La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy Hardcover – Illustrated, October 20, 2009

This thing is HUGE!! I think it’s literally every recipe from every region in Italy ever made. Ha. Definitely an encyclopedia. Very interesting to see the different variations of similar dishes in the different regions. Be prepared, this is one hefty book, but it has absolutely everything. Definitely recommend!

While I am not 100% satisfied, this is a great concoction of recipes organized in a new way. What I'm missing is at least some yummy images (there is absolutely none of any kind) and an alphabetical index in addition to the 2 provided. As is, there is an index by region and another by main ingredient, but if you're after just something italian, you can't simply go to an index in an alphabetical order. I'm in a process of compiling my own as it is going to be invaluable.As a big plus, with a ton of recipes there is no BS included, just plain, concise description of ingredients and how it goes together. But it also means that this is not for a beginning cook, yet I think everyone can count on finding a cooking inspiration here.I love the fresh layout as well. This is just about as different as it gets in cookbooks......As a side note: another reviewer cannot find classic "bolognese sauce" I can't either, which only adds to my above point of the need for an alphabetical index. I actually don't think there is "bolognese" in this one. While considered by many a classic, it has been the most bastardized meat sauce in culinary history. As such it may no longer fall within the fine Italian cuisine category. I'm just guessing here, but truth be told someone ought to go to jail for letting this sauce become a sour point of Italian cuisine

This is NOT a recipe book from a Food Network cook. There are no stories about how the author spent ages developing this recipe while their little ones scampered underfoot at their country estate. This is an encyclopaedia of Italian cookery. The authors went region by region, and asked for what dishes the locals made, and the variations thereof. There aren't a ton of super precise measurements, probably because nobody who's been cooking a long time needs to give exact proportions. You and I both know that if a recipe calls for a couple pounds of tomatoes, you're probably going to be using like 3 TB - 1/4 cup of oil to fry off your onions and garlic. You're probably going to throw in a handful of chopped/torn basil leaves.Like I said. This isn't your typical hold you by the hand type of book. If you wanted that, I'd suggest Marcella Hazon's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. There, she explains exactly what each ingredient is, and how much of it you should be using. However, if you want to know exactly what it is that makes a regional dish unique from how other regions make it, this is where you'd turn. You start noticing subtle differences in how each region treats various proteins, dairy, eggs, and grains. This is like if you wanted to preserve the classic recipes as they are made in each region, before they get made uniform for general consumption. To be honest, this could probably be a multi part series, with one giant tome just covering each region. This is an impressive effort, and I can spend ages flipping through the tome, and finding little pieces of history sprinkled through. A must have for anyone trying to reach that experience they had when wandering through the Italian country side.

My 30-year old foodie son was thrilled with this cookbook, even though it was not on his list. He and his wife travel extensively, and love Italian food. My sons loves the challenge of preparing new recipes, and this cookbook is chock-full of the yummiest of them all!A word of caution: this is NOT a cookbook for beginners: it is quite technical. This is proven by the lack of pictures, lol. I guess those foodie/chef types KNOW what any given recipe is supposed to look like when it's done, lol.Again, this cookbook is a HUGE hit with my son!

Have not tried the recipes yet, but look like what I grew up with having a Sicilian father from NewJersey who made the best Italian food so did my grandmother

Big book with tons of recipes. Just wish there were a few pics so you know how things are supposed to turn out.

This book is a treasure. I do not love Italian food when I go to restaurants, but, growing up I had a friend whose mom was Italian and made traditional dishes that were so good. This book has some great pasta, sauce, salad and soup recipes that have turned out delicious. The way the book is organized / laid out is very useful. It’s so big it’s hard to lay open the book to follow the recipe but this mean there are so many recipes in the book! Most of the recipes are easy to follow with not too many ingredients.

I have purchased numerous copies!!!! And even found the book in Italian while in Italy and purchased a few of those as well. The Academy of Cuisine, an Italian Governmental Department, sent 5,000 representatives to the far reaches of Italyto obtain and record those recipes handed down for countless generations. So as to preserve a heritage of the many regions throughout Italy