The Silver Spoon (Traditional Italian Home Cooking Recipes)
The Silver Spoon (Traditional Italian Home Cooking Recipes) book cover

The Silver Spoon (Traditional Italian Home Cooking Recipes)

Price
$41.49
Format
Hardcover
Pages
1504
Publisher
Phaidon Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0714862569
Dimensions
7.5 x 3 x 11 inches
Weight
6.85 pounds

Description

"A seriously comprehensive guide that shows that Italian food is about for more than just pasta and pizza... One for serious Italophiles."— Gordon Ramsey, The Times "The most successful Italian cookbook of all time."— The Financial Times "It?s not so much one more Italian cookbook as the one-volume encyclopedia of Italian home cookery. Lavish illustrations, a helpful glossary of cooking terms and a translation geared to the intelligent layout make The Silver Spoon both pleasant browsing and an accessible manual in the kitchen."— The Wall Street Journal "Big and bountiful, it?s a welcoming jumble of recipes... And by the looks of it, it may give cookbooks by American celebrity chefs a run for their money."— The New York Times Magazine "A joy to cook from... May well prove to be the only Italian cookery you?ll ever need."— Henrietta Green, Daily Mail "It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive resource of Italian classics."— Fine Cooking Magazine "Accessible and a pleasure to read... When it comes to Italian home cooking, The Silver Spoon serves it up."— Costco Connection "Italy's version of The Joy of Cooking ... Presents lucid recipes for every dish a lover of Italian food could wish for - more than 2,000 of them."— Bon Appetit "Without a doubt, this season's one indispensable cookbook is The Silver Spoon ... Magnificent."— This Week "A kitchen essential for anyone with even a passing interest in Italian food... If you're stuck for a Christmas gift idea for the foodie in your life, this is just the thing."— Sunday Business Post Ireland " The Silver Spoon is as delicious to look at as the recipes inside."— Scotland on Sunday Christmas Guide "A brilliant source of inspiration."— Delicious "Time-honoured recipes that make this a one-stop reference book for traditional Italian cooking."— House and Garden "The ultimate kitchen companion."— Mindfood Magazine "Strongly recommended for cooks of all stages, culinary school students, and food lovers."— celebrity-books.blogspot.com "The most exhaustive Italian cookbook in recent memory, this volume offers something for every cook, regardless of their skill level, and deserves to be a fixture in American kitchens."— Publishers Weekly "We love The Silver Spoon cookbook from the 1950s ? a staple in many Italian food lovers? kitchen."— FamilyCirlcle "This book is considered something of an authority on Italian cookery and is the bestselling cookery book of all time in its native land... For lovers of Italian cuisine it contains so much to inspire and delight. Well deserving of a coveted space on the kitchen shelf."— Woman's Way (Ireland) "There's plenty to say about Italian food but very little that hasn't been explored in this vast tome. In essence it defines the ineffable conviviality that gives Italian fare its pizzazz." — Monocle "...This is a bible for serious Italian chefs, but it's accessible for beginners, too. If ever you're at a loss for what Italian dish to cook, have this book at the ready for endless inspiration."— Forbes Online

Features & Highlights

  • "
  • "The quintessential cookbook." – USA Today
  • The Silver Spoon
  • , the most influential and bestselling Italian cookbook of the last 50 years, is now available in a new updated and revised edition. This bible of authentic Italian home cooking features over 2,000 revised recipes and is illustrated with 400 brand new, full‐color photographs. A comprehensive and lively book, its uniquely stylish and user‐friendly format makes it accessible and a pleasure to read. The new updated edition features new introductory material covering such topics as how to compose a traditional Italian meal, typical food traditions of the different regions, and how to set an Italian table. It also contains a new section of menus by celebrity chefs cooking traditional Italian food including Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Tony Mantuano, and Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone.
  • Il Cucchiaio d’Argento
  • was originally published in Italy in 1950 by the famous Italian design and architectural magazine
  • Domus
  • , and became an instant classic. A select group of cooking experts were commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional Italian home cooking recipes and make them available for the first time to a wider modern audience. In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations.
  • Divided into eleven color‐coded chapters by course,
  • The Silver Spoon
  • is a feat of design as well as content. Chapters include: Sauces, Marinades and Flavored Butters, Antipasti, Appetizers and Pizzas, First Courses, Eggs, Vegetles, Fish and Shellfish, Meat, Poultry, Game, Cheese, and Desserts. It covers everything from coveted authentic sauces and marinades to irresistible dishes such as Penne Rigate with Artichokes, Ricotta and Spinach Gnocchi, Tuscan Minestrone, Meatballs in Brandy, Bresaola with Corn Salad, Pizza Napoletana, Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches and Carpaccio Cipriani.
  • "

