Jamie's Italy

Love Jamie and this cookbook. It's a great introduction to Italian food for those who aren't familiar with cooking it, as authentic Italian can sometimes get complicated. I love how he shows photographs of meat being butchered / drained of blood, because for f--k's sake, if you can't look at the reality of it, you shouldn't eat it. He addresses factory farming and the slow food movement, which is an absolutely critical part of Italian culture. There are no CAFOs in Italy, and for good reason.

Many people love him. Some find his hyper Essex boy presentation a tad wearing but there is absolutely no getting away from the fact that actually, he's really good. Great photos make this a treat to browse. Narrative on ingredients and places make it a treat to read. Authentic recipes make it a treat to use. Based on the recipes I've tried over the years from many of his books, Jamie is right up there with Delia and Mary Berry for sheer reliability.

The usefulness of this book depends in large part on how many Italian cookbooks you already own. I previewed this via the library and fortunately so, because I already have most of these recipes, or close enough. But if this will be your first, second, or third Italian book, it could still be quite worthwhile and the instructions are straightforward with plenty of photos. It does seem to be about 50% Sicilian, which isn't what everyone expects from an Italian cookbook. A recipe for fresh tuna meatballs in tomato sauce inspired me to check this book out, but the dish is also on his website. The other new ideas were roasted squash with cinnamon and chile and a sort of spumoni rice pudding. A $35 cover price requires a little more, show more however. Some of the photos will be offputting to some. He shows recently-butchered animals, and not just fish. They also used unripe tomatoes in several shots (the recipes did call for ripe), which aren't at all appetizing. show less

Gorgeous book with wonderful photographs that accompany even lovelier recipes:

Fried ricotta w/ a little tomato salad, Pizzas to die for, Ribollita (Tuscan bean, cabbage, bread soup), Fazzoletti w/ pesto, Roasted mushroom risotto, Pan fried squid w/ lemon & breadcrumbs, Leg of lamb stuffed w/ olives, bread, pinenuts & herbs, & Quick tiramisu!

Ok, have to go eat again!

Naked (of course): The Naked Chef is at it again. This is a treat of a book with exceptional photography and very useful recipes. I love the heavy paper too. Jamie appears throughout the book and it is worth every penny. I didn't know he and his wife own so many restaurants around the world until I read it here.

Love Jamie! Love cooking!
Not as good as some of his earlier books, but still great.

like a novel-cookbook, wonderful to read about his journey to Italy