This book is excellent at taking you around Italy showing food from the different regions with easy to follow recipes!

I received this book as a gift when the Frances Mayes Tuscany book (ugh!)was all rage. I flipped through it thinking "what a dumb format for a coobook" then slipped it into a bookshelf where it lay buried for a couple of years. I did however remember seeing in it (& liking the idea of) a recipe for "Elder Flower Flat Bread" (p.34) and I had an elderberry shrub in bloom so I dragged the book out, plucked the 1/2 cup of elderflowers and made the bread. It was good. I started actually looking at the photographs and then read through it. I kinda liked it. Then, to go on an antipasti (as Lorenza suggested) I made the "Stuffed Eggs with Tarragon" (p.35). Big hit! I tried, like an earlier reviewer, the "Chickpea Flat Bread"(p.45) Big-gloppy -mess- disaster! But, Lorenza had my attention with her great commentary on the culinary regions of Tuscany and the food styling is so irresistable and appetizing I forged on. Also VERY LOVING photographs of Tuscany. I've tried: "Naked Ravioli" (p78) Great! "Meatloaf of Arrezzo"(p.148 ) Nice suprise. "Fennel Cake" (p.242) Indispensible, I bake one a week! Light Apple Cake (p. 246) Delicious! So, long story short I really enjoy this book. The format is very large, rather absurd for the kitchen but I just slap it down on the counter, keep it open with a marble pestle and happily cook away.

A large, attractive book that I gave as a gift. Nice pictures of the food and the recipes looked interesting and not too difficult.

A large, attractive book that I gave as a gift. Nice pictures of the food and the recipes looked interesting and not too difficult.

I received this book as a gift a few years ago and have used it often. The recipe's are imaginative, easy and always well recieved by family and guests. The recipe's ingredients are basic and credible. And of course, the presentation in this book is a knockout! The food, the scenery, the dishware. All top drawer.

I received this book as a gift a few years ago and have used it often. The recipe's are imaginative, easy and always well recieved by family and guests. The recipe's ingredients are basic and credible. And of course, the presentation in this book is a knockout! The food, the scenery, the dishware. All top drawer.

This is a book that lives up to its name in all respects. The color photos (250) are warmly, rustically lit. These carefully composed still lifes entice the earthier senses with taste and aroma and give the reader a yen for this beautiful region.

And the recipes, arranged by course, highlight regional dishes from the simple -- Chicken in Red Wine, Chestnut and Rice Soup to the unusual -- Salt Cod and Mint Soup, Spaghetti with Sea Urchin Sauce to the sublime -- Snails with Sausage and Tomato Sauce, Pheasant Broth, Ricotta Tart.

I got this as a gift from my son, since I had just visited Tuscany last year and loved the food. I am an experienced gourmet cook. This book needed a test kitchen in the worst way. I tried two recipes: one for polenta (as basic as pasta) and a Garbanzo bean bread. The proportions for both were totally wrong. The polenta balled up in the pan, and the "flat bread" was like a soft egg dish. I checked in one of my favorite chef cookbooks (Sheila Lukins of Silver Palate fame) and the proportions were very different for the polenta. the other recipe couldn't find anywhere. I'm donating this one to the library for the Friends of the Library sale.

The photographs and historical narratives are very good. The recipes are not complex. The recipes just don't appeal to me and I highly doubt that I will ever make anything from the book. It is more or less a great photo-tour-guide of Tuscany will be practical on the coffee table.

The photographs and historical narratives are very good. The recipes are not complex. The recipes just don't appeal to me and I highly doubt that I will ever make anything from the book. It is more or less a great photo-tour-guide of Tuscany will be practical on the coffee table.

The best cookbook I've ever bought! Every recipe has been great and easy to follow. They are also very healthy and delicious. I just moved on to the Mexico book from the same series and made a "killer" Fish Veracruz. I highly recommend both these books!! I feel like I've gone from a "clueless" everyday cook to a gourmet!

One is transported. Even if you have never visited Tuscany and will never cook Tuscan, this beautiful book will take you on a trip and fill your senses with the essence of Tuscany. If you have visited Tuscany, it will bring back exquisite memories of this unbelievable region of our world through some of its greatest attractions: eating, drinking, and living well.

When you're an American expat living in Tuscany, your native friends and neighbors generally think that you can't cook worth beans, and your microwave must be your best friend. This is a beautiful book with characteristic food photographs taken in luscious Tuscan villas, or rustic farmhouse terraces, surrounded by wisteria blossoms, and always an inviting glass of white or red wine. It also an excellent cookbook, providing truely authentic recipes and precise instructions, enabling me to cook (almost) as well as my mother-in-law!

If the housever catches fire, this book will be grabbed on my way to save the dog. Fabulous photos and recipes. Great reading pleasure