Bryanna tackles Italian, a traditionally cream and cheese-rich culture, with as much authenticity as possible. Since Italian is a big part of Bryanna's heritage, as she details in this cookbook, she seems to handle each recipe with care and very detailed explanations for those of us who may not be intimately familiar with the makings of each dish.

Those who are vegan or simply egg-free will love her guide and recipes for making fresh pasta (yes, I said fresh egg-free pasta!); those who crave the rich flavors of cheese will delight in the alternative recipes for mascarpone, Parmesan, and ricotta (Bryanna typically provides soy-free, nut-free, and at times gluten-free options for staple recipes such as these); and those like myself will be drawn in by the many comfort food recipes. The countless recipes for cream sauces, risottos, potato dumplings, stuffed pastas, rich casseroles, pastry crèmes (5 recipes for different pastry crèmes alone), and tarts are enough to make me want to hibernate in my kitchen for the winter!

Beyond dairy alternative, vegans will also like the many traditionally meat-filled Italian dishes that Bryanna takes on. Though my family is still omnivorous, I must admit that veal cutlets and Italian meatballs are no match for her animal-free creativity.

Of note, Bryanna writes very detailed instructions, often with many alternative options. This can be a very good thing, but, like many traditional Italian recipes, some of the recipes can be involved, best for a leisurely Sunday afternoon. This by no means covers all of the recipes though. Most of the sauces can be whipped up in minutes, and there is a plethora of pasta, hearty soup, and vegetable dishes that could actually be considered quick and easy. Among these, I was particularly taken by the creamy Bechamel sauce and the Pasta with Spicy Eggplant. Plus many of the recipes, like the potato dumplings (I am dying to try the pumpkin version!) become quite quick to make once you get the hang of it.

If I were to suggest any change for this cookbook, it would be simply be a minor layout issue. Though not a deal breaker by any means, I often mess up recipes when they are in a "run on" format. That is, one recipe may start in the middle of a page, run on to the next page, and immediately be followed by the next recipe, and so on. It could just be my poor eyesight, but I find myself accidentally reading from the wrong recipe when they are in this free flowing format. However, I must give kudos for the well-sized print and the notes for calories, fat, and carbohydrates on each recipe, which many people may find useful.

And just in case you were wondering, there are recipes for pizza, calzones, and tiramisu!

RECIPES ARE DELICIOUS, VERY GOOD DESCRIPTIONS AND EASY TO FOLLOW STEPS. FOR THE BEGINNER VEGETARIAN/VEGAN I WOULD RECOMMED "HOW IT ALL VEGAN" THOUGH.

This is a book to change the world! It certainly changed mine. I was a longtime vegetarian, but I never thought I could love Italian food without dairy and eggs. How wrong I was! If you want a better diet for your health, the planet, and the animals, here it is!!

I thought there would be more unique recipes using more vegetables (ie; Spagettie squash, broccoli rabe, etc) and variety of beans not just substituting dairy for soy cheeses.

Has a nice variety of Italian meals, some more involved recipes, but very tasty.

A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years, concentrating on Italian cooking for the last 10 years, writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry". With more than 500 cookbooks in my collection I am usually disappointed in my recent cookbook acquisitions. I am also very tough on Italian cookbooks in particular.

My husband and decided to try a vegan lifestyle about 3 months ago to reduce cholesterol. However, having to give up many of our favorite Italian foods was extremely difficult. Thankfully, as I was beginning to consider adding dairy back to our menu I found this book. It is a much better Italian cookbook than I expected it to be.

The book is outlined as follows:

1. Italian Cuisine
2. Ingredients and Equipment for Italian Cooking
3. Basic Recipes and Techniques
4. Sauces
5. Appetizers, Vegetable Side Dishes
6. Making Fresh Pasta

First Courses (Primi Piatti)
7. Pasta in Sauce
8. Stuffed Pasta: Dumplings, Crepes, and Baked, Layered and Molded Pasta Dishes
9. Pasta in Broth and Soups
10. Cornmeal and Rice Dishes

Second Courses (Secondi Piatti)
11. Baked Dishes: Omelets, Savory Cakes, Tarts, Gratins, and other Vegetable Casseroles
12. Vegetable and Bean Entrees and Stews
13. Meat Free Entrees
14. Bread, Rolls, Pizza, Hearth Breads and Stuffed Breads
15. Sweets

Some of the basic recipes that the author includes are: Tofu Ricotta, Tofu Mascarpone, Tofu Ricotta Salata, Almond Ricotta, Soy Free Almond Ricotta Salata, Cashew Mascarpone, Tofu version of Heavy Cream, Vegetarian Burger, Vegetarian Hot Italian Sausage, Vegetarian Sweet Fennel Sausage, Seitan (Beef, Veal, Chicken, Pork, Burger, Hot Italian Sausage versions). She also includes a number of different variations for Polpetti (meatballs).

Many of the recipes included in this book are time consuming. However, this is no different than standard Italian homemade items. I don't recommend this book to people that have limited time or limited experience with Italian cooking.