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(782)
★★★★
25%
(326)
★★★
15%
(196)
★★
7%
(91)
-7%
(-91)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

A great Italian cookbook, translated to Englush, but sadly loosing the metric units on the way.

I just want to make a point. I know it is somewhat unfair. This is an original Italian cookbook, now recently translated and adapted to an English speaking audience, obviously primarily American. In the process, they have also changed from themetric units used in Italy and Europe to American style, with Fahrenheit, ounces, pounds etc. Thus, Englishspeaking Foodies in Europe, Asia, Africa, beware, this book is not written for you. You are not intended buyers. One would think that in 2017, a fantastic booklike this should have both American as well as metric units. Having to translate between the two is cumbersome, and unneccessary. I live in Europe, but I have also lived in the US for sevearl years. I know how long time it takes to adapt to a different set of units. Since Americans are unlikely to change to metric units in the forseeable future, publishers who want their books sold to English speaking audiences around the world should provide both sets of units. Amazon, use your influence to make publishers wake up and enter the global marketplace.
99 people found this helpful
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Cooking Bible indeed!

 This book claims to be the Italian cooking bible and it is one indeed!! It is an accumulation of knowledge and love for the Italian cuisine over the past soon 67years since its first edition. This "bible" has its pros and cons for me. Pro, it goes very(!) much into detail of the food itself, as much as the cooking and preparation options, but also about its geographical and historical background; very(!) interesting and educational! If you want to step up your own "art of Italian cooking" and want to educate and challenge yourself more in the kitchen, then this cook book is the perfect addition for  you! I believe the authors haven't left out anything!
Another big pro is the price! I researched other options in Europe to buy this book. . . no matter where I looked, it was more expensive!
The con for me is the bible 'style', very big book, not easy to handle, with bible like thin pages and small print. Another con is for me it's just too much information and not easy to find what I need to know to cook a new recipe.
31 people found this helpful
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If you get just one cookbook, get the new red cover Silver Spoon! Far and away my favorite!

I loved the old Silver Spoon (White cover) for the variety of the recipes and the relatively straightforward directions. I didn't like the shabby photographs that so many of the recipes got, and sometimes it was hard to figure out what the photographed recipe was because it was ill-lit or the photograph was a page or two away from the recipe.
The new red cover Silver Spoon is nearly perfect! The recipes are still great and there are hundreds of more pages of material. And the photographs of the dishes are much, much better! The directions in the recipes tend to be a bit bare bones, but the scope of the cookbook is phenomenal!
30 people found this helpful
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Supremo

