Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook

Patsy's is a restaurant in New York, and Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook by Sal Scognamillo is filled with classic Italian restaurant dishes - which makes me really happy.

When I lived in Chicago, I spent some time working in an area near the "Little Italy" section of the city, and I loved going to the old-school Italian restaurants where the classics were still classic.

No fusion food, no molecular gastronomy, and a share-a-plate special for lunch that still sent me home with leftovers.

This book has a lot of my favorites, like Chicken Cacciatore, Linguine Puttanesca, Mussels Marinara, Chicken Pizzaiola, Baked Clams, Pasta Fagoili, Beef Braciole, Veal Scalloppini, Penne with Vodka Sauce, and Eggplant Parmigiana.

There are even classic desserts, like biscotti and gelato and panna cotta.

There are also dishes I'm less familiar with, but I want to try. Like any restaurant menu, there are some dishes I'm more interested in, and some that I'm less interested in, but there are very few here I'd outright refuse. Even better, the recipes usually call for ingredients that are easy to find.

One exception to that "easy to find" rule might be the Penne with Wild Boar Ragu, but I might make it anyway, with pork or beef instead of that boar. No, it won't be the same, but it still looks like it should be pretty darned good.

I've already made a few recipes from this book (and more are on the agenda) and I've been pleased with the results. The instructions are simple and clear, and the recipes have turned out as good as expected. I should have a recipe over on Cookistry for you very soon.

If you're looking for a book with classic restaurant recipes, this one is highly recommended. If you're looking for Italian-Thai-Modernist-Fusion, you're out of luck.