The Fine Art of Italian Cookin

Simply put, this book is pretty much my cooking bible. I have made many of the recipes, and they have all been astoundingly fabulous. Do yourself a favor, and get yourself a copy immediately, and be sure to try some of the recipes that call for home made fresh pasta (the duck lasagna in particular). They can take a while, but are well worth the time and effort.

While not exactly for the beginner, this book will allow anyone with some basic cooking skills to create absolutely marvelous dishes. Be forewarned that many of these recipes take quite a bit of time. You might be better off starting with simpler recipes (such as risotto or sformati) and working up to a more complex one, like the stuffed whole boned chicken.I have made many of the recipes in this book over the last several years. It has just the right amount of detail on technique--I refer to it from time to time to clarify techniques that are missing in other cookbooks. I cannot imagine a kitchen library without it.

My main quibble with this book is it's title. It isn't really a book about "Italian" cuisine as a whole, but about Florentine cuisine with a generous salute to cooking from other regions and cities. A solid majority of the recipes and comments are, self-admittedly, about Florentine cuisine. Having said that, this is still an excellent book brimming with recipes. As with most of Bugialli's books the recipes occasionally require difficult to find ingredients (potato starch, bitter almonds, etc.) usually without suggesting an acceptable compromise for US cooks. On the whole, however, the recipes are generally very accessible to US cooks. And, so far, every one I've tried has been a success. It's not a book for neophyte cooks, as there are times when certain techniques are assumed.There are no full color photos as in some of Mr. Bugialli's other books. THERE ARE many simple, basic Florentine and Italian recipes that help you understand that much Italian cooking is based on simplicity, good ingredients, wonderful flavors, and a certain refinement, elegance and finesse that is the essence of Italian cooking.I personally find all the information from the Florentine perspective very interesting. I plan on doing several dinner parties based on purely Florentine recipes, just because this book has inspired me to do so.