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Low calorie versions of Italian Favorites. Received this as a Christmas gift from my husband -
Reading thru this definitely inspired me to get out "my family" versions and made Pasta a Fagioli, Shrimp Fra Diavolo - within the 1st weeks of the year... unfortunately or fortunately I didn't follow his recipes... as appeared lacking and not willing to ruin a proven favorite - as I already have revised my favs for lower fat/calorie versions thru-out the years. That said... It has beautiful photos and will try some of the Dessert versions and if I am ever in the position that I have to eat rabbit - the recipe in the book will be the one I try.... but I don't see that happening in the near future. Gorgeous photos and inspiring to cook Italian! ( )

Best used to back into the original dishes -- author's versions lacking ( )

I wasn't sure I even wanted this book, since I have so many other recipe books that I don't need another one. However, dear husband, who grew up with the cooking of Italian grandmothers, urged me to get this one.

I was skeptical, since I've worked hard to lighten up my Italian recipes, mainly by using recipes from my Cooking Light magazines, but once I opened the book, I was hooked. I like recipe books that have colored photographs, and the ones in this book are superb. I also like Rocco Dispirito's inclusion of his family stories, particularly the one about his Italian grandmother:

"Anna Maria Iacoviello . . . . She is the woman who shepherded a whole generation of my ancestors into the United States and helped them hold onto their Italian culture while becoming good Americans. She re-created her Italian lifestyle on Long Island, New York. She raised chickens and rabbits and grew thirty types of produce, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, herbs, pears, apples, figs, cherries, and even mulberries. She made her own wine, bread, canned tomatoes, sausages, and prosciutto. She made life in America as Italian as it gets."

Yesterday I made his version of chicken parmesan. I didn't expect to like it, since my own recipe is one that is just to die for--and yet reasonably low in fat/calories. His is even lower--and I like it better! I couldn't believe it.

Today I'm going to try his Pasta e Fagioli, a pasta and bean soup. He adds pancetta to his, an ingredient I've never used before, so I'm looking forward to giving that a try. His recipe seems quite different from the ones I'm used to in that he doesn't use tomatoes. We'll see--I may have to add some, but I'm willing to try it without at least once.

There must be 20 or 30 other recipes that I'd love to try, so this book is a real winner. 5 stars! ( )