Rating: 
Summary: Incredible Recipes..........
Review: ...........my in-laws bought me this cookbook for my birthday recently and I started using it immediately! Since then, both my mother and sister have purchased a copy and fallen in love as well. This cookbook is simply filled with great, no-fail recipes! The Penne a la Vodka has just the right amount of creaminess, everyone fought over the Pignoli Nut Cookies, the Rigatoni Woodsman Style was new to me and wonderful, the Chickpea and Tuna Salad was easy and tasty, my in-laws loved the Baked Sole Oreganata, my nephews loved the Spaghetti and Meatballs, and the Ziti with Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Cheese is not to be forgotten! There are so many marvelous looking recipes in this cookbook that I have about half the pages marked! On the menu this weekend is Egg- Battered Scallopine with Lemon Sauce! This cookbook has innumerable recipes in each chapter: antipasti, soups, pasta & risotto, pizza, entrees (meats, vegetable and seafood), contorni and desserts & coffee. So far, each recipe has been straightforward and easy to follow. Recipes that require a bit more "technique" include photos of Lidia herself preparing the dish.Lidia also really personalizes this cookbook, sharing her history in the wonderful world of cooking, along with many photos of herself and her family. I truly believe that I will enjoy this cookbook immensely for the rest of my life!
Rating:
Summary: Italian cooking to please everyone
Review: A friend of mine gave me this cookbook with the caveat that I make dinner the next weekend based on it. Since everyone hangs around while I cook, I made one long cooking time dish as an appetizer for the vultures to eat while I put together the rest of the meal. I made 4 dishes from the book. The first one was the pork spareribs with honey vinegar glaze. That was the dish I made for the pre-dinner nibbles. Excellent. When everyone first tried it there was that silence one only hears where the only sound is everyone chewing and all conversation has stopped. The shrimp pieces in a scampi sauce over toasted bread was the formal appetizer. Everyone said, I should have made it the dinner with some pasta and were disappointed that there weren't any extras. Raves all around. The sauce is the scampi sauce that you wish you would get when you go out to the local Italian place, not too much garlic, not too much lemon and a unbroken butter sauce wtih chives. Very easy to make. Scallopine Piccatta (chicken for those who would not eat the veal dish below). Again, a full bodied bright lemon-butter flavor without the garlic and chive notes of the scampi. Excellent egg flavor batter, you actually appear to poach the meat in the fat. It was enjoyed by everyone. Very easy to make. Scallopine Saltimboca (veal) An delightful presentation of veal with proscuitto and whole sage leaves in a white wine, and stock sauce mounted with butter. No leftovers to be had, great contrasts in flavors. Lidia gives a wonderful technique to attach the proscuitto and sage leaves to the scallopine. I was able to not use toothpicks to hold the 'sandwich' together when I put the sage leaves under the proscuitto (as suggested). I think however, that one or two sage leaves would need to be added to the sauce to give it the same taste as when the sage is on top of the proscuitto. 4 recipes and 4 hits. Yes, I know that 3 are similar dishes, I don't have an cooking assistant and wanted to limit the ingredients and cooking times. My only caution are the following things. My friends' stove is not commercial grade or even very high BTU, 7,000 I think on what her burners describe as 'high-speed.' Lidia's instructions also require that any stocks to be added to a dish be at temperature, that is at least at a simmer or low boil which most people do not do (just open that can of Swanson or College Inn, I believe). I found that if you don't at the least have the stock at temperature, you can not finish the dishes in the times quoted in the book. The sauces are full of flavor, but you are reducing CUPS of stock and wine. The sauces will simply not reduce to the right thickness in a few minutes unless you get the time savings from the heated stock (and get yourself a ladle that measures a 1/2 cup as an aid). Luckily the meats were sitting on the side (after being sauted) while the sauces were reducing so no big deal. The shrimp dish was almost overcooked because the sauce didn't reduce fast enough (I was forced to remove the shrimp to let the sauce reduce and then add them back in). First glance at some of the recipes appear to have a lot of fat, such as in the scallopine dishes, the saute of the meat is in a lot of fat, but that is tossed out to make the sauces which have less with 4-6 tablespoons of butter divided among the 6-8 servings that most of the recipes are setup for; perfect for a gathering or a large family. If you have ever seen the PBS TV series that goes with this book, you will know most of the additional storyline and dialog included, a very good read with excellent tasty recipes.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Gem--From Cookbook to Heirloom
Review: Every so often a cookbook comes along with recipes that not only inspire the reader, but also provide such logical yet intuitive preparations that he or she can envision the final product. As an Italian American who has taken up the heritage of reproducing my grandmother's great dishes, this book not only has recipes that I remember from my childhood, but many that I still make today. Sunday Pasta Dinner with pork in the gravy? It's there. Bracciole and meatballs--the best I've ever made. I just finished a bowl of Pasta e Fagiole-- my grandmother's recipe--and it's in this book.
