Sometimes a cookbook is more than a cookbook. Foodies love cookbooks, and foodies love reading about food and recipes. Foodies especially love cooking out of good cookbooks, and Joey Campanaro, restaurateur and lifelong lover of cooking, has written a cookbook to satisfy all of a foodie’s needs. Big Love Cooking: 75 Recipes for Satisfying, Shareable Comfort Food has dozens of mouthwatering Italian dishes from Campanaro’s childhood, but also includes plenty of non-Italian recipes that he serves at his restaurants.

Campanaro has included a section on ingredients, basic equipment, and some of his thoughts on food – not too much, so it’s easy to read through. Then to the recipes which have a story, vignette, or explanation before every recipe. This makes it a fun read, even if one isn’t cooking. But as readers get further in the book, the recipes will inspire anyone to make a recipe or two. Although there aren’t pictures of every recipe, there are beautiful photographs of many of the dishes, making it impossible to forego cooking. There are also photographs of Campanaro’s neighborhood. The actual recipes are easy-to-follow, some with a few notes from the author to insure success. Most of the recipes are simple, too, making it possible for everyone to successfully make the recipes. Some successful chefs write cookbooks that intimidate the reader and call for difficult-to-find ingredients or difficult cooking skills. Campanaro presents his recipes in such a way that readers will feel that he is just a neighbor giving his recipe to a friend.

Of course the first recipe to make is the signature dish served at The Owl, Campanaro’s restaurant, Gravy Meatball Sliders, and it is absolutely delicious. Adapting the buns to the automatic bread machine saved time, and the meatballs and sauce were simple. This recipe is reason enough to own this fun cookbook. Foodies everywhere will want to add this cookbook to their cookbook shelf, and since there is something here for everyone, cooks everywhere will want to pick it up.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.