Review: Too Basic for Experts, Too Lacking for Italian Beginners
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2012
When first looking at this I was quite excited.  However, I found several major issues that kept this being a four.When looking for a cookbook that I want to keep, I look for several things. Does the book describe the types of ingredients that are being used? Are the amounts and directions specific? Are there any personal anecdotes about the recipes being shown? Are there pictures to show me how it should look? Does the recipe give a preparation time? Is the layout of the recipe easy to follow and preferably on one page. For the kindle there is an additional thing I look for. Is there a clickable table of contents? None of these are deal breakers. However, the more of the above questions that are answered in yes , the better chance of me purchasing it.1.  This book has a bread section and a pizza section yet does not include a pizza dough recipe. (If there is one and I missed it please let me know)2.  If you are going to say Italian Cuisine, please don't have an ingredient called "Italian Seasoning", it's kind of like saying curry powder for Indian.  Or give a recipe at the beginning of the book where we can make our own "Italian Seasoning", like many do for garam masala.3.  Several of the recipes call for store bought ingredients like tortellini which is a stuffed pasta.  Wouldn't it be better to also include a home made version and then say if in a pinch purchase in the refrigerator section?4.  What is marscapone? Fontina Cheese (is there a substitute?), Caponata? Bagna Cauda, Involtini, butter pastry dough (puff pastry?)?  I shouldn't have to google to find out what I'd like to make.5.  There is no description of the Italian Dishes, several which are unfamiliar, there is also not a line for number of servings or preparation time.6.  Most of the book is recipes only.7.  Each chapter has one photo on the first page.  Which isn't overly helpful as the name of the dish isn't mentioned.8.  There is a clickable TOC at the END of the book.9.  The recipes do look good and if you know what they are, this book would be easy to use.10. At the beginning of the book there is a link to the author's blog that if you "Like" his FB page AND post it to your page will allow you to download his Italian desert Book for Free.Even though I had a few issues, for many this would, especially in western countries be a nice book to have, if you have a supplier of fresh tortellini, ciabatta and other Italian breads, international cheeses.If you don't have a good International Section or store, this is not for you.