Maestro Carluccio hits the spot again with Complete Italian Food. Despite the title, it is not a comprehensive encyclopedia--how could it be, at 320 pages?--but a personal sampling of Italian food as it is still produced by traditional methods using traditional skills and materials: "real Italian food, where it comes from and why it tastes the way it does". Rather than work his way through the 20 regions of Italy, Carluccio has chosen to start with the foodstuffs themselves. A chapter is devoted to each category: Fish & Shellfish; Eggs, Poultry & Game; Fresh & Cured Meats and so on. Each contains an account of the place these foods hold in Italian culture and an A-Z of the most common individual ingredients, describing each briefly and noting differences in approach from region to region. A selection of recipes follows. It is with these that the book really rises to the heights. How does Carluccio do it? He seems to be able effortlessly to extract from the huge number of available recipes just those that will show up both the beauty of Italian food and its great range. The mushroom dishes are a good example of the deceptive simplicity at work here (fungi are a passion of Caluccio's): Taglierini Pasta with White Truffle; Procini in Oil; Cured Mixed Wild Mushrooms; Baked Kid with Cardoncelli; Judas Ears Sauteed with Garlic and Pasley; Grilled Porcini Caps with Garlic... So it continues, contributing to a wonderfully judicious and informative book. --Robin Davidson

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Fabulous Funghi, 13 Feb 2006
I'm a huge mushroom fan when it comes to food, so when I received this book as a present I was over the moon. The book is split into two sections, the first deals with identifying wild mushrooms and which are the best for eating, and the second part contains the recipes.

The recipes are great and very accessible. I haven't been on a mushroom hunt yet, but my local greengrocer regularly stocks wild mushrooms, so I've had the chance to try a few of the recipes, and very good they are too.

Look and learn...., 23 Sep 2004
In picking mushrooms, there are 2 approaches:
- show the good and the bad and have copious notes to explain the two
- show only the good and advise the picker to ignore or discard anything that doesn't appear in the book.

Carluccio picks the former and together with a load of anecdotes and lessons learnt from his decades of probing, sniffing, pinching and brushing, writes a book bursting with intelligent writing, simple but striking recipes and oozing with his personality.

I particularly liked his observations on Mycological Savoir Faire, how not to pick in such a way that it kills off the spores behind it, how to leave even deadly poisonous fungi alone as all fungi have a function in life and so on. If the man wasn't a chef of the highest order, he'd have been a Zen monk.

Get this book, it is great.

Mouthwatering adventures, 05 Feb 2004
The book is beautifully written and illustrated with superb clear photograhs. Antonio Carluccio's enthusiasm for the collection of wild mushrooms and his talent as a chef are both clearly conveyed as he leads us first through the pleasures of the 'Quiet Hunt' with precise descriptions and photographs to persuade the novice hunter to embark on the adventure and then into the kitchen to make the most of the hsrvest. The warnings are there about the poisonous varieties and he clearly describes the culprits and their effects. What better way to spend a quiet autumn Saturday morning than scouring woods for the free delicacies and then to return home with the booty to concoct some gorgeous dish? It makes such sense to combine the two past-times in one wonderful book.

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Fabulous Funghi, 13 Feb 2006
I'm a huge mushroom fan when it comes to food, so when I received this book as a present I was over the moon. The book is split into two sections, the first deals with identifying wild mushrooms and which are the best for eating, and the second part contains the recipes.

The recipes are great and very accessible. I haven't been on a mushroom hunt yet, but my local greengrocer regularly stocks wild mushrooms, so I've had the chance to try a few of the recipes, and very good they are too.

Look and learn...., 23 Sep 2004
In picking mushrooms, there are 2 approaches:
- show the good and the bad and have copious notes to explain the two
- show only the good and advise the picker to ignore or discard anything that doesn't appear in the book.

Carluccio picks the former and together with a load of anecdotes and lessons learnt from his decades of probing, sniffing, pinching and brushing, writes a book bursting with intelligent writing, simple but striking recipes and oozing with his personality.

I particularly liked his observations on Mycological Savoir Faire, how not to pick in such a way that it kills off the spores behind it, how to leave even deadly poisonous fungi alone as all fungi have a function in life and so on. If the man wasn't a chef of the highest order, he'd have been a Zen monk.

Get this book, it is great.

