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Books : The Silver Spoon
Rating: 
- Overrated
My partner, who is italian raved about this book, and while the actual recipes are good, its set-up is confusing, the index and list of recipies are confusing, jumping between English and Italian without reason. The chapters are set out by course and ingredent, which may be useful for an Italian reader, but not for an English one (is a recipe for parmigiana di mellanzane to be found in the chapter on cheeses, aubergines, primo piatto or secondo piatto??) Also the recipie for fresh pasta is apparently for 4 and requires 100g of flour, in fact, this is barely enough for one person as a main course and is only suitable in these portions for a very small starter.
Rating:
- Bin your other cook books
This is a great book. Admittedly, quite a few dishes are made of bits of animal that I’ve never even heard of, let alone eaten. But there’s a bewildering array of recipes to try, including starters, sauces, soups, pizzas, pasta, and main courses.
The beauty of the Silver Spoon lies in its simplicity. There’s none of the pretentious guff that usually pads out cookery books, and the recipes are very short and clearly explained. And there are plenty of recipes that won’t have you trawling the supermarket for dozens of obscure ingredients. Chicken in almond sauce? Chicken, almonds, onion, garlic, lemon, white wine. Spinach sauce (for pasta)? Spinach, milk, butter.
Incidentally, this is the only cook book I own that is bound in a way that allows it stay open at the right page all by itself.
Rating: - Amazing Book
I have a number of cook books ranging from quick meal books to Gourmet cuisine. This book is incredible, finaly offeing cooks a wide selection of classic italian recipes by italian cooks. there's no italian fusion rubish just a book showcasing Italian cuisine at it's finest fresh quality ingreedients cooked well.
Rating: - Brilliant - TRULY the only cookbook you'll ever need
Not much more I can say, everyone else has already done it. It has prompted me into better eating habits as there is a recipe for all occassions. Some of the recipes look to simple to be as delicious as they are i.e the cabbage soup, but it was fantastic, even my husband enjoys it and he usually manages to trot off to the pub after claiming not to be too hungry on soups nights. It is predominantly Italian but does also feature classics from other nations such as the'English' Bread and Butter' pudding. A must have book, the only one you'll use constantly, unlike the other 10+ 'must have' cookery books I own.
Rating: - A Cover-to-Cover Cookery Challenge
Well may be not EVERY recipe in it, but it is certainly worth cooking your way through and is without much doubt my best christmas present this year.
It covers everything, yes everything, and bar the odd (and hilarious) period item like pineapple mousse to have with ham and set russian salad which reveal it's half-century age, this is about as comprehensive a kitchen tool for Italian cookery that anyone could hope for.
I've already done a kitsch chicken in salsa rossa and a braised beef in barolo. It pulls together all the sorts of things you find in writers like Marcella Hazan into a home-kitchen friendly compendium. It also reveals the food culture differences between UK and Italy - the rabbit chapter is one of the biggest meat sections - and pleasingly assumes that you will make everything from scratch.
It's just a great book. Nothing more, nothing less
- OverratedMy partner, who is italian raved about this book, and while the actual recipes are good, its set-up is confusing, the index and list of recipies are confusing, jumping between English and Italian without reason. The chapters are set out by course and ingredent, which may be useful for an Italian reader, but not for an English one (is a recipe for parmigiana di mellanzane to be found in the chapter on cheeses, aubergines, primo piatto or secondo piatto??) Also the recipie for fresh pasta is apparently for 4 and requires 100g of flour, in fact, this is barely enough for one person as a main course and is only suitable in these portions for a very small starter.
Rating:
- Bin your other cook booksThis is a great book. Admittedly, quite a few dishes are made of bits of animal that I’ve never even heard of, let alone eaten. But there’s a bewildering array of recipes to try, including starters, sauces, soups, pizzas, pasta, and main courses.
The beauty of the Silver Spoon lies in its simplicity. There’s none of the pretentious guff that usually pads out cookery books, and the recipes are very short and clearly explained. And there are plenty of recipes that won’t have you trawling the supermarket for dozens of obscure ingredients. Chicken in almond sauce? Chicken, almonds, onion, garlic, lemon, white wine. Spinach sauce (for pasta)? Spinach, milk, butter.
Incidentally, this is the only cook book I own that is bound in a way that allows it stay open at the right page all by itself.
Rating:
- Amazing BookI have a number of cook books ranging from quick meal books to Gourmet cuisine. This book is incredible, finaly offeing cooks a wide selection of classic italian recipes by italian cooks. there's no italian fusion rubish just a book showcasing Italian cuisine at it's finest fresh quality ingreedients cooked well.
Rating:
- Brilliant - TRULY the only cookbook you'll ever needNot much more I can say, everyone else has already done it. It has prompted me into better eating habits as there is a recipe for all occassions. Some of the recipes look to simple to be as delicious as they are i.e the cabbage soup, but it was fantastic, even my husband enjoys it and he usually manages to trot off to the pub after claiming not to be too hungry on soups nights. It is predominantly Italian but does also feature classics from other nations such as the'English' Bread and Butter' pudding. A must have book, the only one you'll use constantly, unlike the other 10+ 'must have' cookery books I own.
Rating:
- A Cover-to-Cover Cookery ChallengeWell may be not EVERY recipe in it, but it is certainly worth cooking your way through and is without much doubt my best christmas present this year.
It covers everything, yes everything, and bar the odd (and hilarious) period item like pineapple mousse to have with ham and set russian salad which reveal it's half-century age, this is about as comprehensive a kitchen tool for Italian cookery that anyone could hope for.
I've already done a kitsch chicken in salsa rossa and a braised beef in barolo. It pulls together all the sorts of things you find in writers like Marcella Hazan into a home-kitchen friendly compendium. It also reveals the food culture differences between UK and Italy - the rabbit chapter is one of the biggest meat sections - and pleasingly assumes that you will make everything from scratch.
It's just a great book. Nothing more, nothing less