Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day [Paperback]

Rocco DiSpirito (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2008

• Rocco comes to the home cook's rescue with more than 130 quick-and-easy dishes, many of which are featured on his A&E TV show, Rocco Gets Real.

• Chapters focus on the center of the plate, including pasta, chicken, beef, pork, fish, and seafood.

• Special chapters include Healthy Meals (recipes seen on The Biggest Loser) and Rocco's Holiday Table.

• Rocco's recipe notes teach, inspire, and encourage home cooks through every step in the kitchen.

• Short ingredient lists, quick and easy prep, and clever shortcuts mean streamlined techniques that don't compromise flavor.

• Full-color photography throughout the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rocco DiSpirito's road to fame began when he was 11 years old while helping his mother, Nicolina, in her own kitchen-an experience that sparked his intense interest in food and cooking. Now one of today's most exciting chefs, followed by millions, the Jamacia, Queens, native entered the Culinary Institute of America when he was 16. He graduated in 1986 and studied at Jardin de Cygne in France before earning a B.S. in Business from Boston University in 1990. After working at restaurants in New York and Boston, he joined Lepinasse's opening team, then opened Union Pacific in New York's Granmercy Park as chef and owner. Food & Wine named him its Best New Chef in 1999, and the following year, Gourmet magazine called him “America's Most Exciting Young Chef.” DiSpirito opened Rocco's 22nd Street in the summer of 2003, while cameras for NBC's The Restaurant watched and took notes. Later that summer more than 8 million viewers a week tuned in to see the ups and downs of DiSpirito's family-inspired eatery. DiSpirito is the author of four previous cookbooks, including Rocco's Real Life Recipes in 2007.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696238233
• ISBN-13: 978-0696238239
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Celebrity chef and author Rocco DiSpirito combines his world-class cooking with a passion for empowering home cooks. The James Beard award-winning chef began his career in a Queen's pizzeria at age 11. Graduating with honors from the Culinary Institute of America in 1997, Rocco opened the 3-star Union Pacific in New York City where he established his culinary credentials. He was named Food & Wine's Best New Chef and--as the first chef to grace its cover--was called 'America's Most Exciting Young Chef' by Gourmet. In 2003 he launched Rocco's for NBC's The Restaurant, and in 2004, he hosted Food Talk with Rocco on WOR 710AM. His new television series, Rocco Gets Real, launched on A&E this October, coinciding with the publication of its companion cookbook, Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home Every Day. His cookbooks include Rocco's Real-Life Recipes, Rocco's Italian American, Rocco's Five Minute Flavor, and his James Beard award-winning Flavor, which New York magazine summed up as, 'Dare I whisper, genius?' Rocco appears regularly on The Biggest Loser and Top Chef.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars smart and simple, November 16, 2008

By 

t boss "single guy" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day (Paperback)

This is the first cook book that has ever made sense to me. im a single guy and I actually have a job and don't have 12 hours to prepare a meal, especially before a date. i don't mind spending some money getting a meal together but i DONT want to spend alot of time. and i still want it to be cool. this cook book is awesome!! really straight forward, really fast, and everything came out great. it was hard to screw up the recipes which is good since when you are getting ready for a date, you kind of want to be as close to idiot-proof as possible. this is the most practical cook book ever

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocco's Book Makes Me Cook!!!, November 15, 2008

By 

MAR (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day (Paperback)

I am a young professional who loves great food, but never cared much for cooking. My family always cooked for me (my dad is a chef), so when I started living on my own, I only ordered take-out and never bothered to start learning to cook. When I realized how much money I was spending, and how much weight I was gaining, I decided to buy Rocco's new book in an attempt to cook fast, easy, but tasty meals. To my surprise, all of the recipes actually came out great, tasted as good as they looked, and were very flavorful! The book is a great guide because it has step-by-step pictures, shopping lists, and illustrations of all the tools needed for each recipe. The recipes are simple but not unimaginative or lacking in flavor. The real test was when my dad came to visit me and I decided to cook him a recipe out of Rocco's new book. I made him the sweet and sour cherry beef on page 42. My dad could not believe his eyes (or his taste-buds!) It was soooo good, I decided to cook more often (and HE decided to get a copy of Rocco's book for himself). This book is great for people who feel hopeless in the kitchen, or for people who already know and love cooking, but want to try new recipes. I didn't know the difference between a skillet or frying pan, much less what they look like. But having this book makes me feel confident that I can become knowledgeable about what to use to achieve high quality food in an easy, effortless manner. Plus, the new sections on health and holiday make this a great, all year round go-to cookbook. Thanks Rocco, for sending me on my way to becoming healthier, wealthier, and not having to compromise the flavors I love so much!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cooking Gets Real, February 18, 2009

By 

Elinor Stone "Boston Food" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day (Paperback)

I have not tried every recipe in the book, but when I have, the results ranged from bad diner food to mediocre at best. My first Rocco book, and oh my last. The book has the flavor of a let's-throw-this-together project. For instance, Rocco's initial claim is that none of the recipes in the book (dated 2008) costs more than $7.00 to serve four people. I live near a large city and my local markets sell Rocco's specification of filet mignon for $19.95 a pound. That's for starters. Add the other ingredients in the dish and you'll be spending considerably more than $25.00 per recipe. A careful author would not have let this happen. Other aspects of the book include poor photography and even worse graphics. Some pages are quite difficult to read - thin white lettering upon red ink.

All this said, I think that the illustrations regarding cookware are neat and simple and could be helpful.

What would I have wanted to know before I purchased this product? That the criticisms of the previous book were correct, and Rocco, adorable as he is, may or may not know how to cook.