Nothing special here, the recipes are simple and available elsewhere. Useful if you don't have an Italian cookbook of any kind, but I wouldn't buy it new.

Haven't made everything in it yet; my favorite easy recipe is Lemon Spaghetti. Great starting point for Italian recipes that are more than just spaghetti and meatballs but not too hard. Gives you a good idea of how basic Italian dishes work (for example, risotto) so that you can create your own dishes once you're comfortable with the technique or flavor combination.

I've tried about four of her recipes which were pretty decent tasting or at least pretty ;) I read some of the reviews about this book and can understand how the reader found "asparagus wrapped in prosciutto" not a recipe but a suggestion. But for me, the I-don't-really-cook-that-much/I-really-only-stir-fry-every-meal kind of person, I found the book helpful in opening up my options when it comes to meal time.

Giada was the first person I saw cook on “The Cooking Channel” that made me wanna make everything she made! Love this book for its simplicity and obviously because Italian is my favorite

Tried a number of her recipes, and while the desserts were all winners, her take on common fare was a little too out there for my family to rank as s keeper(salmon cakes with mayonnaise and saltines proved alarmingly inedible). However, there were plenty of color photos and recipes were well explained. Would recommend for those who enjoy recipe books and cooking in general.
My library's cooking club worked with her series and it proved to be a great discussion.

I have made a few recipes from this book. I used Stella's copy while "up north". Chicken Marsala was excellent! Pasta e fagioli was salty but good (must make again with reduced sodium broth). Chicken Piccata was too lemon-y for me, but so tender.

I would like to check it out again and try some more recipes.

This book has many of my now "go to" recipes that I use regularly. Lemon spaghetti to name one. There are also two recipes for veggies, one all root vegetables, that I roast once a week on Sundats during the winter. The house smells wonderful when baking and we have ready to eat veggies all week as they stay crunchy,

My Dad bought me this cookbook as my B-day present last year & I've looked through & posted-noted the ones I want to use, but I haven't gotten around to cooking any of the yet & my Birthday is Dec. 21st.

Wow! An Italian cookbook that actually has recipes that I WANT to cook!

Giada's recipes are all easy to follow and use ingredients that you can actually find in your store (unlike some other cooks I can think of), and they don't require any special (read: expensive) tools. I haven't tried all of the recipes in here, but her pesto recipe is out of this world (and easy!) and her Italian bean dip is toe curlingly good. And the Pork Milanese is outstanding too.

Spaghetti, Again? Recipes from a Simple and 'Delicious' Italian

From the first bite my stomach twirled like spaghetti
my colon sure wasn't ready
Times up, over, blow
out the dinner is the window I will throw
my head spins around like a meatball dimension
sweaty over my brow and not to mention
the gloopy italian food, like a heartburn convention
rolaids antacids, boy, what an invention
so much pasta I need an interventoin
to do this to myself on a schoolnight was not my intention
my stomach needs to pumped, put it under compression
I need a 7 day sleep, and not from depression

yo'ure turly,
Cathy
P.S. (if you want to be in touch, reach out to [email protected]) please I'm so lonely

I use Giadas recipes when I cook Italian. I especially appreciate her weekday cutlet recipes which are a huge hit in my house.