Big Love Cooking - 75 Recipes for Satisfying, Shareable Comfort Food by Joey Campanaro
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Web ID: 14737620Fantastic recipes with simple ingredients
I loved the cover of this cookbook from the moment my eyes caught a glance at it. That dish on the cover was definitely calling my name and the title caught my eye. The title never promised me anything, in fact, the author was giving me something personal and I had to see if they were really something I wanted. I liked immediately how the book was printed on bright white, heavy paper. To me, the heavy paper and the bright paper give off an upscale and elegant appearance. Although there weren’t as many pictures of the recipes as I would have liked, those that were present, looked fresh and delicious. I felt as if there were about 1 picture for every 4 recipes in this book which was disappointing. In this book, you will find a Foreword, Introduction, Big Love Pantry (flours, spices, cheeses, pasta, etc.), Big Love Cooking Essentials (kitchen tools & gadgets), 8 Chapters of recipes, Afterwards, Acknowledgments, and an excellent Index. In each chapter, you’ll find some personal information about that chapter’s topic and a list of recipes with page numbers at the beginning. I have to say, this book is very personal and I enjoyed reading about this famous chef and his various topics. Opening up his family pictures to us, we’re allowed to get a look inside at his family and see how they inspired him and what their life is like today. There are 8 chapters in this book: Brunch, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, Pasta, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Sunday Supper, and Dessert. Each recipe has a list of ingredients needed, how many it was make, and how to prepare it, in paragraph form. The ingredients are listed in metric also (1 cup (140 g) whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup (45 g) fresh blueberries). Looking over the ingredients for these comfort dishes, I see that they’re not complicated, “there’s no wild goose chase here,” for what the author states is true. They’re made from “fresh ingredients that are readily available at the supermarket,” which I see is true, for the most part. Some of the items may be seasonal and some items may depend on where you shop, but most items I can find at my local store. I thought the commentary before each recipe was interesting. These personal stories felt as if he was actually talking to me, giving me advice about the recipe. Sometimes his personal touch continued into the recipe when I read the recipe and he’d mention why something was done a certain way or he’d mentioned options and tell me the difference between the options. I liked that. So, what did I find? Snickerdoodles with Salted Carmel, Monday Baked Ziti (I love pasta), Little Owl Gravy Meatball Sliders (I have to try these as he mentions them a lot), Little Owl Pork Chops with Parmesan Butter Beans, Chicken Cacciatore, Fontina Sausage Biscuits, (there’s a bunch more). This cookbook looks doable, I can’t wait to get started. 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing a copy of this book for me to review in exchange for an honest opinion.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Bring the Trattoria to Your Kitchen
This handsome book is full of home-style Italian recipes from Chef Joey Camparo of NYC’s Little Owl Restaurant, where the emphasis is on hearty, traditional fare, lovingly prepared. The atmosphere of this beloved spot is conveyed by Joey’s friendly, conversational prose style and lavish, colorful illustration. The photos are really special: you will be compelled to cook just by looking at them. Diners rave about Little Owl’s Brioche French Toast with Stewed Strawberries; Crispy Chicken; Ricotta Cavatelli with Tomato Broth, Bacon, and Fava Beans. You might not be able to visit the Little Owl, but these accessible recipes help you bring the flavor and feel of this trattoria into your own home. While reading Big Love Cooking, I thought often about a long-gone favorite “red sauce” restaurant I loved back in grad school. Little Owl is a step up from those places, but for a tyro or a pro, this book has much to offer: a big. rich family feast, and in Joey, a steady, assured guide to help you create. Highly recommended. I received a digital copy from NetGalley.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
a wonderful cookbook
This book is just full of wonderful food to share. There are chapters on Brunch, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, Pasta, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Sunday Supper, and Desserts. There are many photos inside that provide a sense of the origins of the recipes for this author. There are also photos of the food that will make readers hungry. The author is inspired by his New York City based, West Village, restaurant Little Owl. His story is told in the introduction. The book opens with a chapter that suggests the things that one might want to have in a pantry. And then, come the recipes. Fontina Sausage Biscuits, anyone? How about a Warm Radicchio, Pancetta and Gorgonzola Salad or one with Spinach, Avocado and Strawberries with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing? There are so many other recipes in this book as well, seventy-five in all. Just to name a few; Baked Eggplant Parmesan, Baked Ricotta Crespelle and My Mother's Ziti in the pasta section. Keep paging through until you get to desserts like Birthday Rum Cake and Philly Cheesecake with Blueberry Agave Sauce. This is a very personal feeling cookbook that will leave readers hungry! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Nice book!
