Big Love Cooking by Joey Campanaro

Big Love Cooking

by Joey Campanaro

From Joey Campanaro, the lovable chef and owner of popular Little Owl restaurant in New York City!



Big Love Cooking features 75 accessible recipes infused with Mediterranean flavors inspired by Joey's Italian-American family.



This is simple, authentic food, with generous servings and nourishing, shareable meals.



• Includes stories from the restaurant, historical NYC photographs, and conversational advice

•
Dishes include Little Owl Crispy Chicken, Ricotta Cavatelli with Tomato
Broth, Bacon, and Fava Beans, and Brioche French Toast with Stewed
Strawberries.

• Features warm, inviting photography that emulates the family-style meals



With accessible recipes and familiar ingredients, this cookbook is perfect for big family meals that will please a crowd.



Recipes
include mouth-watering dishes like Littleneck Clams with Juicy Bread,
Mom-Mom Pizza, and Pork Chop with Parmesan Butter Beans.



• Big Love Cooking is a return to hearty platters and heartwarming comfort food with a strong sense of place.

• Perfect for cooks interested in Mediterranean cuisine and Italian-American favorites

• A great gift for the home cook that is interested in hearty, delicious Italian meals over trends

• Add it to the shelf with cookbooks like Carmine's Family-Style Cookbook by Michael Ronis, The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, and The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Peter Falcinelli, Frank Castronovo, and Frank Meehan.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

Share
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Big Love Cooking is a recipe collection by Little Owl restaurateur Joey Campanaro. Due out 8th Sept 2020 from Chronicle Books, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The introductory chapter is followed by the recipes arranged thematically: brunch, soups & salads, vegetables, pasta, meat & poultry, fish & seafood, Sunday supper, and desserts. Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (US measurements, with metric equivalents in parentheses (yay!)), and step by step instructions. Many of the recipes are photographed, and they are photographed well and clearly. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate.

I was impressed by the level of detail in the preparation instructions. They're meticulously elucidated no matter how complex. I found the well written instructions reassuring and felt like I could achieve a good consistent result by following them closely. Many of them are deceptively involved; there are some which are definitely outside the realm of after-work-cooking. Ingredients are very specific, including specific cheeses and varieties of vegetables or types of meat. Some ingredients will require access to specialist grocers or cheesemakers.

The book is peppered with family photos and reminiscences which I found charming and fascinating. Mr. Campanaro's love for his culture and family background shines through in his writing. These reminiscences add a lot of flavor (sorry) to the book and provide anchoring context to the family and restaurant recipes he shares with a wider audience in his book. The website of the Little Owl restaurant refers to their customers throughout as "family" and reading this book, it really has the ring of truth. These are many of his treasured family recipes.

Wonderful Italian American comfort food recipes. These would grace any special gathering or special meal.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 August, 2020: Finished reading
  • 5 August, 2020: Reviewed