Food and Memories of Abruzzo: The Pastoral Land

Rating:
Summary: An excellent source for regional recipes.
Review: Many of the recipes are the same ones which were brought from the region of Abruzzo, Italy, by my family. How good it is to know that these recipes continue to be popular and to have the variations which the author has included in the book. Many family members have requested copies of the book to pass the recipes down to their sons and daughters and grandchildren. It goes without saying that the recipes are good because we have made many of them through the years. The accompanying anecdotes add much to the flavor of the book. Kudos to Anna Teresa Callen.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting mix or recipes and stories
Review: The book is fun to read, and the author does an excellent job in relating her early family life in Italy to the recipes. Even if you don't use many of the recipes, it might be worth purchasing for the stories. However, the book loses one star because of its lack of photos. Some of the recipes can be difficult to prepare without knowing what the end product should look like. The author loses another star for raising my hackle in the way she expresses some of her opinions. In particular, she rants about all pasta salads, calling them "unsuitable." I completely disagree. If you are looking for a book on very traditional Abruzzesi food, proudly untouched by the last several decades, this is a good book. The author also writes about other regions a bit, which I thought was a nice touch.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting mix or recipes and stories
Review: The book is fun to read, and the author does an excellent job in relating her early family life in Italy to the recipes. Even if you don't use many of the recipes, it might be worth purchasing for the stories. However, the book loses one star because of its lack of photos. Some of the recipes can be difficult to prepare without knowing what the end product should look like. The author loses another star for raising my hackle in the way she expresses some of her opinions. In particular, she rants about all pasta salads, calling them "unsuitable." I completely disagree. If you are looking for a book on very traditional Abruzzesi food, proudly untouched by the last several decades, this is a good book. The author also writes about other regions a bit, which I thought was a nice touch.

Rating:
Summary: The Undiscovered Paesa!
Review: There is so little available in English on the foods and customs of this isolated region of Italy, but even if things were otherwise, this would be a wonderful book. I bought it just before touring the Abruzzi for the first time this summer, and loved it so much after I got back, I bought a copy for my mother as a gift. It brings back the aromatic pleasures of lamb roasting over the wood coals in the family "forno," conjuring dishes to feed the soul just as much as the body. The Abruzzo has yielded it's rustic charms only reluctantly over the centuries, but it's been well worth the wait.

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Summary: Liked it so much I bought a copy for friend w/ Abruzzo roots
Review: This excellent book brought back memories of a very pleasant trip to Abruzzo where we enjoyed food cooked precisely like that in the book. We were accompanied by friends whose parents were born in Abruzzo (Pescara and Lettomannopello). We liked the book so much that we have bought a copy for our Abruzzo friends.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Selection If You Enjoy Regional Italian Food
Review: This is a very well written book, and Ms. Callen has shared much more than just regional recipes. Although the book is packed full of traditional recipes from the Abbruzzo region, by reading this book you also get feel for Abruzzo and it's people. As the owner of my own culinary website Italian Food Forever, and someone who collects cookbooks as a hobby, I enjoy reading about the regional specialties found in Italy, and found this book a real treasure. The recipes I tried were easy to follow, and for the most part called for easy to find ingredients. My only disappointment lay in the fact there were no food photos. Apart from a a few family illustrations, I found the lack of images to be a downfall. The recipes all sounded so delicious, photos of them would have been a great asset. If you enjoy regional Italian cuisine, this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: An Essential Book for Italian Food Lovers
Review: This is a wonderful book. The recipes are clear, they work and everyone loves them. Of all the books I consult, the recipes in this one are the ones my guests always beg to eat and to know the source of. Flavors are clear and clean and authentic. Most ingredients are easy to find and even novice cooks will not find most recipes too difficult. I have taken classes with Anna Teresa, and the book conveys her warmth, good humor and love of cooking much as she does in class. This book is a real winner!

Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This is a wonderful collection of classic Italian cooking, and much the way my grandmother used to cook. It includes recipes for things she used to make but that I hadn't been able to find previously. There are perhaps a couple of hundred recipes, and all of them are easy to follow. The instructions don't carry on for pages, which is good, because I don't like recipes that are so lengthy I get overwhelmed. The author, who was raised in Abruzzi, includes insight with every recipe, answering questions about Italian cooking and cooking in general. For instance, I could never understand how my earlier attempts at making pasta failed, until I read about the difference in egg sizes; now my pasta is great. The book is interspersed with accounts of her childhood in Italy, adding a more personal feel to it. Maybe the only drawback for the uninitiated cook is that there are no pictures of the recipes to entice you, but don't let that stop you.

Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This is a wonderful collection of classic Italian cooking, and much the way my grandmother used to cook. It includes recipes for things she used to make but that I hadn't been able to find previously. There are perhaps a couple of hundred recipes, and all of them are easy to follow. The instructions don't carry on for pages, which is good, because I don't like recipes that are so lengthy I get overwhelmed. The author, who was raised in Abruzzi, includes insight with every recipe, answering questions about Italian cooking and cooking in general. For instance, I could never understand how my earlier attempts at making pasta failed, until I read about the difference in egg sizes; now my pasta is great. The book is interspersed with accounts of her childhood in Italy, adding a more personal feel to it. Maybe the only drawback for the uninitiated cook is that there are no pictures of the recipes to entice you, but don't let that stop you.