Big Love Cooking is more than a cookbook. It was a trip down memory lane for me. Joey Campanaro's tales of family life and city life in Philadelphia brought me back to my days of growing up in Boston in the 70's and early 80's. I enjoyed the stories so much!!! Then there's the food. Mamma Mia!!! It includes so many mouth-watering recipes with beautiful full color photos. The hardest part is what to make first. Veal Marsala, Chicken Cacciatore, Little Owl Crispy Chicken, Campanaro Family Lasagna (take me away!!), Eggplant Parmesan, a triple batch of Spicy Mexican Style Roasted Corn (starting to drool), If you can't make it to The Little Owl, this is the very next best thing. I was given an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley. Enjoyed it so much!

I requested this book thinking the recipes would feed a crowd. Maybe I misread the promotional copy? Maybe I was confused by "Big Love" -- thinking of the TV show and large family meals. I was surprised when most recipes were scaled to serve 4-6. I've made note of a few to try -- always a good sign when looking at a cookbook.

A great cookbook! I love to read cookbooks, and this one definitely makes me hungry. Interesting recipes, mouth-watering photos (although I wish there were more of them), and interesting anecdotes and background info on the recipes. Yesterday, I made the Italian Wedding Soup yesterday, which was superb! I look forward to making many of the other dishes highlighted here.

Just looking at the pictures in this book, made me hungry. Illustrations were beautiful, The recipes were easy to follow, and the stories that accompany them made the book delightful.. For all the Italians, and New Yorkers, wherever they are, should get a copy of this. Makes you want to invite the family over for a big dinner.

The dishes presented are tantalizing, but the book, at least in digital form, is difficult to use. The author continually references other recipes on other pages, but there are no quick links to get there. The same problem exists with the table of contents, which at least on the Pocketbooks app, doesn’t have links, forcing the reader to thumb through a hundred pages to find things. Aside from links there are other problems. Heart of palm is described as being cut lengthwise instead of crosswise as pictured. Photos are too few with many recipes having none at all. Also forcing readers to go back to page 18 from deep in the book is ridiculous, especially when there are no page numbers, and when the item on the alleged page 18 is found, it consists of salt and two types of pepper that could have been included as part of the recipe. The book has potential, but is woefully short of a reference book that the consumer can use to successfully replicate dishes. Instead it is another celebrity cookbook that remains more self/ congratulatory than useful.

I love the idea of a cookbook focused on shareable comfort food. Big Love Cooking did not disappoint! It has great photography, straightforward recipes, and ingredients that are easy to find. I will definitely be adding a lot of these recipes to my rotation and will be buying a physical copy for future use.

Delicious sounding family style recipes that seem reasonably easy to prepare. Accompanied by beautifully presented photos of the food, but also Campanaro’s family and his Little Owl restaurant. I suspect I would have given five ⭐️ but the advanced copy (pdf) didn’t have all the story pages printed so I could read.

I enjoyed reading about the inspiration for the dishes featured in this cookbook and all the recipes were written in a, understandable manner. I liked the layout and the photos - I am a sucker for photos so I think there should be more photos, but the photos that are included are gorgeously staged. I am definitely thinking about buying a copy on release day.

I've never been to the Little Owl restaurant, but this charming cookbook makes me feel like I'm part of the neighborhood. There's a lot of recipes to elevate your home Italian cooking game. I like cookbooks that are filled with personal stories and background information, and this has just the right balance of stories and recipes. The pictures are great, too. There's a lot of recipes I want to try from this book - Rosie Bova's Fennel Biscotti recipe has me wanting to finally try baking biscotti. This is a really enjoyable cookbook that I'm sure I'll be revisiting for a long time to come.

Gorgeous cookbook with wonderful, mouthwatering recipes. 'Big Love Cooking' uses whole ingredients for delicious home cooking. Some of the recipes are a little burdensome for everyday cooking, but these would be wonderful if you're looking to entertain or enjoy a nicer meal. I especially loved the stunning photography and learning about the author's life and family. I strongly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGallery, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I LOVE this volume of very doable recipes. It truly is comfort food and the ingredients are readily available.

The photographs made me salivate.

If you love cooking, this is the book for you.

I don't often recommend cookbooks for Reader's Advisory or Library Reads lists because, well, they're cookbooks and usually not all that interesting to fully read.

Big Love Cooking is different.

Joey Campanaro has produced a cookbook that is fun to read as well as full of delicious recipes. Reading this is like being invited to the warmth, noise, and chaotic love of the Campanaro Sunday table. I married into a family much like Campanaro's where food traditions reign supreme. The family has changed in the 35 years I've been with my husband, but the food remains the same.

There is a great balance of story and instruction here, with many of the recipes containing little asides from Campanaro regarding how to prepare the food. It makes you feel as though he's right there next to you and encouraging you to try a little of this, or taste a little of that. This approach is entertaining for the experienced cook, but also very helpful for the new cook who may not have the confidence to deviate from the recipe. Campanaro "Big Love" approach just might help that new cook become more confident.

