This is a fantastic authentic Italian cookbook with gorgeous photos for nearly every recipe. The author tells family stories and Italian cooking history throughout. The recipes are traditional with whole food ingredients like heavy cream, fresh herbs and homemade (easy) ricotta, but they are modern in calling for things like canned tomatoes and lots of meat (which the author points out was a rare treat originally for Italian peasants). There is no nutritional information and I usually dock a star for that, but it’s such a great cookbook otherwise that I let it go. While this is opulent food, it doesn’t tend to call for a lot of ingredients and dishes generally come together fairly quickly. There are definitely special occasion recipes as well.

I read a temporary digital loan of this cookbook for review.

"Lucinda Scala Quinn cooks classic Italian-American recipes, and along the way shares their origin and gives credit to the incredible women who developed our cherished Italian dishes."

This is a wonderful book that showcases the Italian-American dishes that have become popular all around the world, and the women who developed these dishes as frugal immigrant housewives. There's lots of great advice, from time management, to designating helpers, to keeping the kitchen orderly as you cook, in case you didn't have an Italian nonna to teach you!

There are soups, sauces, main dishes, baked dinners, fish, salads, street food, and desserts that showcase the Italian-American experience. And the cookies! Yum. A delicious addition to anyone who loves a good sauce.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.