njchicaa's Full Review: Mary Goodbody - Carmine's Family-Style Cookbook: M...
My family loves to visit Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant in New York City’s Times Square. We are Italian and picky about food in general, so the fact that we keep returning there is a testament to just how delicious their meals are. When I discovered that the head chef had published Carmine’s Family-Style Cookbook, I ordered FIVE! Four were given as Christmas presents to family members and I kept the last one as a little gift for myself.
About This Cookbook
The Carmine’s Cookbook is broken up into eight sections: Appetizers/Soups/Salads, Carmine’s Hero Sandwiches, Pasta, Fish/Seafood Main Courses, Meat/Poultry Main Courses, Side Dishes, Carmine’s Desserts, and Basic Recipes. The selection is a combination of dishes from the restaurant’s menu (Carmine’s Salad, Zuppa Di Clams, Pasta Pomodoro, Lasagna, Veal Marsala, Chicken Saltimboca, Porterhouse Contadina, etc) and also additional recipes for items not found on the regular menu (Rustic Lentil Soup, Baked Chilean Sea Bass Marichara, Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder Chops with Vegetable Orzo Risotto, Pasta E Fagioli Soup, etc).
The recipes start out with a bit of history, serving size, and serving suggestions. The ingredients listing comes next and is very clear on exactly what you need to use such as 1 chopped rib celery, 8 sliced basil leaves, or 1 large carrot, finely chopped. Finally, there are step-by-step instructions telling the reader exactly how to prepare the dish.
My Experience
In the past two months, I’ve made the following Carmine’s Cookbook recipes: Penne Al Vodka, Lasagna, Pasta Pomodoro, Manicotti, Chicken Saltimboca, Marinara Sauce, and Brown Sauce. I am a novice in the kitchen, but everything was easy enough for me to prepare without any issue. Not only has my husband expressed his enjoyment of Carmine’s meals, but so have our guests and the family members who have also been using this cookbook.
If I had to point out negative aspects of this cookbook, it would be that you often need to prepare one thing (Marinara or Brown Sauce) in order to make another one. In my experience, each of those basic recipes requires at least an hour.
Also, it is important to thoroughly read the recipes before starting them to see exactly what “basic recipes” you need to make and just how long the preparation of the meal will take. After spending an hour making Marinara Sauce and then another hour making meat sauce for the Carmine’s Lasagna, I was shocked to discover that the meat sauce was supposed to be completely cooled before the lasagna was assembled and baked. By that point, it was 7pm and I barely had the energy or time to cook the thing immediately.
Overall Opinion
Time-consumption complaints aside, I am extremely happy with my Carmine’s Cookbook. Many of the pages have olive oil or marinara sauce stains which I consider to be signs of a well-loved cookbook. I have only tried a small fraction of the recipes that it contains, but I already feel that I’ve gotten my money’s worth ($20) out of it.
Anyone who has visited Carmine's flagship Times Square restaurant knows that Carmine's food is the best of classic Italian cuisine-each dish prepared ...More at HotBookSale
For those who love big platters of hearty, rich Italian food, this cookbook--from the celebrated New York restaurant--shares its secrets for more than...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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