Customer Reviews

David Rocco's Dolce Vita

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought David Rocco's "Dolce Vita" and I ended up smiling because it's obvious this man is as much in love with Italian cooking as he is with his beautiful wife and italy itself.

What a gorgeous, hedonistic cookbook that's in love with life itself. At times it is part-journal, part-memoir, part-cookbook. It's recipies are painted through-out, transfered overtop of the exqusite photographs that spill double, page for page. My brother is coveting my copy already, I think i'll have to hide it or buy him one before he steals mine. It's the kind of book you can't stop picking up and flipping thru. You can see, feel, taste, and know Italy and the author's Italian blood coursing thru his veins when you read it. It's not only a great italian cookbook but it's a happy book. It's a joy to discover it's more than a book. You experience Italy when you linger thru it, and it in-turn, makes you want to discover more of it's secrets by cooking the recipes and smiling -- just like David does.

His yummie meat sauce, a "Salsa Bolgonese" is divine:- it's the all-day-simmered beef/pork reduced meat sauce for his lasagna dish. The picture of the lasagna alone gives me a coronary every time I gaze in awe upon it. It's melting Italian perfection.

I love his variations on the basic stock recipies; the stories of his mom's cooking; the starters, main courses, soups, desserts, a few cocktails -- not to mention the Filetto Di Manzo Al Balsamico (beef tenderloin with carmalized onion and balsamic reduction so rich and simple it's worth the book alone.) I just love the pre-ambles he has for each chapter and the ones attached to each recipe. I love a dish to have a story or a purpose for being. All of David's do.

Anyone looking for athentic-in-philosophy-or-recipe Italian cooking will be continually pleased with this very humbly-charming and uplifting book. Welcome to Italy, David's style.

If you love the TV series, this cookbook is a nice extension. Not all the same recipes that are on the show, there are so many more.

I love the photos; I look at the photos and feel that I am transported to Italy.

So many recipes have been marked and tried. It is all about "Quanto Basta"

I know it will be referenced many times to come.

David's Dolce Vita cookbook is phenomenal. The layout is spectacular, and the photography is vivido. Amazing recipes. Lots of love put into this cookbook, and David's voice is apparent throughout the book. The cookbook feels like a high school yearbook, you just want to show it to all your friends, and go through it continuously. The recipes are easy to follow, and are well described. It has the recipes from the show and much, much more. Not only can you use it as a cookbook, but it definitely could also be used as a coffee table book because it takes you through Italy. Great Buy. Buon appetito!

Love to watch David Rocco on the cooking channel as do our friends. Bought the book for our friend's birthday and know it will be a wonderful gift. The reciepts are great, we have tried several of them. Beautiful pictures, tips on what you need to know about the reciepts, he writes about his family, etc. A wonderful book as well as a cookbook.

I am so glad to have discovered David Rocco on The Cooking Channel! My father is from Italy and ever since I went there for the first time in 2003 I've been completely obsessed with the food and culture. I see that David is equally in love. He cooks like a true Italian. Everything is by feel, is simple and prepared with love. I've tried some of the recipes and they've all been a success so far. It's a beautiful book as well. Every page is nice to look at. I can't wait to cook my way through the book and look forward to reading it as well. His stories are wonderful and amusing. Buon appetito!

I gave this cookbook to my husand as a birthday gift.
It is all that I expected and more. David's recipes
are all "doable" and enticing. Even if you have not
been to Italy, his comments about the food, people,
culture and the country itself are educational.
Looking at the beautiful pictures makes you feel
transported back to this amazing country.
I also purchased the fun CD of music from David's
television show. I was surprised to find it came
with it's own smaller picture cookbook, an added bonus!
Both make wonderful gifts that the giver can enjoy as well!
I highly recommend both.

This is a fantastic book! Not only do you get great recipes, but you get a fantastic view of Italy (whether you've been or not). Makes you feel like you are there. I've been to Florence and I was able to relive my experience there and more.

Some people call it a glamour book, flashy but lacking real recipes. I find it just stunning. I began watching David Rocco's Avventura years back when I was in high school. Over the years I've watched his shows and books progress, but he always stuck with his signature theme: food as a part of a lifestyle. It was never just about the recipes. Each of his dish has a story, a memory, which is what I love.

Some of his recipes in this book can be found in his last book also. But the overall flow was very good. Some recipes are complicated, but some are incredibly simple. A couple have already become regular dishes at dinner. It is definitely a worthwhile book to have and to keep.

I am very excited about this purchase. The photography is unbelievable. I cannot wait to start cooking. The recipes are simply stated and use ingredients that can be purchased at any local store. As a result of the purchase of this book and watching the show by the same name as the book, David Rocco has allowed me to remember the wonderful time that my husband and I spent in Sicily and the fabulous food that we ate at that time. This is a must for all collectors of Italian cookbooks.

I have to say up front that I am a huge fan of the TV show - David Rocco's Dolce Vita, currently airing on the Cooking Channel. This companion book transports me to the Italian way of living, the "sweet life", like no other I've seen. The attitude, Quanto Basta, the freedom and artistry of the Tuscan region are vivid and enticing. I bought this book to get the recipes but I found so much more. Each page is a piece of art and David writes of the lifestyle with simplicity and clarity. It's become a kind of therapy for me. When I get overloaded with stupid stuff, I sit in my most comfortable chair, open the book and I'm in another world. A world of great food, great love and a happy life. The wine, the olive oil, the cheese. The cucina povera is delightful. I'm getting hungry just writing about it. This book is a great read and a beautiful inspiration to live the Italian way. I highly recommend it!