Lidia’s Family Table

Lidia’s Family Table By Lidia Bastianich, Knopf, 2004. Hardcover. $35; 419 pages

Charming and practical, this book takes you into the home of one of the country’s greatest Italian cooks. Photos show us the Bastianich kitchen, where children and grandchildren happily cook and eat.

This is a book as much about instruction as it is about possibilities. Almost half of the content is devoted to pasta, polenta, and risotto; the rest is rounded out with salads, soups, vegetables, and meat. Recipes are simple and delicious, and, importantly, they work.

GIVE THIS TO: Cooks who appreciate hands-on learning. —Julianna Grimes