Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most

The thing about Lidia's books and cooking show is she actually teaches me something. She tells me about the regional cooking and how to prepare authentic recipes - simple and straight forward. I love that she's not just another celebrity chef. She's the real deal.

Lidia and Mario Batali are true teachers of their craft. I constantly learn from both of them.

Do you know how you can just about smell and taste Lidia's dishes as she prepares them on her show? Well, that's exactly what you'll get when you make her delicious and easy recipes in this divine book. She writes them out so well that it's almost like standing right beside her in your own kitchen. I have many, many cookbooks, as it's one of the things I collect, read from cover to cover, and then put to use -- but this is my all-time favorite for Italian fare. Put simply, it's pure bliss.

After watching an episode of the tv series that this book is based on, I ordered two books - one to give as a gift and one for myself. The gift was very well received. Lidia is wonderful to watch, listen to and read, especially if you are nostalgic about your Italian heritage as I am.

This book is like a "mini history lesson" about SOME (not all) regions in Italy. And also, this is a cookbook about some of the interesting regional foods mentioned in each Chapter.

Lidia and her daughter Tanya took a tour of some of their favorite regions in Italy (not ALL regions,but SOME regions), for example: Piedmont, Romagna, etc...

Then, Lidia and Tanya wrote this book by describing each of the Italian regions visited, broken down into Chapters. Also, at the end of each Chapter (and there are 10 chapters) Tanya ,who has a PHD from Oxford, added her own personal take on the visits to each region, by sub-categorizing many of the "sights" worth visiting.

Along with the mini history lessons throughout this book, there are many recipes that Lidia has developed, or recipes that Lidia has discovered during her Italian travels.

I think this is a very "different" Italian cookbook, and not your average Italian cookbook seen in most bookstores. Therefore, if you collect a variety of cookbooks (not only Italian cookbooks, but multi-national cookbooks in general) then this book could be a very nice addition to your library.

Many of the recipes would be difficult to reproduce because of "difficulty" levels. To me, some of the recipes did not seem "simple" as stated in the title.

It seems to me that most of the recipes are not for an average or beginner cook. Also, since many of the recipes come from obscure towns that have their own "flavors", I would say that many of the recipes may not appeal to the average taste buds. For example, here are a few recipes that are either too difficult to reproduce by a novice, and/or recipes that would entail an acquired taste:

~~Farro with Tuna and Tomatoes, p.333
~~Anchovy Garlic Dip,p.141
~~Pasta with Anchiovi-Onion Sauce,p.108
~~Tiella filling of Octopus with Garlic and Oil, p. 250
~~Filet of Wild Boar with Prunes and Apples,p.193
~~Cooked Duck Sugo with Pasta,p.183

On the other hand, there are a few recipes that COULD be duplicated and enjoyed...(although,some of these recipes are quite "common" and are often included in most Italian cookbooks):

~~Water Soup, p. p.168
~~Asparagus and Rice, p. 11
~~Peaches with Almond Crust, p. 118-119
~~Tiramisu Limoncello,p. 120
~~Chicken Cacciatore,p.301
~~Beef Braised in Peppercorns, p. 195
~~Braised Pork Chops with Savoy Cabbage, p. 83

The last thing I should mention is that I would have loved to have seen more photos of the recipes,and especially those recipes that are very unusual.

All in all,though, I give this book 4 stars because of it's novelty and because of the interesting mini-history lessons scattered throughout.

Lidia is my favorite cook. The photographs in this cookbook are
breath-taking. As usual, the recipes look wonderful. I look
forward to trying as many as I can. Lidia's recipes are never
too complicated. Reading this book is "mouth watering" throughout.