Book Review: The Italian Family Kitchen by Eva Santaguida; Harper Alexander

Rating: 4 Stars

As someone who has a passion for cooking, especially when it comes to Italian cuisine, I was thrilled to dive into The Italian Family Kitchen: Authentic Recipes That Celebrate Homestyle Italian Cooking by Eva Santaguida and Harper Alexander. This book is like a warm hug from a beloved Italian grandmother, filled with the secrets of authentic home cooking that have been lovingly passed down through generations.

The authors, known for their engaging Pasta Grammar YouTube channel, do an incredible job of distilling their extensive knowledge into this accessible cookbook. With 100 comforting recipes, it takes you on a culinary journey through Italy's rich landscape. From fried appetizers and fresh pasta to mouthwatering desserts, the book covers it all.

One of the standout features of the introduction is its comprehensive guide on making different types of pasta, including how to use a pasta machine. As someone who's always been a bit intimidated by homemade pasta, I found this section particularly helpful. It sets the stage for what’s to come, making even the trickiest recipes feel approachable.

As I flipped through the subsequent chapters, I was delighted to see the organization by course. Each section flows seamlessly into the next—from Fritti (fried appetizers) and Pane e Pizza (bread and pizza) to Dolce (desserts)—with each recipe promising to deliver authentic Italian flavors right in your own kitchen.

The recipes are straightforward, and the methods are clearly explained. You can almost hear the authors’ voices guiding you through each step. And let's not forget about the stunning photography throughout the book; it beautifully complements the text, although I did find myself wishing for a few more images of the completed dishes. A picture can say a thousand words, after all!

The layout of The Italian Family Kitchen is another win. It strikes a great balance between being informative and visually appealing. Each recipe feels like an invitation to gather friends and family around the table, which is exactly what Italian cooking is all about.

Overall, I would highly recommend this cookbook to anyone looking to expand their culinary repertoire with authentic Italian dishes. Whether you're an experienced cook or just starting out, this book is sure to inspire you to get into the kitchen and create something delicious. It would also make a perfect gift for any cooking enthusiast’s library! So grab your apron and get ready to bring a taste of Italy into your home—after all, good food is meant to be shared.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

What a wonderfully thought-out cookbook with delicious Italian food some of which I've never heard of. Traditional recipes, helpful introductions, basic bread and pasta making. An all around good cookbook to have.

Such a beautiful cook book. I love pasta dishes and this book has a lot of those! I wish there were more pictures showing step-by-step processes and at least one photo per dish. Right now some of the dishes do not have any photos.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm Italian on my Dad's side, when my Nannie (Great Grandma) moved to New York from Italy. I'm related to her through my Papa and then my Dad, so a lot of the traditional family recipes were lost to me because they weren't passed down through the men. So while I'm close to my Great Aunt and Dad's sisters who graciously passed down what recipes and such they had to me, I'm always eager to expand my repertoire through further research, and seeing what other Italian families make. I want to keep that part of the family tradition alive. This book immediately starts out addressing the gap of Italian and American "food language" which I feel even greater as an American of Italian descent. And as someone in communications, I love the parallels drawn between grammar and the "language" of pasta and Italian Food. It's more than just a cookbook, it's a interesting insight and analysis of food as culture beyond the plate. They spend the first 30 pages making sure you're well versed in the basics before diving into all the mouth watering recipes. I love that everything also has the traditional name as I feel like that's something Americans really mix up. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm excited to make literally everything in this book. I'm in Wisconsin now, which means snowed in winters, and that I can really dive into trying everything in this book. I can't wait!

This is SUCH a good cookbook. It has a great range of recipes and they are all well set out and easy to follow, accompanied by mouthwatering images.

Looking forward to trying some of the recipes in this book. They look well written and easy to follow, though would probably look a little daunting ting if you are not used to cooking at home. I liked the little tips for the recipes to make them more authentically Italian. I'm now looking into buying a pizza stone or a pizza oven so that we can make more authentic homemade pizzas.

A beautiful and delightful collection of authentic Italian recipes. It includes all of the classic dishes from pizza, pasta, calzone, breads, risotto, and desserts. I was pleasantly surprised by some unique (to me) recipes such as Butternut Squash Risotto, Baked Chicken, and the Pine Nut Custard Pie. Kudos to Eva Santaguida and Harper Alexander for capturing the heart and soul of the Italian kitchen. I can't wait to see this book on bookshelves! Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Beautifully written and illustrated Italian cookbook. The recipes are very traditional with pictures and instructions well laid out and easy to follow.

Fantastic book of Italian recipes! Great photos, lots of pasta recipes, and divided into sections by course, this book is a feast for the eyes. This book feels authenticlly Italian, not American Italian.

I can't wait to make some of these recipes! Thank you Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point | Rock Point for the ARC!

