Valerie Bertinelli’s “Valerie’s Home Cooking” is the kind of cookbook that feels like a warm hug—except the hug comes with a side of gooey cheese and maybe a little happy crying over pasta. This isn’t one of those intimidating, chef-y books that requires a culinary degree or the patience of a saint. Nope, this is comfort food with a little flair, the kind of meals you actually want to cook when life has been a lot and only a homemade pot pie can fix it. Valerie’s charm shines through every page, making it feel less like a cookbook and more like she’s hanging out in the kitchen, swapping stories, and casually dropping life advice between stirring sauces.

The recipes strike that sweet balance of nostalgic and fresh—there’s plenty of love for classic comfort food, but with enough twists to keep things interesting. Think: slow-roasted beef that tastes like your childhood, but with a glaze that makes you feel slightly fancier than usual. The book leans into family-style cooking, with dishes designed for gathering people around the table (or, let’s be real, standing at the kitchen counter “taste-testing” straight from the pan). It’s clear that food is tied to Valerie’s memories, and she brings so much heart into every dish, proving that sometimes, the best meals come from a place of love—and maybe a little butter.

At a solid 4 stars, this is a book that delivers exactly what it promises: comforting, approachable recipes with personality to match. The only reason it doesn’t get a full five? Some of the dishes lean a little too classic, and a few recipes feel like they could use an extra pinch of… something. But if you’re looking for a cookbook that makes dinner feel like an episode of “Valerie’s Home Cooking” (minus the studio lights and camera crew), this one’s a keeper. Just be warned—once you start making her mac and cheese, people will start showing up unannounced.

Delicious meals you will want to make over and over again!

I was so happy to receive this book to read and review. I have been a fan of Valerie Bertinelli's since she was on the show "One Day at a Time". I have watched Valerie's cooking show on the Food Network and new her cookbook would be very good.
This cookbook does not disappoint!! So far I have tried 3 recipes-- Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, Holiday Applesauce Cake and Slow-Cooker Red Beans and Rice. The recipes were delicious and easy to make. I will definitely be making them again and adding them to my recipe file.
Even if you try a couple of the recipes you will very happy with this cookbook. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of this cookbook for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I will definitely be buying copies for my friends.

I loved the pictures and the recipes were very well done also. My biggest complaint and why I rated it 2 stars was because you can find every recipe on the foodnetwork website for free. Why pay for a book when you can find it on the web for free.

Valerie Bertinelli's Valerie's Home Cooking promises recipes for family and friends. I found many recipes that my family and friends would enjoy as well as some that I would love. The all-in-one breakfast smoothie is one that I would not want to share. I am excited to try my hand at homemade tater tots. I was disappointed that so many of the recipes were for alcoholic drinks. Overall this is a good and useful cookbook. I would actually make many of the recipes rather than just read the cookbook!

I love cooking and I am always on the lookout for new cookbooks. I have watched Valerie's show and TV and am always struck by how open and friendly she seems as well as how amazing her food always looks. This book did not disappoint me at all. The recipes all sounded amazing and I can't even find the words to describe how gorgeous the pictures were. I tried a few recipes out and hands down my favorite would have to be the Lobster BLTs. They were just so delicious. I loved how the chapters were organized and honestly felt that anyone could pick this book up and follow along without needing any special cooking skills.

Valerie’s Home Cooking is an absolutely gorgeous, warm, and inviting cookbook with mouthwatering & delicious looking recipes. I love Valerie Bertinelli and own all of her other books & cookbooks. I will be purchasing this one as well to add to my personal cookbook collection and can hardly wait to actually hold it in my hands. I particularly like this one as it feels so personal and I really enjoyed all the stories behind each recipe. It has such beautiful looking pictures, wonderful everyday recipes and easy-to-follow steps. Easy and simple is my way of cooking! Thank you so much to Valerie Bertinelli, Time Inc. Books / Oxmoor House Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review. Highly recommend!

