Customer Reviews

Cooking Up an Italian Life : Simple Pleasures of Italy in Recipes and Stories

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reading this wonderful book is like taking a trip to Italy with your best friend -- if she happens to be a sensational tour guide and an excellent cook. Here are the recipes that ARE Italy -- clearly explained so that even beginners can whip up delicious, authentic Italian fare. It's now the only Italian cookbook I use -- I have one in my New Jersey kitchen and in my kitchen in Rome. You'll love the author's warm, authoritative voice and her delectable tidbits gleaned from her travels throughout Italy. Take it from me, a cookbook collector, Italian food devotee and frequent Italian traveller --if you only buy one cookbook (Italian or otherwise), make it this one.

Though I've never physically been to Italy, I feel I travel there every time I crack this book open. The author has a way with words that transports the readers all the way across the ocean. I feel like I'm right beside her as she visits the markets and returns home to cook up the simplistic, but delicious Italian fare.

The recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients are straightforward. Many of the recipes are traditional classics. I tried the Bolognese-Style Meat Sauce recipe and fell in love with Italian cuisine all over again. One of the easiest, yet most flavorful recipes I've tried so far is a refreshing Bread Salad with Tomato, Cucumber, Onion and Basil, flavored with a touch of red wine vinegar. I could eat that salad every day!

My most treasured cookbooks are those that allow me to read for pleasure and cook from to enjoy. This is a wonderful book to curl up with a glass of wine and just indulge in the stories and history the author lovingly shares. It's also a great book to take into the kitchen and whip up some authentic, simple Italian cuisine. I'm so glad I found it!

I'm hooked on the asparagus and shrimp risotto recipe! I loved this dish when I lived in Rome. When I came back to the US, I tried many different recipes for this risotto and none of them tasted the same (they were all difficult and messy as well). The recipe in this book is fantastic - I make it, with or without the shrimp, about once a month. It is such an easy recipe that now I'm working my way through the other ones. The stories are also fun. It's hard to find a cookbook this easy and entertaining.

The recipes in this good-looking book are enticing and do-able (a boon for a cook like me who loves short ingredient lists), but it's the essays that set this cookbook apart from others. Short tales of Sharon and her husband Walter's adventures in Italy, both before and after marriage and kids, they're funny and romantic reminiscences. This is a book for people who enjoy both simple, tasty food and witty writing.

I've read several wonderful reviews on this book and couldn't wait to purchase it. As a result, I bought the book based on the reviews alone. While I think that the recipes are excellent I would have liked to have read more "snippets" of stories accompanied with the recipes. I think the title of the book promises more than it delivers. Having said that, I recommend the book because the recipes I've tried so far are pure, simple and delicious.

Most Italian cook books are much the same. This one is fun because it has included the stories of Italian life.

I cannot count how many cookbooks I have purchased that end up gathering dust. Ms. Sanders' book is an absolute delight and one that I go back to again and again. The recipes are easy to prepare and I love the menu and wine suggestions that accompany them. It is obvious that this book came from her heart and anyone who enjoys Italian cooking should definitely add this to their collection. I also love the beautiful photography on the cover by Ms. Sanders' husband, Walter. A must-have for all lovers of Italy!

The recipes are adventures which must be shared. Sharon has the knack of choosing simple ingredients which make a delicious product when used together. Sharon's sweet personality and warm family closeness shine through it all. So Ee-talian! If you have been to Italy and long to be there again - do as Sharon suggests and cook Italian! You will re-invent the same delights that glow from her many intimate experiences there. .

This delightful book confirms that simple cooking methods and fresh ingredients make the most delicious meals. Each time you pick it up, the mouth-watering recipes inspire a whole week's worth of meals. New cooks will appreciate the detailed, easy instructions, while experienced cooks will be inspired by the many variations (in ingredients, cooking method, and side dishes) that are included for most recipes.

I can certainly relate to Sharon Sander's feelings about Italian cuisine since we both are Italian by heart only yet share a passion for Italian food. As well as a large number of recipes, both traditional Italian as well as many with an Italian American feel to them, Sharon also shares herself in a number of amusing food related stories interspersed throughout the chapters. The book is divided into nine basic recipe categories including the usual chapters for soup, pasta, and vegetables etc., but she also includes a recipe chapter titled Capturing Summer Flavors for All Meals which includes many recipes to preserve summer's bounty to use these ingredients year round. The soup chapter is titled "Soup and Egg Meals" to include dishes that would make perfect lighter meals and as well as some basic soup recipes you will find such recipes as Eggs and Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese, Frittata with Peas and Scallions, and Caramelized Onion Frittata.

I found it interesting that the appetizer section was grouped with desserts and called "Appetizers and Desserts for Special Meals", but thinking about it this makes a great deal of sense. Both appetizers and desserts are rarely served on a daily basis in an Italian home, and are instead brought out for special occasions and holidays. This chapter includes such intriguing recipes as Sea Bass, Red Onion, Raisin, and Pine Nut Salad; Parmesan Soufflé with Saffron Red Pepper Compote, and Watermelon Wine Granita. I did try one recipe from this chapter, Three Melon Salad with Prosciutto, and found it a nice variation on the simple melon and prosciutto combination.

As well as the many recipes, and brief personal stories, at the back of the book one can find some useful reference tools including a fairly in-depth glossary of ingredients, list for setting up a basic pantry, high altitude cooking tips, and important international conversion information.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found it both fun to read as well as being a book that will be an asset to my Italian cuisine cookbook collection. This is a book that both novice cooks as well as experienced ones will enjoy and find useful, and the ingredients listed in recipes throughout the book are readily available to everyone which is always an important consideration in any cookbook.