Ciao Italia Slow and Easy: Casseroles, Braises, Lasagne, and Stews from an Italian Kitchen Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just returned from a vacation in Italy. This book so reminds me of my trip! I really like that Mary Ann uses simple, fresh, every day meats, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients in her recipes, just like most Italians I remember doing. I really wanted to replicate some of the recipes I tasted in Italy, but didn't want a cookbook that called for items that I can't find in my local grocery store. This book is perfect for me.
Most of the recipes are suited perfectly to family style dining, but are tasty enough to serve company. The "do ahead" features of the recipes make the dishes suited perfectly for today's life style. I am know this cookbook is going to be one of my favorites.

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Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)I only enjoy cooking a meal if it is easy enough that I can enjoy the process and the end results. Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites has recipes for hearty Italian cusine that are inexpensive and easy to prepare. She begins the cookbook with a wonderful introduction to the basic ingredients to keep on hand. Of course, five ingredients for the pantry, five for the refrigerator, and five for the freezer. Each recipe section begins with a clever introduction and five tips for that food type. For example, the Pasta section begins with her introduction, "Pasta Police", an amusing comment on incorporating pasta in your diet in a healthy way.
My first-to-try recipes include Zuppa di Paradiso (Paradise Soup), Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs, Coal Miners' - Style Spaghetti and Tortine di Gianduja e Banana (Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Banana Tartlets). Mmmm- Nutella is one of the ingredients!

As in my other cookbook reviews, I always consider the ingredients needed and whether I will be able to easily find them in my small-town area. There were a few cheeses that I am not familiar with, but even in the two small towns around here, there is a good cheese selection. I don't think I will have any problem finding them.

This is definitely a great gift for a bridal shower gift, Christmas gift, or an addition to your own cookbook collection. A great everyday book!


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Ciao Italia Pronto: 30-Minute Recipes from an Italian Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)"Ciao Italia Pronto!" is a better cookbook in theory than in practice.
Italian food? Check! Thirty minute meals? Check! Sounds like just the thing to make a nice meal and still have some time between getting home from work and bedtime. That would be a false assumption.
American kitchens are certainly more sophisticated since the days when Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee owned the Italian cooking franchise. However, many of the ingredients called for in these recipes are still on the exotic side in my corner grocery. Sure, we have farmers markets, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, even an Italian specialty market or two but, if I have to fight traffic gridlock after work to go destination shopping for ingredients, it defeats the purpose of the Thirty Minute meal. The author recognizes this problem and provides a four page directory of mail order houses to obtain some of the required ingredients. This immediately makes about 40 percent of these recipes more trouble than they're worth.
If you do manage to find the ingredients, know that these recipes are neither simple, nor fast.
The recipe for "Lazy Lasagne" requires eight ingredients, and bakes for 30-35 minutes. That's cooking time only, and does NOT include prep time. Oh, and the tomato sauce for the lasagne is a recipe on a separate page. The sauce requires an additional eight ingredients and 20 minutes of cooking time.
Another main dish, "Fresh Tuna with Artichoke, Capers and Chickpeas," requires 12 ingredient and we're advised to make it early in the day, or a day ahead.
Some of the dishes are unfamiliar and pictures of the prepared food would have been a big help. There are only eight full page color pictures located in the center of the book, one appetizer, one soup, two main dishes, two salads, and two desserts.
If you're interested in this book for quick, convenient recipes, look elsewhere. This is far more complicated and time consuming than the advertised "....30 Minute Recipes from an Italian Kitchen." Not recommended.

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Debbie Travis' Painted House Kitchens and Baths: More than 50 Innovative Projects for an Exciting New Look at Any Budget Review

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(More customer reviews)I highly recommend this book. Directions are clear and concise. You have LOTS of choices of innovative projects that are adaptable for many different lifestyles. Good for young, young at heart AND older people who want something different in homes.

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Kitchens and bathrooms need not be the most expensive rooms in the house to decorate. Debbie Travis presents imaginative solutions for these vital rooms, whether you have a small budget that will cover only a quick facelift or you're starting from scratch.Returning with her trademark do-it-yourself Painted House techniques, Debbie Travis decorates these hardworking rooms using the affordable and ever-stylish power of paint, plust a host of mateials now available for home interiors, such as concrete, hot rolled steel, corrugated tin, tinted plastic, and more. Each makeover is accompanied by Debbie's helpful step-by-step instructions and stunning before and after shots. Discover how easily a kitchen or bathroom can be transformed with Debbie's magic touch.

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