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Rating: 
Summary: Misleading Title, and not the best Italian cookbook...
Review: ...but that's only because the best Italian cookbook is Diane Seed's "Top 100 Italian Dishes."There is nothing to dislike about this book! The misleading title complaint is only because this isn't just a book of pasta sauces, unless you consider things like Fusilli con Polpettine (Fusilli with meatballs) or Penne alla Alberoni (baked penne with shrimp and mushrooms) to be just a sauce. By the way, the meatballs and the baked penne are two of my top 10 favourite recipes -- I perfected the meatball recipe, and I'm forever messing around with the penne, using scallops instead of shrimp, adding sake, feta cheese, green and waxed beans (but steam or zap those first, I discovered). It is such a foolproof recipe that it is possible to experiment like that and still know that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, and that your guests will love it and demand the recipe. Warning: This is NOT a Westernized cookbook, it is an unapologetically Italian cookbook with extremely authentic recipes. There is very little meat in most of these recipes, and pairings of things that would rarely be thought of outside of Italy, like a main dish composed entirely of pasta, chickpeas, and celery. However, if you are prepared to be adventurous, and would like a source of wonderful meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare, then this is the book for you. Come home exhausted, put a big pot of water on, sit down and relax until it boils, then create Linguine alle Olive in ten minutes flat. Linguine, garlic, black olives, olive oil, parsley salt, parmesan on the side, is all. You can dramatically change the recipe just by choosing what kind of black olives, from regular mild canned olives to intense oily kalamatas (I recommend the latter). This book is completely filled with recipes like that. I much prefer photographs of finished dishes in cookbooks, but the fanciful illustrations here (by Robert Budwig) turn the book into a work of art. Not all of the recipes are quickies, but the slower ones are where Ms. Seed does most of her teaching. You literally have NO idea what Spaghetti Bolognese is until you have spent a couple of hours making her version (only a half hour of that time requires your presence in the kitchen). I've had this book for several years, so it is now dog-eared and much scribbled upon. I must have made at least thirty of the recipes, with only one dud, and that just because my palate just couldn't encompass the idea of having lemon as the overriding flavour in a main dish. In summary: a wonderful cookbook, mostly full of very simple recipes that call for little time and few (but excellent) ingredients, coupled with a few time-consuming spectacular creations for special occasions. Now, do yourself a favour and check out the BEST Italian cookbook...
Rating:
Summary: Misleading Title, and not the best Italian cookbook...
Review: ...but that's only because the best Italian cookbook is Diane Seed's "Top 100 Italian Dishes." There is nothing to dislike about this book! The misleading title complaint is only because this isn't just a book of pasta sauces, unless you consider things like Fusilli con Polpettine (Fusilli with meatballs) or Penne alla Alberoni (baked penne with shrimp and mushrooms) to be just a sauce. By the way, the meatballs and the baked penne are two of my top 10 favourite recipes -- I perfected the meatball recipe, and I'm forever messing around with the penne, using scallops instead of shrimp, adding sake, feta cheese, green and waxed beans (but steam or zap those first, I discovered). It is such a foolproof recipe that it is possible to experiment like that and still know that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, and that your guests will love it and demand the recipe. Warning: This is NOT a Westernized cookbook, it is an unapologetically Italian cookbook with extremely authentic recipes. There is very little meat in most of these recipes, and pairings of things that would rarely be thought of outside of Italy, like a main dish composed entirely of pasta, chickpeas, and celery. However, if you are prepared to be adventurous, and would like a source of wonderful meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare, then this is the book for you. Come home exhausted, put a big pot of water on, sit down and relax until it boils, then create Linguine alle Olive in ten minutes flat. Linguine, garlic, black olives, olive oil, parsley salt, parmesan on the side, is all. You can dramatically change the recipe just by choosing what kind of black olives, from regular mild canned olives to intense oily kalamatas (I recommend the latter). This book is completely filled with recipes like that. I much prefer photographs of finished dishes in cookbooks, but the fanciful illustrations here (by Robert Budwig) turn the book into a work of art. Not all of the recipes are quickies, but the slower ones are where Ms. Seed does most of her teaching. You literally have NO idea what Spaghetti Bolognese is until you have spent a couple of hours making her version (only a half hour of that time requires your presence in the kitchen). I've had this book for several years, so it is now dog-eared and much scribbled upon. I must have made at least thirty of the recipes, with only one dud, and that just because my palate just couldn't encompass the idea of having lemon as the overriding flavour in a main dish. In summary: a wonderful cookbook, mostly full of very simple recipes that call for little time and few (but excellent) ingredients, coupled with a few time-consuming spectacular creations for special occasions. Now, do yourself a favour and check out the BEST Italian cookbook...
