However, I found that Ms. Capalbo serves up a really useful book with this offering. THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN COOKBOOK is a nice survey of the various regional styles of italian cooking, and I've found it has continued to be helpful to me even though I've progressed from a novice to more of a journeyman in the kitchen. When I first received the book, it inspired me to try new things (making frittatas, making small, traditional pizzas from scratch with toppings I'd never heard of, like carmelized onions with olives). Over the years several of Capalbo's recipes have become old friends, and now serve as starting points for my own interpretations. This book is as helpful to me now (though in a different way) as it was when Mom gave it to me seven years ago.

THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN COOKBOOK is well-organized. The author presents sections on ingredients, appetizers, salads, soups, pastas, pizzas, main courses, desserts and specialties. Amanda Heywood's delicious photographs perfectly complement Capalbo's simple step-by-step instructions, which I've found really helps in a couple of ways. First, flipping through the book helps provide inspiration when I just can't think of what to cook. (I have to stress how wonderfully Heywood's masterful photography conveys *exactly* how the food will end up looking - I swear you can almost smell it while looking at the pictures. I realize now that Ms. Heywood's delightful photos are the standard by which I judge all cookbook photography nowadays.) Second, the incremental photographs of the various cooking steps really take away a novice's fear of failure. Between Capalbo's simple instructions and Heywood's excellent photographs, the recipes wind up being relatively idiot-proof. (Capalbo assumes you know some basics about cooking with the ingredients - like what type of oil to use and how hot to make the oil when cooking the garlic, but even if you don't know these basics you'll soon figure them out.)

So THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN COOKBOOK is not *really* the ultimate italian cookbook (not sure if there is such a thing - it would have to be a whole lot bigger than this), but it's a darn good resource. It's a great jumping-off point, and it remains handy and inspiring as one's skills improve. This is THE cookbook I give to friends who know nothing about italian cooking and want to learn . . . and more experienced visitors always spend a lot of time turning the pages of my copy. It's hard to go wrong with this one.

18 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Excellent recipes!  Oct 13, 1998

This is by far the best Italian cookbook that I have ever bought. I have tried dozens of the recipes in this book and have enjoyed each one immensely. Most of the recipes are quite simple, the ingredients are easy to find, and the end products are delicious. I've used this cookbook at least twice per week since I bought it over a year ago--this is one that will never collect dust on your shelf! I've also given this book as a gift to several friends and family members & they have all loved it as well. Very simply put-- a must have for any fan of Italian cookery.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Great pictures, good mix of classic and new recipes  Sep 12, 1998

I've made about a dozen of the recipes in this book, and they've all come out great. I really like that the book supplies recipes for old favorites, and provides recipes and ideas for new combinations as well. The full color pictures are great, and would make this book a great gift for anyone who likes to cook.

10 of 12 found the following review helpful:

One of my most used cookbooks  Jan 07, 2008
By Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector"
For starters, I am not a purist. If Carla Capalbo and her editor want to call this "The Ultimate Italian Cookbook" and it really isn't, fine and dandy. If they want to use non-Italian products in an Italian recipe, fine. As I am not Italian, I may do the same. What I do insist upon and insist upon strongly is that the recipes are successful. Indeedy, they are!

My favorite dish to prepare for myself for now and later (from the freezer) and for family and friends is Eggplant Parmesan (p. 48). I alter the recipe, but I am saying: This is as good as fine restaurant dining. Serve with pasta, crusty garlic bread, salad, and a good merlot, and you've got a winner! Even my brother, a meat and potatoes guy, loves this!

How about Asparagus with Eggs (p. 45). Serve this on a Japanese plate as a salad with a crisp white (sauvignon blanc). The eggs are cooked sunny side up. A stunner combination! Or perhaps Fennel and Orange Salad (p. 71)? This one I prepare often because it is so tasty and quick: Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil (p. 86). There are so many pasta recipes: Spaghetti with Bacon and Onion (love it), Spaghetti with Olives and Capers (I omit the capers and have added tuna from a can-- I'm not a purist). There is a Penne with Tuna and Mozzarella (100) that does not have tomatoes and is tasty. Two more fab dishes are Fettuccine with Ham and Cream and Tagliatelle with Smoked Salmon. Serve each with fresh parmesan and coarse black pepper. Tonight I cooked the Herbed Burgers with a simple tomato sauce (I altered the recipe), sauted spinach in olive oil and garlic (from a Patricia Cornwell novel), fresh corn on the cob, and cherry tomatoes.

After the recipes which have always been successful, I love the pictures. What is on the cover is what is inside--full page pictures of the finished dish, including pictures of the cooking steps. This is a big, beautiful book arranged by tools and ingredients to have on hand, then by types of foods. Of course, there is always the index of recipes in the back.

This book is worth every penny I paid for it. I have had it two years and have merely begun making the 200 recipes inside. I look forward to a long relationship (and toasts with a glass of wine).

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Finally have our own copy!  Mar 31, 2009
By Andy W.
Our local library has a copy of this cookbook and we've taken it out many times. I think it is our single favorite cookbook. For whatever reason the all the recipes we've tried seem to translate well into delicious food on the table. Not all cookbooks do this. The recipes and ingredients are very straightforward. We have a friend who is a first-generation Italian; we had her and her husband over for dinner and served them the saltimbocca, polenta and chick pea soup from this cookbook. She was genuinely enthusiastic and asked for the recipes. She said the soup was the closest thing she'd had to her mother's. That was the ultimate compliment. The book is filled with color photographs that are very helpful. So now we've finally purchased our own copy and don't have to worry about splattering the library's copy with olive oil.

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