Mouthwatering adventures, 05 Feb 2004
The book is beautifully written and illustrated with superb clear photograhs. Antonio Carluccio's enthusiasm for the collection of wild mushrooms and his talent as a chef are both clearly conveyed as he leads us first through the pleasures of the 'Quiet Hunt' with precise descriptions and photographs to persuade the novice hunter to embark on the adventure and then into the kitchen to make the most of the hsrvest. The warnings are there about the poisonous varieties and he clearly describes the culprits and their effects. What better way to spend a quiet autumn Saturday morning than scouring woods for the free delicacies and then to return home with the booty to concoct some gorgeous dish? It makes such sense to combine the two past-times in one wonderful book.

Excelente, 31 May 2006
Wonderful good and true
Italian food, beautiful photo's. Makes you want to start cooking immedeately! Can't live without it.
Grazie de cuore Antonio!
Carolina

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Fabulous Funghi, 13 Feb 2006
I'm a huge mushroom fan when it comes to food, so when I received this book as a present I was over the moon. The book is split into two sections, the first deals with identifying wild mushrooms and which are the best for eating, and the second part contains the recipes.

The recipes are great and very accessible. I haven't been on a mushroom hunt yet, but my local greengrocer regularly stocks wild mushrooms, so I've had the chance to try a few of the recipes, and very good they are too.

Look and learn...., 23 Sep 2004
In picking mushrooms, there are 2 approaches:
- show the good and the bad and have copious notes to explain the two
- show only the good and advise the picker to ignore or discard anything that doesn't appear in the book.

Carluccio picks the former and together with a load of anecdotes and lessons learnt from his decades of probing, sniffing, pinching and brushing, writes a book bursting with intelligent writing, simple but striking recipes and oozing with his personality.

I particularly liked his observations on Mycological Savoir Faire, how not to pick in such a way that it kills off the spores behind it, how to leave even deadly poisonous fungi alone as all fungi have a function in life and so on. If the man wasn't a chef of the highest order, he'd have been a Zen monk.

Get this book, it is great.

Mouthwatering adventures, 05 Feb 2004
The book is beautifully written and illustrated with superb clear photograhs. Antonio Carluccio's enthusiasm for the collection of wild mushrooms and his talent as a chef are both clearly conveyed as he leads us first through the pleasures of the 'Quiet Hunt' with precise descriptions and photographs to persuade the novice hunter to embark on the adventure and then into the kitchen to make the most of the hsrvest. The warnings are there about the poisonous varieties and he clearly describes the culprits and their effects. What better way to spend a quiet autumn Saturday morning than scouring woods for the free delicacies and then to return home with the booty to concoct some gorgeous dish? It makes such sense to combine the two past-times in one wonderful book.

Excelente, 31 May 2006
Wonderful good and true
Italian food, beautiful photo's. Makes you want to start cooking immedeately! Can't live without it.
Grazie de cuore Antonio!
Carolina

music and menus from italy, 05 Sep 2002
Antonio Carluccio is has written so many cook books. The addition of the music with this one is just adding to the enjoyment of being able to listen to the romance of Italy whilst creating the most delicious meals. The only thing that makes this book a little disapointing is the recipies are in most Italian cook books. This book is great if you don't already have too many Italian cook books and you want to feel the pasion of Italy.

Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Fabulous Funghi, 13 Feb 2006
I'm a huge mushroom fan when it comes to food, so when I received this book as a present I was over the moon. The book is split into two sections, the first deals with identifying wild mushrooms and which are the best for eating, and the second part contains the recipes.

The recipes are great and very accessible. I haven't been on a mushroom hunt yet, but my local greengrocer regularly stocks wild mushrooms, so I've had the chance to try a few of the recipes, and very good they are too.

Look and learn...., 23 Sep 2004
In picking mushrooms, there are 2 approaches:
- show the good and the bad and have copious notes to explain the two
- show only the good and advise the picker to ignore or discard anything that doesn't appear in the book.

Carluccio picks the former and together with a load of anecdotes and lessons learnt from his decades of probing, sniffing, pinching and brushing, writes a book bursting with intelligent writing, simple but striking recipes and oozing with his personality.

I particularly liked his observations on Mycological Savoir Faire, how not to pick in such a way that it kills off the spores behind it, how to leave even deadly poisonous fungi alone as all fungi have a function in life and so on. If the man wasn't a chef of the highest order, he'd have been a Zen monk.

Get this book, it is great.