Bottom line, this is a much better cookbook than I expected it to be. Can I tell it isn't meat and/or dairy? Absolutely I can tell the difference. The author's variations are satisfactory substitutes if the alternative is the unpleasant health effects that come with the regular consumption of high fat animal products. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone that loves Italian food and wants to cut back on his or her consumption of saturated fat.

I was looking for another vegan cookbook to add to my collection and chose this b/c of my Italian heritage. Everything looks wonderful and tasty but also very time-consuming. As a mother, I don't have enough time to make my own pasta. Also, several recipes call for other recipes in the ingredients so you are really making 3 or 4 different things and then mixing them into one dish. Not an easy thing to do, but obviously real Italian food is never quick to prepare. All in all, it's good but I'd look for a less time-consuming one next time.

I must admit that I haven't tried out all the recipes in this book so far. But the vegan tiramisu is so outstanding, that even if it was the only tasty recipe, this book would be worth it!!! My non vegan friends can't believe it is made without dairy and request me to make it for birthdays and other celebrations. When I became vegan I thought I would never be able to eat tiramisu again, but thanks to Bryanna I can enjoy my favourite dessert again! I can`t wait to try the nondairy cheese fillings!

I've been vegan for about 4 years now, and I've been cooking all of my meals for 2 or 3. I've spent over $100 on a shelf full of vegan cookbooks. This one is the best I own. It's the only cookbook I have that has recipes that make food that's outright better than anything I ate before I went vegan! Ever since I started making my own vegan pizzas, I absolutely stopped missing the greasy things that I'd been getting delivered, and the pasta recipes here are the best I've ever had.

The only problem with this book is that the recipes can take a while to prepare. If you're not a big fan of cooking, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you're glad to spend an hour in the kitchen making a meal and want to have some great vegan food, this book is a must!

Once again, Bryanna has written a book that inspires everyone to eat well - by "well" I mean both healthfully and with gusto. Fantastic vegan fare.

Bryanna has created the absolute best cookbook ever! My friend originally bought this and when she told me I should get it, I remarked "why would I need an Italian cookbook, I know how to cook vegan Italian!" I was then treated to several meals at my friend's apt. where she used Nonna's Italian Kitchen and was I wowed!!! I couldn't believe how delicious these recipes are and how satisfying - much better than anything I've ever had as a non-vegan! Now every year for my birhday, my friend knows what I want for my birthday meal from her- the lasagna al forno Bolognese on page 113 - to die for (or to live for really!). Buy this book - all my non-vegan friends love the dishes and can't believe it's not dairy!

As an Italian who grew up in a meat eating household, I was looking for tasty Italian meals that are not meat centered. This book is excellent and the recipes I have made are very flavorful. My meat eating husband likes everything I have made from this book. I am not actually a vegan, but limit my dairy and have had great results with this book. Also, I love the multiple details and explantations she give about Italian history and food.
One note though, many of the recipes are involved so if you don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, this may not be the book for you. Also, I am not into meat analogs, so I have avoided this chapter. But, other than that I think this cookbook is excellent for anyone looking to prepare healthy veg. Italian meals!

I was happy to find a vegan book that has so many varieties for vegan cooking. The author gives a lot of suggestions of trying the same recipe. She shows you how to make your own meat (imitation) with great flavor. I can't wait to try them. Even if you don't know where to buy the ingredients for your recipe, she tells you where you can get them. Now I am not afraid to tread in this new area of cooking for me.

I would have liked to see the pictures for most of these recipes. There are no pictures in the book, but what it lacks in photographs, it more than makes up for with great recipes.

I am Italian, I love cooking and I love eating, and I am also a vegetarian tending to vegan, and that's why I got this book.

This book contains many favorites of Italian cooking, in vegan version. So where meat is called for in the original dish it's replaced by seitan or similar vegan meat substitute; same with cheese and other animal products.

It's very useful if you are vegan but not everyone in your family is, as you can cook the same dish in two version, like I often make hunter's chicken for my husband and a hunter's seitan (or other meat substitute) for my daughter and myself.

The reason why I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is that the book is not always precise in its descriptions of original dishes and many of the Italian names are mispelled, sometimes badly; from these two aspects it looks like the Mrs. Clark-Grogan didn't do an accurate research, but instead relayed on her relatives to give her the correct information. But overall, the book is a great buy, and I wouls suggest it to any vegan and to anyone who wants to eat good but also healthy.

This is the book to buy for all your vegan and vegetarian friends and family members. It is easy to read and to use... has great recipes and handy hints in a novel layout - and the best part of all is that everything tastes delicious! Some vegan recipes might be healthy but they are not always as tasty as the 'original' Not so with this book! Bryanna's book is filled with recipes ranging from basic cooking instructions to exotic desserts... all yummy and all relatively easy to make.

As an added bonus, Bryanna gives lists of mail order resources for sometimes hard to find items - this is especially valuable if you are like me and live in a rural area without easy access to health stores.

If you buy just one recipe book this Christmas season, this is the one to get! If I could give it six stars I would!

This book has food that taste like when you grew up. You can almost feel NaNa with you. I was suprised. I don't care for books that make use of soy in place of meat and chesse. She is able to make it work. The only reason I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars, is because one item I had to mail order. I was unable to find it locally.