Recipes from an Italian Summer (Cookery) [Hardcover]

'Recipes from an Italian Summer' originates from 'Il cucchiaio d'argento estate', first published in 2005, and 'Il cucchiaio d'argento' - 'The Silver Spoon' - a general Italian kitchen master reference, originally published, in Italian, in 1950.

A drawing of fresh tomatoes adorns the front cover and dust-jacket of this new UK edition, with a sticker advising:-

* 'Quintessential summer recipes from Italy, newly collected by the Silver Spoon kitchen'

Measuring in around 18.25 cm x 27.5 cm, this is a chunky tome of 432 matt pages split over main chapters:-

* Picnics (pg 15 - 63)
* Salads (pg 64 - 101)
* Barbecues (pg 103 -129)
* Light Lunches and Suppers (pg 131 - 197)
* Summer Entertaining (pg 199 - 311)
* Desserts (pg 313 - 371)
* Ice Creams and Drinks (pg 373 - 411)

sandwiched between an introduction, with informative sections on Italian Food Festivals & a seasonal Food Calendar and a recipe list & main index, with the page numbers of illustrated dishes italicised.
The book is completed with a tomato red ribbon marker to keep the place!

The chapters open in a simple 2-page spread with a picture on the left hand side and relevant narrative on the right.
The recipes are simply laid out with the English title (if applicable) and the Italian equivalent (in colour depending on chapter) at the very top, with the preparation & cooking times, the number of servings and the list/s of ingredients (metric & imperial) underneath on the left, with the method on the right.

The font throughout is relatively basic and that left hand detail is sometimes hard to read in a poor light.
Often, recipes are more than one to a page, some span more than one page.
Recommended garnishes are included, where applicable.

The ingredients are not always that precise, e.g. 4 fish fillets or 1 small potato, 2 aubergines.....etc.....which assumes a basic culinary experience and knowledge, and, although there is a reasonable amount of photography throughout, including on-location shots and some ingredients, I think it is fair to say that those of the finished dishes are on the light side, by comparison.
However, bearing in mind the original publication date that this book is based on - it is from the era of words speaking louder than pictures, in the kitchen!
The dishes which are illustrated are simply mouth-watering and are clustered in one or two-page spreads following the relevant recipes.
Illustrated dishes usefully have the relevant page number of the recipe at the bottom.

A small taste of the recipes contained within:-

* Chicken Salami
* Cold Octopus and Aubergine Salad
* Apple Strudel
* Avocado Salad
* Lettuce with Roasted Vegetables
* Pazanella with Vegetables
* Marinades & Butters for Barbecues
* Grilled Sea Bream
* Potatoes in Foil
* Florentine T-bone Steak
* Mixed Grill
* Colourful Kebabs
* Escarole and Speck Salad
* Various Pizzas
* Pasta with Cuttlefish Ink
* Seafood Linguine
* Sweet-and-sour Caponata
* Pepper Frittata
* Sweet-and-sour Meatballs
* Mixed Vegetable Ring
* Figs Russian Style
* Salt Cod Carpaccio
* Marinated Swordfish
* Faux Eggs
* Veal Tartare with Mustard and Brandy Sauce
* Minestrone with Pesto
* Fish Couscous
* Herbed Roast
* Wild Duck with Figs
* Pork Meat Loaf with Vegetables
* Apricot Gratin
* Cherry Compote
* Almond-blossom Cake
* Jasmine-flower Ice Cream (maker required)
* Mint Ice Cream
* Iced Raspberry and Strawberry Soufflé
* Chilled Wine with Strawberries
* Champagne Barracuda
* Smoothies

To date, I have been very impressed with 'Potato Pizza', from page 152 (photograph on page 155) which I make regularly all year round for the diners in my circles who do not like pizza dough base. The recipe makes great use of my potato ricer, and it is easy to vary the topping ingredients, for a change!
The 'Cheese Biscuits' & 'Ham Mousse Canapés' from pages 204/5, are easy and useful 'nibbles' which can be served at any time of the year and will be included on my pre-Christmas buffet tables.

Generally speaking, I feel the book is best suited to someone who is already confident with Italian cooking and is perhaps looking for something different, but authentic, for those long days of summer which seem so far away (at the time of writing)!

I purchased this book in the deepest depths of the winter when we were up to our eyes in snow. Such a lovely book with some very different, authentic recipes. I made an incredible, show stopping fruit tart.......it looked gorgeous.....in truth better than it tasted but then I am ultra critical of my cooking. Once my veggies in the garden have started producing, I will look to this book again for some lovely summer recipes.........a true taste of Italy!

..with this book. It is a beautiful piece of book production - maybe one or two too many photographs on pages which could have been devoted to recipes but they are excellent pictures so that is a minor quibble. The recipes are simply entrancing. I eat - and cook - a lot of Italian food but this had several recipes that I have not come across before in Hazan or Del Conte.

I have only actually cooked a couple so far but they worked perfectly. I am giving it an early review without testing the book thoroughly because I liked it so much and am trying to encourage others to buy it too. I will come back in a few weeks and amend the review to include the recipes I particularly enjoyed - but I am fairly sure I will not be changing the star rating.

Do try it - from the library if the price is a bit steep for you. I don't think you will be disappointed.