‘The Italian Family Kitchen’ offers a heartfelt exploration of traditional Italian home cooking, celebrating the flavours and techniques passed down through generations. Eva Santaguida and Harper Alexander invite readers into their culinary world with comforting recipes that embody the essence of authentic Italian cuisine. This book is not just a collection of recipes but a testament to the love and tradition that defines Italian family meals.

Accuracy: ★★★★★

The recipes are a true reflection of authentic Italian cooking, emphasising traditional methods and ingredients. The authors provide detailed instructions and cultural context, ensuring readers can recreate these dishes with confidence and fidelity to Italian culinary heritage.

Perspective: ★★★★☆

Santaguida and Alexander bring a unique blend of insight and expertise, offering readers a glimpse into the warmth of an Italian family kitchen. While the perspective is richly grounded in tradition, a few more contemporary twists could have broadened the appeal further.

Relevance: ★★★★☆

In a time when home cooking is becoming increasingly cherished, this book stands out for its focus on comfort and authenticity. The recipes are relevant for anyone looking to bring the warmth of Italian family dining into their home, though those seeking modern or fusion variations might find it less aligned with current trends.

Engagement: ★★★★☆

The engaging narrative style, combining mouth-watering recipes and vivid descriptions, keeps readers hooked. Each dish tells a story, making the cooking experience feel personal and connected to a broader cultural heritage.

Readability: ★★★★★

The clear, step-by-step instructions and well-organized chapters make this book highly accessible. Both novice and experienced cooks will find the recipes easy to follow, with helpful tips and notes ensuring success in the kitchen.

Enjoyment: ★★★★☆

Cooking from ‘The Italian Family Kitchen’ is a joy, with each recipe delivering comforting, delicious results. The book’s emphasis on tradition and family creates a warm, enjoyable cooking experience, though those looking for adventurous or innovative recipes might desire a bit more variety.


‘The Italian Family Kitchen’ is a beautiful tribute to the art of Italian home cooking. Eva Santaguida and Harper Alexander have crafted a cookbook that not only teaches the techniques of authentic Italian cuisine but also conveys the heart and soul of family dining. This book is a must-have for anyone looking to savour the flavours of Italy and the warmth of family traditions.

This is a really great cookbook! It's got very useful information and lots of delicious looking recipes. The recipes I'm most excited to try are the miniature fried pizza, Baked Chicken and Potatoes and Umbrian Apple Cake. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Eva Santaguida,Harper Alexander, Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you've ever wanted to cook authentic Italian food like a local, The Italian Family Kitchen brings that magic right into your own kitchen. This cookbook is a beautiful blend of recipes, stories, and tips that genuinely feel like you're learning from someone’s Italian nonna—no pretenses, just real, heartfelt food.

The book covers all the classic bases with over 100 recipes, each one pretty straightforward and actually doable at home. I love that it’s organized by course, so whether I’m craving a quick pasta or something heartier like a “secondo” main dish, I know exactly where to look. The basics are covered too: homemade pastas, sauces, and even tips on setting up a proper Italian pantry. These aren't just quick-fix meals; they're real dishes that give you a true sense of Italian culture and cuisine.

Also, the photos! They’re stunning and truly capture the essence of each dish, which is such a bonus for visual cooks like me. This isn’t just a book of recipes; it’s almost like a passport to Italy, complete with the comforts and warmth of a family kitchen. It’s my new go-to for anything Italian. Buon appetito!

I’ve been in love with Italian cuisine. I loved this book and the recipes.
Highly recommend it. Cannot wait to try and make some Italian dishes for a Sunday family day.

My appreciation for Italian cuisine took a huge leap forward when we hosted an Italian exchange student. Prior to her arrival, my exposure was at a very low "Olive Garden" level. Giulia opened our eyes to the real world (shameless plug for hosting exchange students, it's a great experience)! That girl could cook! And when we visited her at her home in Milan, we were blown away by her families cooking (especially Nonna). We experienced such great dining there.
Cut to the present....I have been experimenting with Italian recipes since we returned, but the results have not been as good as hoped.
Then I received this great ARC from NetGalley! What a great book!
Broken down into about 100 recipes, it covers from appetizers to desserts. Extraordinary photography. Easy to understand and follow. It even teaches one how to use a pasta machine to make your own pasta.
I talked with Giulia on the phone about some of these recipes, and she said that they sounded authentic, and that she is looking forward to my making them for her on our next visit!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I have already ordered a hard copy for myself!

These are the recipes I grew up with. It felt like coming home. I cannot wait to work my way throughout and share my history with my children. Well maybe not the tripe. That one can stay back.

All things Italian cooking...

This was an extensive Italian cookbook. From fried foods, pastas, pizzas and more.
Solid photography and a nice layout.
Recommend.

The Italian Family Kitchen is an approachable way to cook authentic Italian food at home. If you want to dive into various delicious dishes such as fritti, bread, pizza, ragu, pasta, or riso, this is the book for you! Santaguiga and Alexander have created a cookbook that is not only beautiful, but the recipes have great detail that will have you successfully creating these dishes.
In addition to the detailed recipe, the authors include information about the history of the cuisine. I found this to be fascinating and it connected me to both the food and the process even more.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I have recently started making pasta at home and came across this book via NetGalley. Before this I have only made red sauce or a white sauce pasta. Who knew about the number of ways you can change the sauce. Moreover this books has helped me made pasta from scratch and steps were easy to follow. Few of the recipes have become a family favorite and are part of our weekly menu.

