this is a good book for the person who is getting into cooking or who wants to do something quick. For the Italian person who grew up in an Italian home and learned to cook in the kitchen from their relatives from recipes handed down from generation to generation not so much.

Very informative book. Full of a lot of useful information. This book will also be very useful for future reference

There were some interesting recipes in this book with interesting stories and commentary from the author and instructions on how to make some authentic italian dishes. Although it says that it's for beginners, I feel that you do need some basic cooking experience to be able to attempt some of these recipes.

This was the perfect cooking book for me since Italian is my favorite. It truly was helpful and easy to understand. You can truly be a beginner and cook these recipes. I highly recommend

Italian Cooking for Beginners jumps right into the recipes, which is a refreshing change of pace from a lot of cookbooks that have lengthy introductions and information regarding different tools and techniques. The book was full of recipes that spanned categories from starters, first and second courses, sides, desserts and snacks. Each section included a good selection of traditional Italian recipes that were accompanied by beautiful pictures.

I often take topic specific cooking classes and this book is a much less expensive way to master new skills. I love books that focus on beginners so learning new things is less overwhelming. Great book.

I was very confused by this cookbook, cause it tries to achieve two distinctive things in one and does not deliver on either. In this review, I am not judging the quality of the recipes, but more the general idea behind the book. Italian food is popular for a reason, one of them being the easy level of skill it takes to prepare some delicious dishes. So it makes sense to create a beginner’s guide, but it felt very half-hearted. I think it lacks details and little explanation behind the recipes or the way a typical Italian menu works. It could benefit from putting the names of the recipes in Italian, with maybe an English translation in a smaller font beneath it. It would add on authenticity and not feel like a cookbook for children. I assume the main author who chose the recipes is authentic Italian, but the recipes chosen make no sense. It is just a random selection of favourite dishes of a person who is not the main focus of the book, as it is a general beginner’s guide to Italian cuisine. So I would like it more if it was generic, but an authentic selection of the most famous Italian dishes explained in a simple way or a selection of somebody famous enough to produce a cookbook of their favourite recipes.


Thank you Netgalley UK for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review.

Italian food has been one of the major loves of my life for decades now. I can't remember a time when pizza or tortellini weren't staples in my cooking. But there is a lot more to Italian cooking and a lot of that can be intimidating. So a cookbook like Prandoni's, which lays out all the basics, is a major boon!

Not only are the recipes in this book labeled on difficulty, but all the instructions are also extremely straightforward and easy to follow. The book is structured in the traditional way, ie by following the usual form of a menu, but with extra sections for vegetables and the beloved second main, but I did like that there were suggestions on how to pair things together in a menu at the end. While I wouldn't create a three-course menu for myself, it is good inspiration for when you might want to host or impress someone. I'm definitely going to give the Potato Croquettes and Peas with Italian Ham a try soon, that sounds exactly up my alley!

While a lot of the recipes are labour-intensive, they're laid out in a way that makes them feel accessible nonetheless. I also liked that there were little fun facts and tidbits on Italy and its culture throughout the cookbook. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this cookbook to anyone wanting to get closer to authentic Italian cooking!

Unfortunately this recipe book just isnt for me. I think if I got it, it would sit on the shelf and not be used much. You've really got to be passionate about Italian food to get your money's worth out of the book. I have a passing interest in Italian food. I requested the book off Netgalley as I thought it would have recipe's that either would ignite my passion for italian food or recipe's I'd heard of and wanted to cook. The only recipe that fitted that category was Potato Gnocchi, it didnt even have a basic homemade pasta recipe which I'd expected and hoped for. Surely homemade pasta is exactly what beginners in Italian cooking should be learning?

I think if you're looking to buy this book, you need to go into the shop and flick through the book briefly to see if there's enough recipes you'd want to cook to make it worth while.

I'm definitely going to have to own this one, the recipes look amazing and I can't wait to try them all!

Anna Prandoni’s Italian Cooking for Beginners is a delicious and easy-to-follow collection of authentic recipes that will take you right to Italy. I love the bright and beautiful pictures as well as the variety of approachable dishes.

The book is divided into chapters on Starters; First Course; Vegetables; Second Course; Desserts; and Snacks. There’s also a helpful Menus section which organises the book’s recipes into preset meals according to the special occasion and mood. There are appetizers like the famous Cheese Focaccia while classic first courses include Potato Gnocchi and Spaghetti Carbonara. The book’s vegetable dishes feature Potato Croquettes and Peas with Italian Ham. Second courses are concentrated on meat and fish with recipes for Milanese Breaded Veal Chop, Saltimbocca Alla Romana (a thinly sliced veal and prosciutto concoction), and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. The dessert section stars the famous Tiramisu and Heavenly Cake (a simple breakfast cake with lemons and potato starch). Finally, the Snacks section includes Apple Fritters, the traditional Bruschetta, and a favorite Italian street food Panelle (Chickpea Fritters).

