A great cookbook! Have tried several recipes and so far they are all fantastic. Simple and easy to find ingredients and clear instructions. Would recommend to friends.

I had a great time reading "Your Pasta Sucks: A 'Cookbook'" by Matteo Lane and J.J. Goode. I've always enjoyed Matteo's work, and the stories interspersed throughout this cookbook were a delightful addition that made it even more enjoyable. This was a fun and unique take on a cookbook, and I really hope it does well. Matteo's humor and creativity really shine through, making this not just informative but also entertaining.

First of all, can I just hang out with Matteo? Maybe have dinner and drinks? Even better if he cooks! But I love the commentary and family stories, and the recipes are easy to follow. Can’t wait to hand sell this in the store!

YouTube sensation and comedian Matteo Lane's first cookbook comes out in April 2025 from Chronicle Books!

This quirky stand up comedian teaches us "How to make pasta like an Italian, Irish, Mexican Homosexual." Lol!

Chapters include:

Family - Three great grandmas and twenty six cousins (Pasta della Mamma, Gram Gram's Eggplant Parmigiana, etc)
Rome - City of Guanciale (Pasta alla Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia, etc.)
Sicily and the South - Caffe Granita con Brioche e Pana (Pasta alla Norma, Pasta al Limone, Aglio y Olio, etc.)
Found Family - Gays (Two Mac and Cheese, Pasta al Pomodoro, Risotto al Zefferano, etc).

The author says his romance with pasta has been his longest and best relationship. Through the book, we learn about his upbringing in a ranch style house near Chicago;

There's a page on How to Ruin Pasta, where Matteo implores us to never put oil in our pasta water, and teaches us that in Italy, the sauce is a condiment, not something you drown the pasta in. We should all read his notes on "How to Conduct Yourself at an Italian Dinner." There's an amusing page on "Things in a Nonna's House," a love letter to pig jowls, and notes on how to order coffee in Italy.

There are travel photos from Italy to enjoy as well.

Matteo begins one recipe by noting "I think Italian women and witches shop at the same stores" and then shares how his aunt Cindy cooked her pasta in a cauldron. I love the reminiscenes and childhood stories he shares along the way.

Given that the author is a comedian, one might think he is cracking jokes all throughout the text of the cookbook. No - so much better than that - he tells endearing stories of family members, traditions, and Italians. This is a cookbook you'll want to read cover to cover, savoring it, whether or not you make any of the recipes. And yes, I intend to make many of these! You can easily adapt them yourself to your vegetarian or vegan diet, or substitute gluten-free pasta as needed.

Like most contemporary cookbooks, the measurements are listed in both metric and Imperial, cups and milliliters, grams and ounces. As far as I can tell, each recipe has a photograph to accompany it. Helpfully, there's a notation at the top of each dish stating how many people it might serve.

Next time you host a Sunday supper, have this fantastic cookbook on hand to help you craft delicious family meals to share!

I’ll be honest—at first, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a cookbook written by a comedian, but Your Pasta Sucks ended up being a surprisingly solid guide to making great pasta. Matteo Lane’s humor is all over this book, which makes it an entertaining read, but underneath the jokes, there’s real cooking knowledge. The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow, and actually teach you how to improve your pasta game without overcomplicating things.

The little tips on what not to do when cooking pasta were actually helpful—I’ve definitely been guilty of some of those mistakes.

That said, the humor is a big part of this book, so if you’re looking for a super traditional, no-nonsense Italian cookbook, this might not be the one. But if you enjoy a casual, fun approach to cooking and want to learn how to make better pasta along the way,

I was all about the snark and sarcasm in this book! Seriously it's more of a stand up routine, woth some recipes thrown in! Hysterical. This would be a great gift!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

It was fine. Humorous? Yes. I've seen Matteo on a couple of stand-up shows here and there so I recognized him and why I chose it from NetGalley. Repetitive? Heck yes. It's just so repetitive. I don't think there needs to be a pasta-only cookbook. Because they're all slight variations of the same thing. So aside from the braciole, meatballs, and ricotta recipes it's same same SAME. So I was pretty bored. The photos are nice and Matteo's anecdotes were delightful but he did not need to make a cookbook. It should've just been a memoir and hey, throw a couple recipes in that.

Cohesive, fun, informative, and approachable. I cannot wait to try more of these recipes and share them with friends and family. Matteo did a great job of having his voice shine through and have a wonderful product.

