California Pizza Kitchen Pasta, Salads, Soups, And Sides

As a regular customer of California Pizza Kitchen (and a huge fan of their Kung Pao Spaghetti), I was amazed that the founders had decided to document at least some of their recipes in a cookbook. It seemed counter to conventional wisdom to allow people to make at home something they would otherwise pay for in the restaurant; but I felt that this magnanimous gesture should be rewarded. I paid full hardcover price for both cookbooks when they were released, and I bought both again (used) as gifts to my children.The Kung Pao spaghetti has become a family favorite, even though most of us order pizzas when in the restaurant. It has an exotic and unexpected flavor profile (as you get with a sauce made from soy sauce, dry sherry, and garlic chili paste), and serving it over pasta (we use linguini instead of spaghetti so that it catches more of the sauce) makes it an interesting fusion of Asian, Italian, and American cuisines. And it is all made possible because of these books.These make great gifts for fans of interesting and varied recipes that have mass appeal. I highly recommend them, and please keep going to the restaurants to express your appreciation for their extraordinary gift.

I was disappointed to find the pasta recipe for Chicken Piccata was not included in the book. We had this dish while we were in Honolulu recently, and really liked it very much. I wanted to make it myself, here, back in Australia. This recipe was a key factor in my purchasing the book..This is the first CPK recipe I have bought. I do like the very colourful presentation. Only other drawback is the very small printing, not really Seniors friendly. Price was very competitive. I will be using the book frequently, as it is different from the usual pastas etc. It will become well thumbed.

This cook book has simple to follow recipes that result in great tasting dishes. My son loves to eat at CPK and I thought I would but the cook book to allow me to cook his favorite dishes at home. If you like to eat at CPK you will love the results of this cook book.

Funny thing - I saw this cookbook while at a fire station, about to enjoy a wonderfully home cooked meal served up by a firefighter chef. I picked it up and while looking at the recipes, the firefighter cook mentioned that it is his favorite cookbook. From the look of the wrinkled pages, I believed him! From there we had a very lively conversation about his favorite recipes from the book and all about how he has cooked many meals from it at the fire house. I made a note of that and ordered the book. I have tried many of the recipes that he recommended and I can say that I was not disappointed. Very easy to cook with delicious results. This book is also beautifully illustrated with a photograph of each recipe.

Love the book

Ordered for Wedding gift to go with The pizza oven. I have had these books for years and love them.!

We absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE CPK, and especially their spinach artichoke dip! We bought this book in hopes that we could find a good pizza recipe, but what we got instead was the most awesome spinach dip recipe on the planet! My wife and I make this dip every Christmas season for 2 different parties that we host, and there is almost NEVER any left at the end of the night! I can't say the recipe is easy, but it is worth the work! To be completely honest, we haven't tried many other recipes in this book, but hey, it's CPK.... we know it will be delicious!

I ordered this because I don't make pizza, but do really miss California Pizza Kitchen and the two cookbooks I had with their recipes burned with our home. I thought there would be more soup recipes... adored their soups... oh well.

some good recipies