An excellent book of Italian recipes that are easy to follow, I made a few meals and the tasted delicious. The authors gives the reader insight to the meals and what they mean to an Italian family. I would highly recommend this book. Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for this review copy.

A good cookbook filled with Italian recipes, as the title suggests.

The book is organized in such a manner that it's easy to find what you're looking for, the recipes are easy to follow and have the ingredients listed using both measuring systems. I found it a bit odd to see that the metric system in considered the secondary one, since Italy is a country that uses the metric system, however, I assume that the authors are of Italian origin, not necessarily living there, and maybe the main audience is using the imperial measurements. Still, I like the fact that they used both in the book.

A thing I didn't like as much, is the fact that not every recipe has a photo. For me, personally, having a photo that I can associate the recipe with is very important as it shows that 1. the recipe was 100% made before being published and 2. how it should look at the end, which can give me hints about some techniques.

All in all, the book was interesting, I learned more about the Italian cuisine and tried some really tasty recipes.

Spoiler alert: this book will make you want to cook and eat Italian food and you will be unable to resist the urge to try the recipes.

This beautifully illustrated book is sharing Italian recipes in their original way, the way they were transmitted from generation to generation. It contains all the real classics that we all have heard of and many more dishes that are all mouthwatering.

The book starts with some good basics about the Italian menu and eating traditions, basic techniques (how to make fresh egg pasta, semolina pasta, how to use a pasta machine, how to cook pasta etc) and of course the pantry because Italian food requires very specific ingredients, often very simple but the quality is of utmost importance. The authors are very pragmatic though and they share notes in the recipes that tell you what to do if you cannot find a particular ingredient.

And then, the authors have been very generous and shared so many recipes. A few fritti (fried appetisers), bread, ragu, and and many pasta, rice, main dishes (second and contorno) as well as some lovely desserts.

I did not know Pasta Grammar but I love the idea and the enthusiasm of Eva and Harper. This book is the ideal companion to following the authors on social media. And it is a very good starting point for anyone who wishes to cook great traditional Italian food. I really loved it.

This cooking book was so cozy and made me want to go back home and cook.
Also I adore the fact that the recipes are authentic.
An amazing book.

This book has recipes for italian dishes but what makes it a bit more special is that it includes family history/occassions linked to each dish. Isn't that what makes our cultural foods special to us, how they tie into our memories of childhood and loved ones? The recipes have a complete ingredient list with clear step by step instructions that are easy to follow. Additionally, what I appreciated was at the beginning of the book there was an informatioal section about key ingredients that would keep reappearing, how they are made and how to find the right quality of ingredient.

Great cookbook for beginners to intermediate cooks! It's an incredibly well-organized cookbook, the beginning starts with the kitchen and pantry staples you'll need throughout the cookbook and is organized as a classic Italian meal would be eaten. The recipes are beautifully photographed and easy to follow, there's a variety for vegetarians and meat-eaters. I would personally recommend the bolognese recipe and the tiramisu both were well worth the effort and incredibly delicious. A great cookbook to either add to a collection or start one!

The title of this book is perfect, I have many Italian cook books but this one stands out for its explanatiuon of how meals in Italy work, how seriously most Italians treat food, how it is still a big family / social aspect of the Italian culture and for its classic recipes of dishes that you can and will make at home.

Easy to follow recipes and delicious photos.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Italian Family Kitchen

This book is full of absolutely delicious recipes. Easy to follow and easy to make. Everything I made turned out so good. This is definitely a book I'd come back to for more recipes!

From the moment I opened the book, I was captivated by the stunning photography and the way each recipe was presented with warmth and familiarity. The layout, organized by course, made it easy to explore everything from crispy fritti to rich, indulgent dolce.

I particularly appreciated the practical tips on stocking an Italian kitchen and sourcing ingredients. As someone who often struggles with finding the right components, this guidance was invaluable. Trying my hand at making fresh pasta and experimenting with classic ragù became a joyous adventure, and I was pleasantly surprised by how approachable the recipes felt.

It’s definitely a cookbook that will hold a special place on my shelf and in my kitchen.

This is a lovely Italian cookery book with lots of information about the Italian way, and over ninety interesting recipes.

It is divided into eight chapters plus an introduction:
- Fritti (fried appetizers & street food) (8)
- Bread & Pizza (9)
- Ragu (5)
- Pasta (21)
- Riso (rice) (10)
- Secondo (second courses) (18)
- Contorno (side dishes) (13)
- Dolce (desserts) (10)

The introduction explains the five courses of an Italian meal and the rules of serving dishes - its unacceptable to serve a vegetable based side dish with the primo (carb based main). It then moves onto the pantry ingredients and tools used. There are basic recipes for fresh egg pasta, fresh semolina pasta, potato gnocchi, simple tomato sauce and besciamella (white sauce). The book goes onto explain the use of the pasta machine and how to cook pasta.

The recipes come with both metric and imperial measurements of the ingredients, introduction, timings, yield and numbered steps to follow. Not all the recipes have a photograph to accompany them, but those that do look delicious.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

A pretty straightforward collection of quite purist traditional recipes. Which is not bad! It taught me a lot about traditional Italian cuisine, when I had foolishly imagined myself more than a beginner amateur. I'm always startled to learn how little authenticity even the "typical" national dishes of a country seem to hold once they are exported (or invented to appeal more broadly to an international palate). Still, most of this cook book boils down to "it is impossible to acquire these specific local ingredients abroad, so don't even try to get close to the original taste of this dish". Huh.