Great cookbook and I love her show as well. Pick this one up. No weird ingredients or complicated instructions.

I was a big fan of television reruns when I was a kid. I watched everything I could, so you know I was glued to One Day at a Time whenever it was on. There were lots about the show that felt very real to me, and I loved the characters. But when Valerie Bertinelli started appearing on the Food Network, I admit I was dubious. Then I watched her show. Watching even just one episode, you can see that her passion for food is genuine. Her Italian cooking chops come from her mother, and her love of fresh ingredients is pure California cuisine. So when I found out she had a cookbook coming out, I knew I had to see it. 

Valerie's Home Cooking does not disappoint. The subtitle is "More Than 100 Delicious Recipes to Share with Friends and Family," but paging through it seemed like so many more than that. With recipes for breakfast, midday, and dinner as well as cocktails, snacks, and desserts, it seemed like the recipes just keep on coming, especially if you're a fan of elevated comfort food.

With dishes like Breakfast Biscuit Sammies, Bacon-Caramel Scuffins with Caramel Clotted Cream (they're a half muffin/half scone invention of hers), Lobster BLTs, Quinoa Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing, Watermelon Margaritas, Buttery Manhattans, Soft Pretzels with Chocolate-Hazelnut Dip, Glazed Short Rib Stacks, Tom's Espresso Rib-Eye, Four-Cheese Crab Mac 'n' Cheese, Mom's Risotto (Sorta), BLT Pasta, Homemade Baked Tater Tots, S'mores Popcorn, and Lemon Icebox Cake, Bertinelli serves up a wide variety of meal and snack ideas that are perfect for dinner at home or for a dinner party. 

Much like the most popular characters she's played, Valerie Bertinelli's cooking is warm, down-to-earth, playfully charming, and wholesome (but not too wholesome--she did win the heart of the rock star, after all). If you're a fan of her show, then you can see this as the natural extension of that--her ease with ingredients, her love of lemon, her use of fresh herbs from her garden; all that is here. But if you don't watch cooking shows, you won't be missing anything as you page through this book. It has all the information you need, along with lots of beautiful photographs, so you too can feel right at home in her kitchen. Because that is one of her most compelling features--making you feel right at home, whether she's in Indianapolis, Cleveland, or her home kitchen in California. 



Galleys for Valerie's Home Cooking were provided by Time, Inc. Books (Oxmoor House Books) through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Valerie has a way of pulling you in with her stories. This book has beautiful pictures and recipes.

I have been watching Bertinelli's show and I love that she has combined some of her most delicious recipes in a cookbook. Loaded with amazingly easy recipes, that don't require hours and hours or cooking, not requiring expensive items that are impossible to find, there is nothing to dislike about this cookbook

I am going to purchase the hard copy of this book so that I can benefit from all the luscious pictures.

Valerie's Home Cooking by Valerie Bertinelli is an excellent collection of over 100 recipes. Recipes are detailed and easy to follow. Book has beautiful photographs and features charming comments from Ms. Bertinelli. Many recipes are classics but modernized by unique twists. I particularly loved Quick Rotisserie Chicken Gumbo, which was so easy and delicious, the Lobster BLTs, which was such a brilliant combination of two of my all-time favorites and the simple but so tasty Ham, Apple and Cheddar sliders . You can not miss with this book that offers a great variety of recipes for all occasions. From breakfast, lunch and dinner, to appetizers, drinks and desserts. This book covers them all and does it very well. I am posting an honest review after reading an ARC copy of this book.

This is a beautifully warm and delightfully yummy cookbook. I love that Valerie Bertinelli made this a personal cookbook; inviting you into her home with pictures of it and the stories behind each recipe and why she choose them. Beautiful pictures, wonderful recipes and easy-to-follow steps.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion of the book. This book felt like a sit down meal with a friend while swapping recipes. Where do I begin??? I loved the personal insights to Valerie's life, suggestions, drinks chapter, how it was categorized, etc... I made Egg-in-a-Bagel, Berry Kir Royale, Rosemary & Pepper Crackers all memorable!!! This is the first cookbook where I want to make every recipe in it! This cookbook is money well spent and Valerie Bertinelli couldn't be more warm, welcoming, and wonderful than she already is.

ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a very interesting book.
Her recipes were easy to follow.
Some of the ingredients were not familiar to me, but it is easy to adjust.
I liked the design of the book + the layout.
I would recommend this book.

More than 100 recipes to cook in home from famous author Valerie

Stunning photos of yummy recipes are fantastic.
I really like the sidebars like Variation, Make ahead and Cooking tips.
The recipes, which cover all meals plus cocktails, desserts & snacks are simple and nicely explained.
The measurement index (by ingredient & type) is a bonus.
It would have been perfect if there was nutritional information with the recipes.

4☆ Scrumptious and Wholesome a delight to read.

This is the first cookbook I have read by Valerie Bertinelli and I was pleasantly surprised how lovely and homely this book was.

The recipies were very wholesome and warming.
The pictures were gorgeous and made my tummy rumble.

Valerie has really thought about her recipies and you can clearly see she is passionate about her food.

Each chapter has been cleverly written starting from breakfast, right through to sweet treats and desserts.

My only criticism is the Ingredients Metric measurements.
The Ingredients are measured in Cups, Ounces and Spoons. I find this frustrating as I would rather have oz and grams or just cups.
This is really just my personal gripe as I find it can really confuse bakers/cooks especially if new to cooking.

Although at the back of the book there is a Metric conversion chart which is very handy.

I do like that Valerie has considered her readers and has included little sub ingredient notes to help readers find certain products or what they can use as a substitute which I think is extremely useful.
For example if you cannot find Mascarpone Cheese or Italian Cream Cheese, you can substitute it with regular cream cheese.

She has also included little sub notes for Equipment and Trick Technique tips to help the reader understand the different methods used and what equipment will be needed.
All these little tips help the reader feel more at ease with attempting the recipies.
So no matter what your skill level you should be able to attempt it.


Here are a few sample recipes included in the book so you can get a feel of the scrumptious delights included....

-Bacon- caramel Scuffins with Caramel Clotted Cream
- sausage and pepper sliders
- Ratatouille and Romaine Salad with Balsamic vinaigrette
-Watermelon Margarita
-Rosemary and Pepper Crackers
-Soft Pretzels with Chocolate and Hazelnut dip
-Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
-Bacon- wrapped jalapeno shrimp with Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce
-California Marinated Flatiron Steaks
-Chicken with Lemon Wine Sauce
-Moms Risotto
-Slow-Cooker Sweet & Sour Chicken
-Spicy Arrabiata Penne
-Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
-Quick Rotisserie Chicken Gumbo
-Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
-Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms with Chile-Lemon Salt
-Root Vegetable Gratin
-Rissole Potatoes
-Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzels
-Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Mini Zeppoles with Marsala Sauce
-Homemade Cannoli
-Strawberry Love Cake
-Cherry Cheesecake Pizza Pie
-Lemon-Raspberry Panna Cotta

So as you can see a great variety of mouthwateringly delicious recipies.

I really did enjoy reading this beautiful cookbook.
I really hope you will enjoy it too as there really is something inside for every taste.

A great book or present to add to any food lovers collection.

Ideal for readers who love food, want to try something different, love cooking/baking books, enjoy beautifully illustrated books that will leave your tummy rumbling.

Celebrity cookbook including many beautiful photos of author's home as well as finished recipes.
Appears to be a mix of California-type cuisine as well as authors home favorites.
I didn't get to read in great detail as I received a complimentary PDF copy from netgalley and was unable to access this from my phone or kindle which is how I do most of my reading.
I did however like most of the recipes that I read in full and she has a great selection including breakfast and desserts.