[.ca] The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook: 350 Essential ... (ISBN 1576300447)

veggie - schmeggie, this is just great food. A great book:
For several months we have using this book to create countless meals, all delicious, simple to prepare, and healthy. I kept thinking I should get around to writing my first amazon review - I have been that impressed with this book. Come to find, legions of other reader/cooks have said it all. So I can only concur with the raves of everyone else here. Although we are not strict vegetarians in our house, we do try to maintain a healthy diet. Still, enjoyment of great food is something of a passion, and the pleasures of family, friends and a great meal are well nigh to sacred for us. This book, with its numerous ideas and recipes, does it all - great food, which just happens to match fairly closely what I think are are very sensible dietary guidelines. (check out Andrew Weil's book on diet and nutrition - he knows healthy eating but also clearly loves good food. Weil had better get this book if he doesn't alkready own it.) We've scarcely eaten anything else outside this book for months, and we still haven't got through all the ideas, cause we keep going back to try favourites again and again. Very, very difficult to imagine anyone not being delighted with this book. Well done Jack Bishop!

Top Notch Italiano!:
My mom's side ofthe family is Italian (not vegetarian mind you) and last year I convinced them to come to our house for Christmas dinner....they were skeptical but we pulled it off and this cookbook was a great help! There are so many delicious recipes, all very gourmet in flavor and taste yet mostly not too tough to make. We had rvilois as the main dish (my grandmother's secret recipe) but then I pulled in the rest almost all from here. We had a great sauteed zucchini with lemon and mint, cannellini beans with tomatoes, sage and garlic. There are all sorts of other great recipes too - pasta dishes, beans, salads, soups, etc. Everything I've tried has been good and has been true to itlian flavors. I love to use Balsamic vinegar and there is a great (easy) recipe for penne with tomoatoes, rosemary and balsamic vinegar. I love thus book - really glad to have it on hand.

This quickly became my favorite cookbook:
I bought this cookbook because I had some money, and watching Molto Mario on Food TV had made very interested in Italian cuisine. One of my regular dinner guests is a vegetarin, and I often think I'l like to swing more towards vegetarianism as well, so I went ahead and ordered this book sight unseen. It was a great purchase. I got the hardback, which is always nicer than the paperback. The recipes are well formatted, and always start at the top of a page. I've only cooked a handful of things from this so far, but they were all easy recipes to follow and I didn't encounter and snags. It is also packed with enough recipes that there is a chance for lots of diversity.

Simply Delicious:
Every recipe from this book that I have made has turned out excellent! I also appreciate the layout: each section lists all the recipes at the beginning so it's easy to plan a menu (author also has included many of his own menu suggestions) and to find recipes using ingredients that one already has on hand. The contents/sections are broken up into several different catagories ranging from antipasto, to polenta, to vegetable main courses and even vegetable side dishes, again making it easy to find just the recipe that you are looking for. The recipes are very clear, simple and easy to follow. Not very many photos, if that's important.

Great Also for Non-"Vegetarians"!:
This is a terrific book. I cannot say enough great things about it. I originally purchased it from a store bookshelf after comparing it to many other Italian cookbooks a few years ago. I've since bought copies for relatives who love it too. By the way, none of us are vegetarians. My first favorite thing about it is that it can be read like a book, because it has wonderful intros to each of the sections and interesting notes about each recipe. I learned alot about Italian cooking and a deeper appreciation for the amazing creation of vegetables and how to celebrate them! Jack Bishop's attitude reminds me of my Dad's who is also of Italian heritage and loved to cook too. Jack Bishop's complete step-by-step instructions and chapter set up provide the cook with a freedom to improvise and change ingredients with confidence; to go off and make a creation of their own from his "basic" recipe. Yet, he also provides specific recipes, so if you're not in the mood to be creative, you have full recipes to pick from also. It's far more than just an accumulation of recipes here. I wish every cookbook was set up this way! I learned so much from this book!!!!