The personal stories of Campanaro's family are entertaining and endearing. I think every Italian family has a set of "Uncle Frankie's wine glasses" (and an Uncle Frankie!). For my family, they were individual hourglass-shaped glasses that originally held little shrimp cocktails. My father-in-law would fill them with his homemade wine and pass them out every holiday. And the "Old-School Salit" is my mother-in-law 100% - I *still* haven't mastered the ratio of oil and vinegar poured directly on the "salit."

The recipes, though, are the stars here. The "Little Owl Gravy Meatball Sliders" and "Sesame Seed Breadsticks" are amazing, and the directions for the "Sunday Gravy" are authentic and easy to follow. What really makes this book shine, though, are the recipes from Campanaro's Little Owl restaurant. Horseradish Crusted Cod, Asparagus Homefries, Crab Cakes with Beefsteak Tomatoes, Little Owl Pork Chop, and so many more.

This will make a lovely gift for the cook in your life. Highly recommended.

Oh my I spent a lazy 3 hours on the sofa reading this delicious cookbook, Joey Campanaro’s life story is also included in the book. He describes beautifully his childhood in NYC, his Mona’s (grandmother) influence and inspiration on his life and how it shaped him to become an amazing chef. I have an hearing to visit Little Owl even though I live in Ireland..lol.. I adored this book so much that I have pre-order the hard copy and I just can’t wait to be able to sit and reread the hard copy form... this book has inspired me to finally take the step and make my own pasta something I have wanted to do for a long time but didn’t have the confidence.

This book is just full of wonderful food to share.  There are chapters on Brunch, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, Pasta, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Sunday Supper, and Desserts. 


There are many photos inside that provide a sense of the origins of the recipes for this author. There are also photos of the food that will make readers hungry.   The author is inspired by his New York City based, West Village, restaurant Little Owl.  His story is told in the introduction. 


The book opens with a chapter that suggests the things that one might want to have in a pantry.  And then, come the recipes.  Fontina Sausage Biscuits, anyone?  How about a Warm Radicchio, Pancetta and Gorgonzola Salad or one with Spinach, Avocado and Strawberries with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing? There are so many other recipes in this book as well, seventy-five in all.  Just to name a few; Baked Eggplant Parmesan, Baked Ricotta Crespelle and My Mother's Ziti in the pasta section.  Keep paging through until you get to desserts like Birthday Rum Cake and Philly Cheesecake with Blueberry Agave Sauce.


This is a very personal feeling cookbook that will leave readers hungry!  Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

If anything, the title says it all: these recipes are full of love, and all the food is satisfying, shareable, and the definition of comfort food. I adore all of these recipes and am SO excited to try these out!

A lovely cookbook with a nice variety of recipes, including many that are vegetarian friendly. It is also a pleasure to sit and read on it's own. Underneath all the food is a love letter to the author's childhood and family, and to South Philadelphia where he was raised. Each recipe is preceded by a short history of the food or a story of it's relevance to the author. The recipes themselves are written in a conversational style, with steps broken down into short paragraphs, but not numbered or bulleted, which might be a challenge for some readers. As an Italian-American, many of the dishes are familiar to me, but with alterations that I hadn't considered or are not the way my family makes it. I'm excited to continue to try these and see how they match up to my family's traditions. Just don't tell my nonna.

This is a well written, thought out cookbook. All the recipes are amazing and very easy to follow. I cook mostly vegetarian meals but after looking at some of these dishes I think I'll be changing it up!

Caution: Don't read while hungry, you may leave drool marks on the pages!

Thank you so much for the advanced copy.

Fabulous! Full of recipes that I can actually attempt to make! I also love the humerus bits in between some of the recipes, and also the fact that the ingredients are listed on the left and the recipe and it’s entirety is included on the right… Very helpful when I am cooking.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you ever visit my house you may notice that I have a big bookshelf full of cookbooks in my kitchen. I love browsing through cookbooks and bookmarking recipes that I want to try. And occasionally, I even get around to trying them. I love cookbooks with easy to follow recipes and great photography.

Big Love Cooking by Joey Campanaro definitely fits the bill. This cook book contains 75 recipes inspired by the cuisine at his popular NYC restaurant Little Owl. There are many Italian recipes in this book for anything from brunch fare to soup and salad, veggies, main courses and desserts. I probably bookmarked around 20 recipes on my first go through the book and added a few ingredients to my online shopping cart so I can try out some of them. Up first we will try the snickerdoodles with salted caramel and the halibut with pesto.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for approachable yet elevated Italian fare inspiration.

Big Love Cooking by Joey Campanaro is an amazing cookbook by the owner of Little Owl Restaurant in New York City. The book provides 75 recipes, including the pork chop and parmesan butter beans, one of Little Owl's most popular dishes. There is a recipe for the spice mix Campanaro uses in many of Little Owl's dishes, as well as brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes. What I loved most are the stories that accompany the recipes. Campanaro tells us all about his family, life, and restaurant as he teaches us how to make delicious food.

Many of the recipes are complicated, but I feel will be worth the effort and will make me a more experienced cook. I will definitely buy a hard copy of this one.

I received a digital copy from the publishers via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.