To call "The Silver Spoon" the best Italian cookbook of all time is to do it an injustice. This, for my money, is the best cookbook of all time, period. Yes, its approach is Italian with the myriad requisites of olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, olives, semolina, parmesan, etc., etc,, but - more important - its spirit is Italian, meaning that it honors simplicity of execution, accessibility of ingredients, vivid delineation of flavors. Italian cooking is the most attainable and adaptable of national cuisines, which makes this classic tome, now updated and tailored to an American audience (ounces, not grams), a must-have for American home cooks (not chefs) of every skill-level. These recipes, by the thousands, are no-fuss, each succinct and clear as a fine Pinot Grigio. If you know how to boil water and turn the range knobs, you're in. Still, novelties proliferate, for Italians, in contrast to the French, are improvisational by nature, using whatever at hand seems best, however unlikely. Variations on basic themes abound in all their regional distinctions. The photography is superb without looking like food porn. The several indexes should be a model for all cookbooks. One lists items by recipes, in order of courses and prime ingredients. The other list sub-ingredints - aioli to zucchini flowers (with forty zucchini flower dishes to choose from). This allows you to gaze into your pantry and spot, say, a container of dried porcini that's been around for several years, then find dozens of ways to use the little funghi. A wonderful bonus is a section of recipes by great Italian chefs (including Italian-Americans like Mario Batali). Encompassing 1500 pages, "The Silver Spoon" would make a great doorstop. However, the floor is the last place I'd put it. It deserves pride of place on your kitchen counter.
17 people found this helpful
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A MUST HAVE for Italian Food Lovers!

If you have ever wanted to know more about Italian cuisine besides spaghetti and meatballs or lasagna, you have to own this book. When I went through culinary school we were trained classic French mostly, and then I worked under a very talented Italian chef and learned tons. She taught me lessons of patience, timing, and care for food like no other chef I worked for or with. This book reminds me of lessons learned in her kitchen. The recipes are authentic and remind me of my travels throughout Europe. This is a must for any home cook that wants to taste Italy.
14 people found this helpful
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Save your money and shelf space

This book is extremely large and heavy, suggesting it will take a prominent place in my go-to rotation. Sadly, it is largely useless. Major Italian cuisine recipes are omitted, and it reads like a poorly written italian version of Betty Crocker. It's very light on illustrations and weak on technique. Save your money and buy a better book
12 people found this helpful
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Absolutely great book... but it might make you fat :)

We have only had this book for a few weeks but every recipe we have tried has been amazing. So far have made Speghetti Carbonara, Speghetti Amatriciana, Potato and Bacon Pie and several other recipes. They are amazing every time.
12 people found this helpful
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Great paper. If love cookbooks or cooking

WOW!!! This book is beyond my descriptive vocabulary. Hundreds of color photos!!! Magnificent recipes. Charming stories. Great paper. If love cookbooks or cooking, "get it--get it--get it"! It will truly thrill your soul. Then set aside some time to read and enjoy it. A half hour a day is a good start, but this delicious book will suck you in and time will fly by. You will have difficulty putting it down. The recipes are ones you can actually prepare, even if you are just starting out in the kitchen. Others are for the seasoned home cooks and even chefs. This is my favorite cookbook of all time. It is heavy for holding.
9 people found this helpful
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Authentic, healthy recipes and a wonderful layout.

I have an entire shelf on my bookshelf dedicated to cookbooks and this one is by far my favorite and the one I use the most. I make one of its pizza recipes once a week! The recipes are authentic but simple, and most are very healthy. The ingredient proportions are well-tried, although some recipes may leave one or two flavorings up to your discretion, and I've never had to majorly tweak a recipe.

I find the layout of this book to be the standard by which I judge all others. Each page has, on average, 3 or 4 recipes. There will be the name of the dish, a paragraph under that with the instructions, and the ingredients listed on the side with the amount of servings. Every few pages, there is a full-page color picture (about one for every 6 recipes). There are also over 2,000 recipes, which would not be possible if every single one had a picture! I personally don't care for some new cookbooks that have a picture on every page, since they usually end up having fewer recipes and seem more about presentation than cooking food, but I know that some people are more visual and are helped by pictures. I feel like TSS strikes a good balance.

The book's size can be intimidating, but there are so many treasures in it! I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys cooking Italian food.
9 people found this helpful
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Sorry every time I use it.

I have only used this massive collection of recipes a couple of times and each time I've wasted ingredients and time. For example, I attempted to make Caciotta Ravioli with tomato and basil. The recipe instructions start with the dough, which is supposed to be made from 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of oil. I'd love to see how this feat was accomplished by the authors of this cookbook! Granted, this review is for the 2005 version with the white cover, but sounds like the problem is still alive and well.
9 people found this helpful