The Amalfi Coast (compact edition): A collection of Italian recipes

The Amalfi Coast is a special place in Italy that is filled with beauty, romance, and great food. This pretty book is part cookbook, part travel guide, and part photo album, with a little history thrown in. But the heart of it is many recipes in eleven sections: Appetizers, Soups, Bread & Pizza, Risottos & Stock, Pasta, Fish, Poultry & Meat, Vegetables, Desserts, Cocktails, Drinks, and Cheese.

Each recipe opens with a paragraph about the dish, an ingredients list with measurements in both grams and ounces, and good instructions. Many also have a good close-up photo of the finished dish. Unfortunately, there is no nutritional information, but maybe it’s best to not know how many calories each has considering the amount of oil and butter used! Don’t miss the recipes for Lamb on the Grill with Anchovy Dressing or Hunter’s Chicken. They are spectacular.

The writing is terrific and the instructions are easy to follow. In addition to all this, there are beautiful photos of the people and places along the Amalfi Coast scattered throughout that make this little trip to Italy a most satisfying experience.