Nice book! Very well organized and the photos are mouth-watering! It looks like a grandma cookbook! There are some recipes that I would try to recreate but honestly I would prefer going to their restaurant to eat it there. The recipes seems a little hard for everyday cooking, I would make them for special occasions. The instructions are long but well explained. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love the recipes!
This was such a fun and beautiful cookbook. I loved the recipes and loved reading the stories of Mr. Campanaro’s family. The photos were gorgeous. Each and every recipe was something I would love to cook for my family. Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fabulous cookbook.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great cookbook!
A great cookbook! I love to read cookbooks, and this one definitely makes me hungry. Interesting recipes, mouth-watering photos (although I wish there were more of them), and interesting anecdotes and background info on the recipes. Yesterday, I made the Italian Wedding Soup yesterday, which was superb! I look forward to making many of the other dishes highlighted here.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
WOW!! Beautiful Book!!
Oh My Gosh!!! I can't say enough about this book! First of all, I am obsessed with cookbooks! I have a couple hundred and my husband is on me constantly to weed some out and only buy digital from now on. Much to his disappointment, I ended up buying the hard copy of this one too. It is that good! The general theme is cooking a big family meal that brings everyone together. I love to cook, but am on time constraints due to my job and there are only 2 of us. Fortunately we like leftovers, as most of these recipes make a lot. I am a quick, easy and convenient cook, but this book made me want to want to slow down and cook from scratch occasionally. I absolutely loved all of the pasta choices! I was actually in NYC 2 years ago and wish I had known about Little Owl Restaurant then. Oh well, just an excuse to go back! Can't recommend this one enough! Thank you to #NetGalley, Joey Campanaro and Chronicle Books for this digital ARC.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
little owl, big love, huge flavor
There are a lot of reasons I love to read cookbooks. Sometimes I love the food (cake!) or the chef. Or Maybe it teaches me about a cuisine I know only a little about. And sometimes, reading a cookbook makes me feel like I am coming back home. Reading Big Love Cooking made me feel like that. I have never been to Little Owl. I haven’t even been to Manhattan since the 1990s, but reading chef Joey Campanaro’s (and co-writer Theresa Gambacorta’s) cookbook, filled with recipes and stories from his restaurant Little Owl, I feel a little like I’ve gotten a chance to experience some of the warmth, the comfort, and the flavor that Campanaro brings to his diners. Big Love Cooking is a celebration of his Italian American heritage, his childhood in South Philly, and his 14 years at Little Owl. The cookbook is filled with 75 amazing recipes, including the Whole Wheat Pancakes with Berries that Alton Brown loves, the Little Owl Pork Chop with Parmesan Butter Beans, Potato Fontina Fonduta, Veal Marsala, Littleneck Clams with Juicy Bread, Campanaro Family Lasagna, Little Gem Caesar Salad with Panko Crunchies, Sesame Seed Breadsticks, the Brandied Cherry and Apple Strudel based on the one that he made for Arnold Schwarzenegger (who said it was just like his mother’s), and the Gravy Meatball Sliders that Calvin Trillin waxes poetic about in his foreword. Sprinkled in between all these recipes are the true riches of this cookbook—the stories Chef Campanaro shares of his family, of learning to cook from his mother and grandmother, the moments that make you feel like an insider in his family kitchen. He shares how to butcher a chicken, what kind of flour he likes for his hand-made pasta, the recipe for his seafood spice mix, how to make a genuine Italian Sunday gravy, what it takes to make the best biscuits. And the pictures! Photographer Con Poulos has captured the warmth of Little Owl, of these gorgeous dishes, and of the people around Campanaro laughing and loving and eating. And the food? Seeing these photos makes me want to lick my computer screen. That shot of the Philly Cheesecake with Blueberry Agave Sauce? I want to get a print of it framed to stare at every day. These photos just underline the warmth and comfort of Little Owl and the food they create there, that feeling of being at home but not having to be the one who cleans up, the joy of being a part of a larger family who feeds you really well. I can’t get to New York to visit Little Owl any time soon, but with Big Love Cooking, I do get a glimpse into the experience of being there. And I can recreate some of that flavor and comfort here in my own kitchen in the middle of the country, and I can feel the love and belonging that those great Italian American dishes provide. In other words, even here, far away from Campanaro’s restaurant, I can still feel and share the big love in that Big Love Cooking. And that feels good. Egalleys for Big Love Cooking were provided by Chronicle Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com