Customer Reviews

Cooking With Grace: A Step-By-Step Course In Authentic Italian Cooking

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I met Grace Pilato at an international cooking class. I was there because I was raised in the Betty Crocker era; I literally did not know how to cook anything but desserts. One time cooking with Grace and I was hooked.

Grace's book is so unlike other cookbooks. Usually I pick up a cookbook, try one recipe, find that it is a dud and never pick up the book again. In Grace's cookbook I can try any recipe and it will be wonderful. Some of the recipes I've made in Grace's classes, but I recently made Rolled Stuffed Salmon, a fairly complex recipe, on my own and it turned out fabulous. Because Grace's recipes have been tested repeatedly by students of her cooking classes, they are easy to follow--not to mention incredibly delicious.

The book is full of both decadent recipes as well as numerous recipes for people trying to eat more healthfully. Grace says Italians eat vegetables not because they're good for them but because they love them. You'll love them too if you try Grace's way of cooking them! Asparagus, salad dressings, marinated roasted peppers--the list goes on! I especially love the Lentil Pumpkin Soup.

I highly recommend Cooking with Grace to everyone, from experienced cooks to Betty Crocker types like me. You'll be addicted, trust me.

Okay, I'll jump in and be the first to write what I'm sure will be many glowing reviews of this cookbook. I've had the great privilege to have taken Grace's Italian Cooking classes and when I'm reading the recipes in "Cooking with Grace", it's like I can hear Grace's voice explaining the procedures. Her Stepping Stone approach to creating the basics for great Italian dishes is a sensible introduction for new cooks, and opens creative doors for those experienced in the kitchen. For a few examples...Grace's basic marinara sauce is simple and can be dressed up or down, depending upon if you want it to be the basis for Mussels in Spicy Marinara sauce, or as a virtuoso solo act on pasta. Making crepes from Grace's recipe assures melt-in-your-mouth savory manicotti or a sweet, light dessert when rolled around Mama Rosa's Lemon Custard Cream. And speaking of manicotti...when you learn how Grace makes homemade fresh ricotta (another Stepping Stone Recipe) you will never use storebought again. And it's so easy, I'm surprised it isn't illegal. The breads are also wonderful; I always keep a few loaves in the freezer. Grace's instructions for making the dough quickly in a Cuisinart have eliminated my former fear of breadmaking. In conclusion, I'll say the first third of the book with the Stepping Stone recipes sets this book apart from other good Italian cookbooks. The remaining recipes in "Cooking with Grace" are delicious and encourage the reader's skills, imagination, and creativity.

If you are an experienced Italian cook as many members of my family are, you will find a wealth of information most pleasantly presented in Grace Pilato's book. Beginning with her introduction, it is clear that she truly loves cooking as she reverently describes the experience of cooking for family and friends. Then it is apparent that she really hopes to impart this knowledge by presenting the reader with a highly readable and easily followed vehicle for creating fine Italian food. This book is so much more than the usual compilation of recipes. It is truly an instructional vehicle.

My daughte received this book for a gift and hs been working her way through the "stepping stones" section which provides very helpful techniques for making the basic recipes like marinara, roasted peppers, and pesto which are used in other recipes throughout the book.

Although I have been cooking for 35 years, I am amazed by some of the tips with which this book is filled about selecting the best ingredients, storing food, and detailed information about utensils and the basic pantry. I believe that if I cook these recipes and follow the advice given, that I will really have a chance of becoming a very good Italian cook.

I have rarely seen a book cross referenced so thoroughly. For example, after the Ricotta Fresca recipe, a list of eleven other recipes which use the Ricotta and their page numbers is presented. Notes after each recipe include storage suggestions and ideas for use of leftovers or excess made in other recipes.

I intend to make this my main Italian Cookbook and though I have only had it in my possession for a few weeks, I am using it a great deal. The author's thorough descriptions, directions, are clear and easy to follow.

The Seafood Lasagna and the Stuffed Artichokes are the best I have ever had anywhere. My enjoyment of eating this food is surpassed only by the fun of watching the recipes unfold, appreciating the gentle style in which this cookbook is written and my appreciation for the plethora of practical information it offers.

I am recommending it most highly to all of my family and friends.

Ms. Pilato's cookbook is simply a must-have for anyone who appreciates the art of fine Italian cooking and who is interested in learning both basic Italian techniques as well as the most experienced cooks! Her book not only includes comprehensive Italian cooking methods and recipes, but it does so with heart. Her heart-warming stories that are a prelude to many recipes from her own experience in cooking only add to the food she so throughly guides the reader in preparing. She delivers a power-packed guide to cooking Italian with gusto and verve. It is a true favorite of mine to which I continually turn when cooking for guests as well as for my family. This book, like a fine Italian meal, just gets better with time.

I was born in upstate New York, where my Italian grandparents settled when they arrived from Sicily. Grace's recipes remind me of the Italian American food both of my grandmother's cooked. I write a food blog, and I often use these recipes with great satisfaction.
The book also teaches you how to cook--step by step.
My favorite recipe is the Sicilian Cassata! My family loves this cake--it's unbelievably good. Millie's Orange Drop Cookies, Ladder Bread, Marinara (she teaches you to make a huge batch and freeze in separate containers for future meals), Homemade Egg Pasta--the best!
I highly recommend it to my readers, and I wish she would write another cookbook :)

This is a fabulous find for anyone who wants a good friend to give them clear instructions to become skilled in Italian cooking. Grace starts you out, builds up your skills, and gives you great recipes. I am SO excited to have this book!

I have more than 600 cookbooks (it's like a disease!). The majority of them are Italian. I read them from cover-to-cover, not only for recipes but for the ethnic flavor of Italy, and of Italian-Americans who carry on our traditions. Rating a new Italian cookbook against my library is a daunting test for the book and its author. Unfortunaly, while there are some good recipes in this book, it is over-simplified and does not compare with what I consider to be the top books of this genre recently published, i.e. Biba Caggiano's Taste of Italy or Fred Plotkin's La Terra Fortuna. Ms. Pilato cooks with grace, but she needs to add a pinch more meat in her pages.