauce, the chicken piccata, and the chicken parm. Tonight I'm going to make ziti with asparagus, smoked mozzarella, and prosciutto.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks they don't have the time or the finances to make fresh, great tasting Italian food or want to try the Italian restaurant experience at home. If the thought of one more night of grocery store, jarred tomato sauce makes you want to scream, this book is for you!

Book Review : The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews

INCLUDES BOTH ASIAN AND EUROPEAN SOUPS & STEWS

Impressive selection of soups by Jack Bishop and the Staff of Cook's Illustrated.
Asian recipes include Wonton, Hot & Sour, Thai Curry, Miso, Indian Curry, Vindaloo among others, including Oxtail Soup with Asian Flavors. I was pleased CI included this variation of oxtail soup - a favorite from my childhood.

Other European/Ethnic recipes represented are Osso Buco, Irish Stew, Scotch Broth, Bouillabaisse, Coq Au Vin, Cassoulet, Borscht, Matzo Ball Soup, Moroccan Lamb Tagine. There's many others too numerous to list, but you get the idea. There's a lot of classic recipes in this collection, some with some variations.

There's also a nice selection at the end of rice, potatoes, polenta, breads and biscuit recipes - I can't think of any better accompaniment.

Hats off to the designer of The Best Recipe Series. These are some of the most elegantly designed cookbooks/references I've ever come across. I think the 2-column format appeals to the "academically inclined" in us. The finely detailed illustrations by John Burgoyne are inline with the textbook concept.

If you like this book, you may also like Bernard Clayton's 1987 paperback, The Complete Book of Soups and Stews.