This book is full of humor and stories from Matteo, which go along perfectly with his family recipes. I found most of the ingredients easy to acquire and the recipes easy to follow. If you are looking for some tasty recipes from an Italian, Irish, Mexican Homosexual, then this is the recipe book for you. You’ll be whipping up tasty dishes in no time and you’ll be entertained by none other than Matteo Lane along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

You will like this book if you like: having opinions on pasta water, straightforward family recipes, voyaging to Rome, and saucy commentary 🍝🇮🇹

BOOK: Your Pasta Sucks, by Matteo Lane

Matteo is hilarious, I love his comedy! I was so excited to see that he created a cookbook and the fact the it's pasta was amazing. I've never had a cookbook that I actually wanted to read, as I was going through recipes I would was laughing which made my family think I was going crazy until they tried their dinner. Definitely recommend this one !

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the amazing Matteo for the ARC !

This cookbook is hilarious and a wonderful read. I normally don't find myself reading the extra parts of a cookbook, I am mainly there for the recipes. However, this cookbook was different. Matteo Lane really grabbed my attention and it felt like he was breaking the 4th wall in his writing. For example when he wrote, "we use cream, because this is the future honey and we're not living on a farm." It's gay, it's hilarious, and it's so honest.

This cookbook felt personal and inviting. I loved the quips and jabs at his friends and family but what else would you expect from a standup comedian. The olive oil finishing joke! The photos were great and they brought the stories to life! I really enjoyed the moment where I read the quip about his sister's claws, flipped the page, and there they were. I love Bob and Monet and I had no idea who Matteo was, but now I do!

This cookbook has great recipes and even better stories.

Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for this ARC! ♥

I'm not super familiar with Matteo Lane, but I've seen him on a couple talk/interview -type shows and thought he was delightful and hilarious. I'm happy to say I have the same opinion about his cookbook. I haven't had a chance to test any of the recipes yet, but there are several I'm excited to get to. But even if I make zero of them I'll still be very content just having read this like any other book, because it was that entertaining.

Go get this cookbook. As someone raised in an Italian home, it is spot on. The recipes are authentic and range from simple to more advanced. The photos are wonderful and Matteo's stories about his family and friends had me laughing throughout. It truly brought me back to Sundays with my family sitting around the table eating and telling stories and teasing everyone. For me, food and family are intertwined. This book is just that. I was sent an e-advanced copy and am going to buy the physical paper copy because I loved it so much. You will too.

This cookbook had very easy recipes. I highly recommend this book. It's worth buying. I loved how easy the recipes were.

ARC REVIEW!!! Thank you @matteolane & @chroniclebooks for the ARC!
Publishing Date: 04/01/2025

Mari’s 2025 Reads: “Your Pasta Sucks: A Cookbook” by Matteo Lane. 5/5
Matteo Lane’s debut cookbook is sprinkled (pun intended) with his signature humor amongst family recipes, recipes from his time in Italy, as well as recipes from Matteo’s found/chosen family. The book starts with a foundation about Matteo’s love of cooking from time spent in his Italian family’s kitchen as a child. Matteo offers us definitions for common Italian ingredients using his slapstick humor throughout the pages. Be sure to pick up a copy for some fabulous recipes as well as a good laugh! Truly this book was al dente! #arcreviews #netgalleyarc

There's something about going through this cookbook that you're just entertained from the stories as well as just wanting to try almost all of the recipes. This feels like you're with Matteo Lane and his family and friends, hanging out, and oh, let's indulge in some such nostalgic and amazing food. These are the days that you just long for, and to get recipes that you can keep for a long time? Sign me up.

The cookbook is vibrant. It's also heartfelt and hilarious. With that, you know that the pictures will draw you in, no matter if you want to make it or not. Then of course, you'd want to make it. There's a punch in the tone that the humor lingers right above the great recipes. I enjoyed browsing through this and definitely marked some of the recipes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for a copy of this. All opinions are my own.

Okay first and foremost, the hilarious picture is what drew me into this book. I knew it had to be humorous and cool just based on the cover. It did not disappoint. I really enjoyed learning about Matteo through his funny and honest stories and recipes. I also have to admit, I got a little embarrassed bc I was doing a lot of things he said not to do with my pasta! 🤣 I’m really looking forward to making all these recipes and buying a hardcover of this book for my shelf and for my friends.

This was a charming and funny cookbook that made me so hungry for pasta! Matteo Lane uses his comedic flavor to give readers a glance into his family through food. He's clear about how devisive his topic is and where his opinions come from. Any fan of his or anyone with a sense of humor looking to up their pasta game could benefit from this book.

Your Pasta Sucks will be a great cookbook to add to any collection! Not only is it full of irresistible-sounding recipes (I haven't yet tried any but I have a list of which to start with!), but it also features Matteo Lane's comedic snark and wit. I actually appreciate his commentary at the start of each recipe, and the way the recipes are laid out is easy to follow. I also really like that he includes both cup and gram measurements for ingredients. The photography in this book is also very appealing and definitely entices you to want to get cooking. Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle books for the chance to preview this book prior to publication!