I am always looking for new cookbooks and new recipes and Italian is a favorite of mine. When I saw this book I knew I needed to look through it and see what it had to offer. This cookbook is full of authentic Italian recipes that look delicious. I especially loved the beginning of the book where it lays out how to make fresh pasta and gnocchi. I will definitely be trying the gnocchi. The layout of this cookbook was nice and the imagery was a perfect complement to the recipes. I do wish there were more pictures of the completed dishes since I love seeing what the dish would look like before making it. Overall this is a great authentic Italian cookbook with a good selection of recipes. I definitely need to try a few of these.

This was a fun cookbook to look through! It is definitely filled with authentic Italian recipes, so I would recommend it to more experienced cooks. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

After an introductory section that includes how to make various kinds of pasta, sauce, and frying, recipes are in chapters on: Fritti (Fried Appetizers & Street Foods), Bread & Pizza, Ragu, Pasta, Riso (Rice), Secondo (Second Courses), Cotorno (Side Dishes), and Dolce (Desserts). There were nice full color photos, but not for all the recipes (maybe 60 - 70%). It's a good book of Italian recipes. I don't know that there are any in here that are unique in that I had not seen a version of them before, but this is a nice compliation with quite a few chapters.

I absolutely loved this book!

The initial sections provide an excellent foundation for home cooks, which I found incredibly helpful. I also appreciated the inclusion of photos with most recipes. When I tried the pesto with beans, it was a delightful surprise. The chapters on creating variations of tomato sauce were also enjoyable. This book would make a fantastic gift for anyone passionate about cooking, not just those interested in Italian cuisine. It deserves a five-star rating!

Thanks to Net Galley, Eva Santaguida, Harper Alexander, and Quarto Publishing Group for this incredible opportunity. I am genuinely impressed by this book.



Five stars

Traditional Italian dishes that had my mouth watering. Well organized and written. Everything from pasta to soup to breads. All the Italian staples.

As someone who loves to cook, bake and try new things, this was a delightful approach to Italian. It starts with a detailed introduction on how food in Italy is an event, with its own rules. It explains how Italian meals are broken down into multiple courses consisting of of pane, antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, frutta and dolce. The book then goes above and beyond to truly set you up for a functional Italian kitchen. There's an entire segment on Italian pantry items in depth, including sourcing proper olive oils, cheeses, meat, flours, spices, and the like. It continues to a breakdown of what kitchen tools to have. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was only missing one item, a vegetable mill!

From there we get an explanation on how to make fresh egg pasta in detail, including images, expanding onto semolina, then going as far as to use a pasta machine. It continues into how to cook pasta, broken down into segments for the water, the salt, and the pasta itself. Finishing with timing, tasting, draining, and putting it all together to serve. As someone who already makes fresh pasta, I loved to see how concise the instructions are.

The amount of detail is honestly astounding. They even include how to make a basic tomato sauce and a basic cream sauce, and how to deep fry at home. This is set up in a way where even the most basic of home cooks could tumble their way through and make a beautiful meal, and build off of that.

The book is arranged in the a similar way as the Italian menu is previously explained, and the simplicity and logic in it is so satisfying. I honestly can't find anything I'd change or wish for in reading this - except for more recipes!

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to flex their kitchen prowess, no matter the skillset!

Very happy to be able to have an arc of a cookbook. I love Italian recipes and often find myself searching for those as I love the ingredients used which have flavor. I tried multiple recipes from this book, all were very tasty and I made some adjustments for my prefrence. I do prefer cookbooks with more photos, as for me, I do like the visual aspect which tends to make me want to cook it more. There was a lot of text, so I do wish there was more photos for reference. It had many good recipes, some that are still on my list to try

Great cook book for comfort Italian food!

I tried a couple of the pasta recipes, the tiramisu and cookies.
Chef's kiss! Absolutely delicious!

This was such a cool cookbook full of really unique and delicious recipes! I was excited at the prospect of reading this cookbook to familiarize myself with authentic Italian recipes and I was not disappointed in the slightest. The recipes feature tasty creations that I plan on trying out when I gather the ingredients to make these dishes. I like how the cookbook was organized and how easy the recipes are to follow. I think a lot of people will enjoy reading through this cookbook and trying out the various recipes for authentic Italian dishes including pasta and breads and pizzas.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

This book is stunning and the recipes look delicious. Everything from scratch and everything authentic. I can’t wait to try the Ragu Alla Genovese and the sweet and sour butternut squash. Also going to talk my husband into baking me some of these breads 😍

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love food and I love cooking so I always love a good recipe book and this one was very interesting with its authentic recipes and wonderful photos.
I enjoyed working out what recipe I would try first and found the information on stocking the pantry was informative too. I have never made homemade pasta and I will certainly be trying it now.

A great book of true Italian recipes that also talks about food and culture which brings it all together. I am hanging to go try a few recipes.. Which one first. I think some homemade pasta to get me started.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point for giving me the opportunity to read and revie this book.