To sum up: forget writing out all those family recipes to pass on to your children. Buy them the book and annotate it personally. You can't do better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Reference Book Available On Italian American Cuisine
Review: Everyone knows that Lidia Bastianich knows Italian cuisine, but is this new cookbook of hers something you would want to have in your Italian cookbook collection? This cookbook was created from her popular television show, and in it Lidia shares the type of recipes she first found when arriving in America as a young woman. The recipes are pretty typical of basic Italian American cuisine, and you will find such standards as "Rigatoni alla Boscaiola", and "Bistecca alla Pizzaiola" throughout the book. I did not find any recipe in this book that I have not heard of before, although some were prepared a little differently than I am used to. Almost all of these recipes would be right at home on my Italian Mother-In-Law's kitchen table, and could easily be reproduced by a cook with minimal experience. Peppered throughout the book are instructions with photographs of some basic kitchen skills that a novice cook would find very helpful. The photographs, although not plentiful enough for my taste are very attractive and will cause you to start planning your next Italian meal. Something I did find in this book was that all ingredients listed would be available to everyone which was not so in Lidia's previous books. In my opinion, although I did not find anything new or unique in Lidia's new book, if you enjoy Italian American food than this is one of the best references you will find available at this time.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the money and more
Review: For New Years we were dazzled by LB's recipe for Scampi. She is a great cook and excellent teacher. This book reflects both of these qualities. We note that the one sour customer review above was posted elswhere on a competing site. Lidia's recipes and approach to cooking are delicious.
Rating:
Summary: Lidia is the BEST
Review: I am a longtime fan of Lidia's and always try to catch her TV program. She's a serious teacher who doesn't need to rely on flashiness or gimmicks to make her show interesting. Her style is warm and you feel as if you're in the kitchen with a beloved aunt who is passing on her favorite recipes and memories.
Her recipes are straightforward and easy to follow and the results are stellar. I have never been disappointed. This is the book I find myself turning to time and time again, especially when entertaining.
If you love Italian cuisine, this is sure to become one of your favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book if you want the best of Italy
Review: I am an Italian American who grew up helping my mother cook. While I was a professional chef for many years and have maintained my interest in food after I moved on to a non-cooking career, I lost my touch with the foods of my youth. Lidia has given all my childhood memories back to me and then some. The recipes are authentic because they turn out perfectly and they taste like I remember them. Best of all is their utter simplicity. Lidia's talent comes from combining a few very fresh ingredients using proper technique into a mouth watering dish. Anyone who has seen the show knows the passion that Lidia has for food. Just watching her enjoy the dish she has prepared can make you hungry. Well, this passion spills over to the book in every recipe and in every description or cooks note in the book. If you love Italian American food and want to get as close to authentic as you can get, then buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book if you want the best of Italy
Review: I am an Italian American who grew up helping my mother cook. While I was a professional chef for many years and have maintained my interest in food after I moved on to a non-cooking career, I lost my touch with the foods of my youth. Lidia has given all my childhood memories back to me and then some. The recipes are authentic because they turn out perfectly and they taste like I remember them. Best of all is their utter simplicity. Lidia's talent comes from combining a few very fresh ingredients using proper technique into a mouth watering dish. Anyone who has seen the show knows the passion that Lidia has for food. Just watching her enjoy the dish she has prepared can make you hungry. Well, this passion spills over to the book in every recipe and in every description or cooks note in the book. If you love Italian American food and want to get as close to authentic as you can get, then buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Culinary Treasure
Review: I just can't say enough about this book and how much it's changed my cooking style. To anyone familiar with Lidia's PBS show, you know already that she is a culinary treasure. But for those of you who are not familiar with Lidia and just want a wonderful cookbook devoid of hard-to-find and rarely used ingredients, look no more. One of Lidia's basic concepts is that cooking be an inspiring experience and that you enjoy what you are doing and appreciate the simple ingredients that make delicious meals. I have found that after following several recipes, I have become a better, more thoughtful cook, no matter what I'm making. And that is what she truly wants (I met her at a booksigning a year ago and had the honor of speaking with her about this). One suggestion: Purchase one of those plexi-glass cookbook holder/protectors, because trust me - you will be using this quite a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of good recipes, but unfortunately no pictures.
Review: I know it may sound childish, but I really wish this book has color photos of some of the dishes. I've been a fan of Lidia's PBS TV show and there are plenty of good recipes and info in the cookbook, but part of making a cookbook interesting is to show how beautiful recipes can be. Because of that i'm only giving it 3 stars. Hopefully her new cookbook will include more color.
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