Prandoni’s writing is approachable and friendly. I do think the writing would have benefited from some editing to make it easier to read and understand. The book could have been better organized as the “snacks” chapter could have been absorbed into the others. The recipes are clearly-detailed and easy-to-follow. Each recipe begins with a brief write-up featuring helpful tips, tasting notes, ingredient swaps, some history of the dish, and serving suggestions. There are also helpful difficulty levels, preparation times, and cooking times. I also learned about Prandoni’s family history and their eating habits. I loved learning tidbits about Italian culture and history but I wish the information was more in-depth.

Although several of the recipes are time or labour-intensive, all the dishes in this book are approachable for amateur cooks. I like that the majority of the ingredients are affordable and accessible pantry staples like potatoes, tomatoes, and bread. Even the specialty ingredients like the many different Italian cheeses, saffron threads, and pine nuts are still somewhat inexpensive and easy to find. I definitely appreciate Prandoni showcasing fresh and natural ingredients and her dedication to producing food from scratch.

I like the book’s clean and pretty layout. There are also little artistic renderings of things like fruits, vegetables, and animals on each page. These pictures add a nice touch of cuteness and hominess. I particularly love that every single recipe is accompanied by a beautiful full-colour and full-page picture.



🍝🍝🍝🍝 out of 5 bowls of spaghetti!

Great recipes however, as the title states, it was for beginners as in those who have never really cooked. I was expecting a bit more but it had solid Italian recipes for those to start dipping their toe into the world of Italian cuisine!

Thanks to NetGalley and New Shoe Press for the digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book includes many different recipes from famous first courses to deserts from Italy. The book is not long, so there is a limited number of each courses presented here, it could be a little longer.

The recipes have easy to follow instructions and gorgeous pictures.

I recommend this for any fan of the Italian cuisine.

This is a book for those wanting very basic recipes for Italian cooking. It includes classics such as meatballs, spaghetti carbonara and Tiramisu.

The book is divided into 6 sections of recipes:
- Starters
- First Course
- Vegetables
- Second Course
- Desserts
- Snacks

There are many recipes to choose from for someone starting out in Italian Cooking. Each recipe comes with a colour photograph, sometimes of the finished dish and other times of the ingredients instead. The ingredients are in both imperial and metric measurements.

At the rear of the book, there are a dozen or so pages so you can write your own recipes down and there are also suggestions for menus.

Overall, it's an interesting book, nothing too hard to make for a beginner. However, the times are lacking for rice dishes - would be more helpful for a beginner to have more than 'when the rice is cooked'!

I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Well I expected a lot more from this. A brief cookbook such as this doesn't have the time to give us pointless double-page spreads of needless imagery, but here it does. Ooh, some anonymous buildings with no relevance. Wow, some stuffed pasta being sold. Oh, they have markets in Italy? As a result we get a paucity of dishes, and no mistake, to the extent that the entire cuisine of Italy's starters becomes reduced to three. And one of them's a home-made pizza.

That said, this will successfully get you eating Italian – a Milanese risotto so drenched in butter it looks more like scrambled eggs, a simple saltimbocca veal pan-fry, tomatoes with just about anything – but you won't get nearly enough of it. And it still is flawed – the wittering that introduces all three starters mentions one that we don't get the recipe to, the tiramisu pictured is nothing like that in the recipe, and so on. So when you get to the countless blank pages for our own Italian recipes, you just have to laugh. We're the beginners, I thought – you're supposed to be the ones giving us the recipes. Mind you, for a beginners' book, a lot of these are rated 'medium' difficulty. Not one to hasten out for.

I love the variety of recipes available in this book. The recipes are easy to follow and are not too hard to make

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a nice book with easy Italian recipes, step by step directions, and beautiful photos.
I love eating Pasta and I am looking forward to exploring more of these recipes.

Thank you Netgalley, Quart Publishing Group- Quarry, New Shoe Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Italian Cooking for Beginners: Simple and Easy Recipes for Weeknights, Parties, Holidays, and More by Anna Prandoni. The layout is appealing, and the pictures are gorgeous. Each recipe has easy to follow instructions and healthy ingredients. I made the Basil Frittata, and it was so simple, flavorful, and filling. There is also a suggested menu section and a recipe note card section. Love this cookbook.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

I very much enjoy what I was able to read of this book. My computer crashed and I can no longer download this book, and that's a bummer. I feel like I can't give it a full review. But I did enjoy what I saw.

Oh, how lucky I was to receive this book as an ARC from NetGalley! We have been fortunate to have an Italian exchange student live with us for a year, and absolutely loved the Italian meals she made for us.
Now, with the help of this great little book, I will be able to continue to enjoy meals from Giulia's homeland. Super easy to understand, easy to follow, beautifully photographed. And so many great recipes to choose from!
This one is going on the shelf in the kitchen to be used over and over again!