Mouthwatering adventures, 05 Feb 2004
The book is beautifully written and illustrated with superb clear photograhs. Antonio Carluccio's enthusiasm for the collection of wild mushrooms and his talent as a chef are both clearly conveyed as he leads us first through the pleasures of the 'Quiet Hunt' with precise descriptions and photographs to persuade the novice hunter to embark on the adventure and then into the kitchen to make the most of the hsrvest. The warnings are there about the poisonous varieties and he clearly describes the culprits and their effects. What better way to spend a quiet autumn Saturday morning than scouring woods for the free delicacies and then to return home with the booty to concoct some gorgeous dish? It makes such sense to combine the two past-times in one wonderful book.

Excelente, 31 May 2006
Wonderful good and true
Italian food, beautiful photo's. Makes you want to start cooking immedeately! Can't live without it.
Grazie de cuore Antonio!
Carolina

music and menus from italy, 05 Sep 2002
Antonio Carluccio is has written so many cook books. The addition of the music with this one is just adding to the enjoyment of being able to listen to the romance of Italy whilst creating the most delicious meals. The only thing that makes this book a little disapointing is the recipies are in most Italian cook books. This book is great if you don't already have too many Italian cook books and you want to feel the pasion of Italy.

Italian Food, 14 Jun 2008
I have really enjoyed reading through this book. It's probably more of a reference book than an every-day useful one, but is definitely worth owning.

looks beautiful but..., 02 Dec 2007
..the recipes are sparse and really not very approachable. If you can't make - or don't want to make your own pasta - and unless you have some remarkable sources of ingredients then this becomes little more than a meal for the armchair. Sad because I have liked some of his other books and use them - but this looks like a book packager's concept.

Recipes & Customs of the Regions, 28 Nov 2007
------------------------------------------
Gastronomic Tour through Italy - Good Food, Good Cooking & Good Living!

Antonio Carluccio is the leading authority on Italian cooking. Winner of many books on Italian recipes he runs and owns an Italian food shop and the series of Carluccio Caffes.

This book is full of glorious colour photos (food, people, places) and the recipes capture the true tast of the regions around Italy.

A must for all Italian food and cultural fans!

Large Hardback (A4 size).

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Magnifico!, 31 Jan 2008
This book is brill... I got this book for my mum for christmas and she hasn't put it down yet, the food she has been making from it is delicious... sure it has lots of foods listed in there, but the book is fantastic and you've got to trust me on this one!
Chow

It is enitrely what it states to be....., 20 Feb 2007
I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. It does not pretend to be a recipe book - not a traditional one at least. What it is, on the otherhand, is a complete guide to Italian food and cooking. There is a lot of priceless information, doubtlessly-well researched, about how the various ingredients work together, their availability in various regions, and, of course, mouth-watering recipes. What the previous reviewer failed to see, perhaps, was that the recipes given in this book are very easily adaptable, and having read the background info at the beginning of each chapter, one can very easily create a multitude of traditional Italian dishes, based on the recipes found within the same chapter.

I am a great fan of Italian cuisine, and a firm believer that cooking is an art, not a task. If all you need is a bible-full of straightforward recipes, with little or no background info, then perhaps something like The Silver Spoon would suit your needs better. However, if you enjoy adding your touch to the dishes you create, then Complete Italian Food is the book for you. It not only presents instructions....it makes the recipes work for you, and makes them so easily adaptable that before long you'll soon be creating your very own repertoire of Italian delicacies....your style!!!

Dissapointing, 15 Sep 2006
Don't be fooled about this being a cookbook, sure, it has some recipes in it, and those I've tried are good, but an Italian recipe book it isn't. What it is a a reference book of Italian foodstuffs a bit like The Book of Ingredients. It lists, exhuastively, every ingredient available to Italian cooks from North to South and throes in some uses for them. Antonio writes with passion but this is a shopping list; besides the really good stuff he mentions just isn't available in your local Waitrose. Save youselves the dissapointment and buy one of his more specific books instead.

Carluccio's Complete Italian Food, 18 Jan 2006
Stefano, Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To any lover of REAL Italian food this is a must have, informative, interesting and inspirational, from basic recipes to fine detail of regional cusine. Not for the frozen pizza and spag bol fan! A great read!