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best cookbook ever...
Review: Although the recipes in this book are relatively straightforward, they just don't produce the most flavorful sauces. I have tried quite a few of the recipes and none of them has really produced a sauce I was thrilled with. I have tried recipes for the same sauces out of other cookbooks (especially Marcella Hazen's Classic Italian Cooking) and invariably liked the results better. I really wouldn't recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic cookbook that saved my dinner many times!
Review: I am a college student who enjoys cooking. My mom had this cookbook around when I was a child and I remember loving to look at the pictures because they were so beautiful. The illustrations are stunning and really fun to look at while you cook. :o) I must say that recently when I came home for Winter Break, I started cooking for my family on Thursday evening. I didn't really want to make just plain old pasta and tomato sauce, so I dug through her cookbooks and this one jumped out at me. I found a great recipe for baked pasta with a parmesean and motzerella sauce and baked. My family went crazy for it. This cookbook is absolutly wonderful for making some simple dishes. It has a wide variety of options. My only COMPLAINT is that it doesn't have US measurments, but, for someone who is math challenged like me, it was easy to figure out how much to use. :o) Buy this book if you want to have some fantastic Itallian dinners and not have them take all day to prepare!
Rating:
Summary: Great recipes, beautiful illustrations
Review: Not only does this book contain great recipes -- old favorites and some new ones, too -- but the illustrations (pastel? watercolor?) are just as inspiring and full of the flavors of Italy.
Rating:
Summary: Grabbed off the shelf more than any of my other cookbooks
Review: Ok, you are home from work and want dinner in 45 minutes or less; so it's spaghetti or pasta, of course. But if you don't want to open yet another jar of tomato sauce, you can grab this cookbook instead. That's what I do. I look in the fridge and take inventory of the vegetables, and then open the book and see what I can make. We end up eating a lot more healthy veggies and low-fat sauces because we use this book. I got it as a gift and I have to say, it's just about the most-used book in the kitchen. It happens to make a very nice present in a basket with some boxes of fancy pasta, a few decorative vegetables and a couple of nice, woven towels in an Italian theme. And a bottle of red wine, too.
Rating:
Summary: I'd give it six stars if I could!
Review: Simply the best cookbook I own. This is what Italian cooking is all about. Simple, unpretentious, delicious, and fun. This is how Italian families eat. I love the "peasant" dishes. There are too many fantastic recipes to mention just one. The penne and cauliflower is one that stands out as unusual and FANTASTIC! My wife and I just pick out a recipe, put on some music, light some candles, pour some chianti, and make a date of it. I cannot say enough about this book. If you're considering a cookbook on Italian food, DON'T HESITATE! Thank you Diane Seed.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY perfect
Review: So many authentic recipes...Most SO SIMPLE. The key is to use the best ingredients. I make a pasta dish from this book at least once a week. It is my most used cookbook!
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY perfect
Review: So many authentic recipes...Most SO SIMPLE. The key is to use the best ingredients. I make a pasta dish from this book at least once a week. It is my most used cookbook!
Rating:
Summary: Diane Seed's Top 100 pasta sauces
Review: This book is easy to follow and has great tasting authentic regional Itialian recipies. This cookbook is one of the best and most used in my kitchen.
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