Rao's Recipes from the Neighborhood: Frank Pelligrino Cooks Italian with Family and Friends

This book has every recipe I remember growing up and a few I don't. Very good book for authentic italian cuisine. If you can't get a table, you can at least taste the food!

I second much of B. Marold's comments that this book is a must have for Italian-American cuisine, although I think this book and "The Rao's Cookbook" complements each other quite nicely. From a glance I notice there are not as many overlapping recipes between the two books that others imply - a few more "home" recipes here while "The Rao's Cookbook" tends to offer more traditional "red sauce" fares, and perhaps more recipes that are served in restaurant settings. For example, this book does not offer veal permingino while two Italian-American bread recipes are covered that do not appear on "The Rao's Cookbook". I have read Lidia Bastianich's "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen", but given that I myself already own The Rao's two cookbooks and a few works at the extreme other end of Italian cuisine such as Mario Batali's works and Giorgio Loctaelli's "Made In Italy" and a couple of others, I think they have pretty much covered the grounds of Bastianich's book.

I love this book! It brings me right back to Brooklyn, and reminds me so much of my roots. In our home there was always cooking, good food and lots of family and friends. These recipes are the same good cooking, simple Italian cooking to enjoy. I also have Rao's other cookbook which I also enjoy. Bought this for my son for Christmas and then had to get one for myself. Get this and enjoy!

This book completely revitalized my interest in cooking. I was growing tired of the highly complex, noveau recipes requiring obscure ingredients, and the end result was hardly worth the wait. Instead, these recipes accentuate the essence of Italian cooking - simplicity and quality ingredients. A great meal doesn't have to take all day to prepare and cook, and shouldn't require more than a handful of ingredients. Most of these recipes can be prepared with minimal effort after work and are great for family style cooking all week long, leaving great left-overs that only taste better with each re-heating. Cancel the magazine subscriptions and try this book. You will not be dissapointed with these recipes that haven't fallen short for over 100 years. Even the mediocre recipes are better than most.

This is a must have companion to the Rao's cookbook. Once again Frank Pellegrino(with the help of his cousin Susan) manages to capture the "flavor" of the neighborhood that I grew up in. I am so enjoying reading and reminiscing about the people and the foods that were a big part of my childhood experience. As I now enter "the front line" as Frank calls it, I appreciate the nostaglia and memories that this book evokes and thank him for taking me back in time....