A comprehensive encylopedia of Italian food, 12 May 2005
I love the way this book is set out, each chapter is in alphabetical order, giving both the Italian and English for every food, advice on choosing produce and interesting sections on how certain foods are farmed, produced, and ways of cooking them. I am English and live in Italy and this has been my bible since certain types of food in the market, (fish, cheese, vegetables, etc) I could not even find in the dictionary let alone know how to be creative with. I would advise all expats in Italy to arm themselves with one of these and you will never have to ask anyone's help again - your cooking will always be wonderful and noone will ever tell you the English don't know how to cook.

Sublime, 15 Sep 2006
This is, without a doubt, the difinitive guide to what to do now you own a pasta machine. My only complaint is that it lacks some of the great photography that marks modern cookery writing (see the "A little Taste of" series for what I mean). If you make your own pasta don't be daunted by the baffling array of shapes he uses, I find that most recipes work equally whatever I add them to (although this isn't a popularist view back in Italy). Given the game season is almost upon us, try the rabbit/pheasant/mushroom recipe - divine.

Fabulous Funghi, 13 Feb 2006
I'm a huge mushroom fan when it comes to food, so when I received this book as a present I was over the moon. The book is split into two sections, the first deals with identifying wild mushrooms and which are the best for eating, and the second part contains the recipes.

The recipes are great and very accessible. I haven't been on a mushroom hunt yet, but my local greengrocer regularly stocks wild mushrooms, so I've had the chance to try a few of the recipes, and very good they are too.

Look and learn...., 23 Sep 2004
In picking mushrooms, there are 2 approaches:
- show the good and the bad and have copious notes to explain the two
- show only the good and advise the picker to ignore or discard anything that doesn't appear in the book.

Carluccio picks the former and together with a load of anecdotes and lessons learnt from his decades of probing, sniffing, pinching and brushing, writes a book bursting with intelligent writing, simple but striking recipes and oozing with his personality.

I particularly liked his observations on Mycological Savoir Faire, how not to pick in such a way that it kills off the spores behind it, how to leave even deadly poisonous fungi alone as all fungi have a function in life and so on. If the man wasn't a chef of the highest order, he'd have been a Zen monk.

Get this book, it is great.

Mouthwatering adventures, 05 Feb 2004
The book is beautifully written and illustrated with superb clear photograhs. Antonio Carluccio's enthusiasm for the collection of wild mushrooms and his talent as a chef are both clearly conveyed as he leads us first through the pleasures of the 'Quiet Hunt' with precise descriptions and photographs to persuade the novice hunter to embark on the adventure and then into the kitchen to make the most of the hsrvest. The warnings are there about the poisonous varieties and he clearly describes the culprits and their effects. What better way to spend a quiet autumn Saturday morning than scouring woods for the free delicacies and then to return home with the booty to concoct some gorgeous dish? It makes such sense to combine the two past-times in one wonderful book.

Excelente, 31 May 2006
Wonderful good and true
Italian food, beautiful photo's. Makes you want to start cooking immedeately! Can't live without it.
Grazie de cuore Antonio!
Carolina

music and menus from italy, 05 Sep 2002
Antonio Carluccio is has written so many cook books. The addition of the music with this one is just adding to the enjoyment of being able to listen to the romance of Italy whilst creating the most delicious meals. The only thing that makes this book a little disapointing is the recipies are in most Italian cook books. This book is great if you don't already have too many Italian cook books and you want to feel the pasion of Italy.

Italian Food, 14 Jun 2008
I have really enjoyed reading through this book. It's probably more of a reference book than an every-day useful one, but is definitely worth owning.

looks beautiful but..., 02 Dec 2007
..the recipes are sparse and really not very approachable. If you can't make - or don't want to make your own pasta - and unless you have some remarkable sources of ingredients then this becomes little more than a meal for the armchair. Sad because I have liked some of his other books and use them - but this looks like a book packager's concept.

Recipes & Customs of the Regions, 28 Nov 2007
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Gastronomic Tour through Italy - Good Food, Good Cooking & Good Living!

Antonio Carluccio is the leading authority on Italian cooking. Winner of many books on Italian recipes he runs and owns an Italian food shop and the series of Carluccio Caffes.

This book is full of glorious colour photos (food, people, places) and the recipes capture the true tast of the regions around Italy.

A must for all Italian food and cultural fans!

Large Hardback (A4 size).

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Excelente, 31 May 2006
Wonderful good and true
Italian food, beautiful photo's. Makes you want to start cooking immedeately! Can't live without it.
Grazie de cuore Antonio!
Carolina