Not My Mother's Kitchen

Looking for a cookbook that not only has good recipes, but is also a fascinating read? Not My Mother’s Kitchen by Rob Chirico is not only a memoir, but also has dozens of great recipes that were never made by the author’s mother. The book is full of information on food, like the history of the Muffuletta, the famous sandwich that originated at the Central Grocery in New Orleans, and also the real history of Alfredo sauce. Chirico has certainly done his research, and has also tested his recipes because all that I have prepared to date have turned out great.
Not My Mother’s Kitchen is upbeat, and will keep readers laughing, as well as cooking. This is one for foodies everywhere who can laugh at those who aren’t gifted cooks. It’s actually lots of fun.
Chirico’s recipe for Pesto is one of the best I’ve made, and a favorite sauce is the Gorgonzola Sauce to serve over pasta. Many of the recipes are very simple, with only three or four ingredients, like the Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Yum!) and the Tipsy Tuscan Roasted Potatoes. There are also several sauces for pasta that are fabulous. Meat and poultry dishes are mouthwatering, and there are enough to keep everyone cooking for some time. There are, however, no dessert recipes, which is unfortunate, since his other recipes are so good, I’m sure his desserts would be good too. Chirico’s explanations and vignettes before the recipes will keep cooks smiling while cooking
The illustrations are nice, and the family pictures make the biographical portions of the book come alive. However, there are no pictures of the dishes. While pictures would make it even better, this cookbook is definitely recommended; anyone reading it will be well-versed in food trivia, and will have dozens of inspiring recipes to try.

Not My Mother's Kitchen. It's a good title because it makes you think that perhaps this author is putting a modern twist on his mother's old Italian-American specialities. Actually, what makes this book funny and also relatable is that the author's mother was a terrible cook who spent as little time as possible in the kitchen. Talk about the anti-Italian mother stereotype! It turns out that Rob Chirico grew up with Velveeta, Wonder Bread, and frozen dinners. It was only when he was in other people's homes that he got classic home cooking of any sort.

There is no sneering here. It is is all told with a loving touch. When the recipes start coming, we get to see Chirico's true love for authentic Italian food. He learned how to cook and never looked back. The headnotes have a nice combination of amusing memories, cuisine history, and the excitement that comes from having found a dish you love to share. I didn't try any of the recipes but they read as if they're gonna cook up great in the kitchen.

Award winning chef Rob Chirico calls his mother an "Assassin" but only in the kitchen!

He regales us with tales of his mothers awful cooking and his journey to rediscover Italian-American cooking

It's part memoir part recipe book and I love the format!

I chuckled out loud at some of his descriptions about growing up with sandwiches and crimson sauces but felt the love and warmth for his family in every page

The ingredients section of the book is filled with useful facts and information about good Italian ingredients and their provenance as well as his memories of them and how he found them.

Each recipe sounds mouthwatering and perfected by him as well as peppered with background stories and useful tips and explanations making them easy to follow.

This is about so much more than just food!

About the Author:

Rob Chirico is a freelance write and artist whose work has appeared in the food journal Gastronomica. He lives in Western Massachusetts

The book is available for pre-order now. But is on sale from the 6th September 2016

Available in Hardback and Ebook editions

A great book with everything you expect to see in helping you achieve your goals. Great depth and recipes as well. The author really knows their audience.

The stories and recipes in this book are excellent (although the stories of his mom's awful cooking caused some bad flashbacks to my own upbringing). Delicious and fun to read!

Best and truest title for an Italian cookbook, Everything I made came out Ah-Mazing!

A delightful mix of recipes and tales.of childhood. Will definitely be trying out some of them, hopefully with some great results!!

Mr. Chirico has written a winner. This book will be part of my Italian Cookbook collection!! The recipes are easy to follow and can be made on most any budget. The stories of his family took me back to the days of my childhood, learning to cook homemade ravioli or gnocchi with my Nonni. Thank you, Mr. Chirico, for the memories and the delicious recipes to add to my repetoire...

I would give this book 10 stars if possible. I absolutely LOVE this cookbook! It's layout is unique in that the author regales us with stories of his childhood, his family and their love for cooking. It's heart-warming and it pulls you right into his mama's kitchen. I found myself smiling, especially when he reminisced about TV dinners. This book is well written with recipes that make want to try them all. This book has raised the bar for cookbooks, Italian and otherwise. Loved it!

Quite often, I will sit down and read a cookbook like a novel. With Not My Mother's Kitchen, that's actually the idea, more or less. The recipes are appealing, do-able, and ingredients are readily available. I will probably buy a hard copy for my cookbook shelf.

A wonderfully enjoyable cookbook. This is a beauitfully written memoir to the authors family receipes. A cookbook from the soul it's receipes and endearingly heartfelt stories of his families history of Italian cooking. I am buying copies for my friends and myself. The receipes are a revelation! Well done. This is a cookbook you will use forevermore in your own kitchen.

I loved this cookbook! The author wrote an entertaining story about growing up in an Italian family with a mom who didn’t cook Italian foods in a traditional way. She liked shortcuts, easy, quick meals and buying the least expensive products she could find. Rob on the other hand remembers vividly the times when he tried new foods that really appealed to him. He enjoys savoring everything about the meal experience from the careful choosing of quality ingredients to putting everything together. The differences between the two are funny and I enjoyed reading about his childhood.

Not only did I enjoy reading about his family life, but the I found a good bit of the information he shares to be priceless. If you haven’t heard, we have a big problem in this country with the authenticity of some products. He actually tells you what brands of products to buy. If you want olive oil—that contains actual olive oil, he has compiled some of the best brands to buy. he also tells you what to look for on labels when you are shopping for things like balsamic vinegar. There are useful tips to help with cooking. I found so many things to highlight that I need to make an actual list! I’m starting to feel like a knowledgeable food snob!

After getting all this in a reasonably priced book, the author shares recipes! WOW! This book definitely gives you a bang for your buck. Everyone who loves Italian food should have a copy of this.

Ohhhh my!! Calling all my foodie friends!!

I love to cook and I'm always looking for new and fantastic recipes to incorporate into my family's dinner rotation. Everyone in my family are huge fans of Italian cuisine, so when I saw Not My Mother's Kitchen I had a feeling that I would find some winning recipes---I was so right!

Rob Chirico does a great job at combining antidotes of growing up in an Italian-American family in NYC with a mother who couldn't cook, as well as amazing recipes that Rob has perfected through the years. I think the thing that surprised me most was how much I learned about lot of the ingredients Rob uses. I enjoyed the mini-history lessons on such thing as pasta, broccoli rabe, meatballs (just to name a few)!! This book kept my attention the whole way through! The recipes span from basic to involved, so no matter where you are in you cooking abilities, there will be something for everyone!! I have personally already tried 3 recipes and I have to say they were a huge hit with everyone in my family!! I give Not My Mother's Kitchen 5 stars and I can't wait to test out more recipes from this book!!!

I very much enjoyed getting to read this book as a great synergy of recipes and the stories behind them! My site also features recipes the first of every month in a columbn called INFINTE RECIPE. This column highlights appropriate items to make for a book club gathering that I've whipped up myself, or reviewing books that include such a recipe, including discussing my experience actually making a recipe from that book (but not actually publishing the recipe in full, in order to encourage buying the book). I enjoyed making and eating the roasted olives featured in this cookbook, something I'd never tried before!

Great cook book illustrating how cooking can change a person, and looking back on recipes we've had as children.

A wonderful cookbook full of gorgeous pictures and heartwarming stories. The kind that feeds the souls, as the recipes would feed the body.