Notes about Recipes in this book

• Pickled Fresno chiles

  • adelina on December 28, 2020

    i made this for the sunchoke soup but it can be used in enhancing flavors for salads, sandwiches.

• Preserved lemons

  • demomcook on April 09, 2019

    The book shows two photos of whole preserved lemons, and the recipe is called Preserved Lemons. However, the recipe is for preserved lemon zest, which is later minced and used as garnish.

• Pineapple mostarda

  • rachel821571 on December 17, 2025

    This and the other mostarda recipe from the book were both very disappointing. This one had little flavor, I think it needed a little vinegar or something, and the strawberry one wasn’t even a mostarda. Just straight strawberry jam. I think this book needed more editing.

• Strawberry mostarda

  • demomcook on April 09, 2019

    Recipe appears to be missing ingredients. The introduction to the mostardas says they are made with spice and chiles, but this recipe has only strawberries, sugar and citric acid. I've tried to find errata for this book, but so far cannot find any corrections.

  • rachel821571 on December 17, 2025

    Not mostarda. This is just strawberry jam. Error??

• Pomegranate vinaigrette

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    Quick, easy, subtly fruity vinaigrette. I made this for the coraline and citrus salad.

• Vegetable soffritto

  • EmilyR on January 24, 2022

    Used for the meatballs... an interesting way to add depth of flavor.

• Creamy ricotta

  • pattyatbryce on April 25, 2021

    Best ricotta that I've ever made.

  • SheilaS on February 27, 2023

    I've made this whenever the ricotta is key to a dish. It comes out rich, creamy and delicious...even spread on toast with a little jam.

• White Negroni

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    I generally use equal parts for this drink but the proportions in the book work very well, too.

  • ellwell on May 19, 2024

    I really enjoyed this and so did my company. It is a nice alternative to a standard Negroni if you are looking to explore a little. The bitterness played off the sweet keeps you coming back for more.

• Perazzi

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    Excellent way to incorporate amari in a cocktail that's light enough for warm weather sipping. Food friendly, too. I tried both Amaro CioCiaro and Meletti as specified in the recipe and look forward to trying it with other amari in my collection.

• Happy talk

  • SheilaS on August 15, 2021

    I like this drink a lot. As the header notes say, it's Tiki-style but not overly sweet. The book photo shows a very orange drink and I'm not sure how you'd get that color from these ingredients unless maybe using Peychauds bitters? Rather than straining into a tulip glass and adding crushed ice to cover, I might just blitz everything right in the blender to make a frozen cocktail.

• Coraline and citrus salad with mascarpone yogurt, radish, and celery

  • bwhip on December 26, 2018

    This salad is fantastic. Such a great mix of sweet and tangy, crispy and creamy, with a little spice and just the right amount of seasoning. Unfortunately, the two stores I went to had neither coraline or endive, so I swapped in arugula. Looking forward to trying it again with the original ingredient. Otherwise, couldn’t have been more pleased with this one.

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    A delicious salad for citrus season. The dollops of yogurt/mascarpone are a great way to add a rich, creamy element to a citrus salad. I subbed curly endive for the coraline the recipe specifies and used pink grapefruit, blood orange and Cara Cara orange for the citrus. Skipped the fennel pollen.

• Arugula, radish and tarragon salad

  • ellwell on May 21, 2024

    Very basic salad with an unexpected pop of terragon. The cider vinaigrette was good. This salad would go well with a rich meaty dish and I will probably make it again in that circumstance.

• Farro salad with cauliflower and avocado cream

  • bwhip on December 29, 2018

    Fair bit of work to put this together, but it makes for a very delicious and interesting salad. I only had regular goat cheese, so used that, and used less of the pickled chiles than called for as I was concerned the quantity might overpower the dish. Avocado cream is really delicious and creamy, and provides a nice balance to the crunch of the cauliflower.

• Meatballs with creamy ricotta, tomato sauce, and braised greens with preserved lemon

  • bwhip on December 29, 2018

    Wow, was this ever good. So many layers of flavors. Best meatballs I've ever made. The sauce is fantastic, and easy to throw together once you have the soffritto (which I'd made the night before). The ricotta and greens are just the perfect addition to the dish. We made it as a main course, and I served it with flatbread (the Baco Bread recipe we love so much). Wonderful dish.

  • EmilyR on January 24, 2022

    It felt like we were at the restaurant. It helps to make the soffritto ahead of time and the rest of the meal comes together easily. Made more meatballs than stated, despite using a 2 oz. scoop. I used fire roasted tomatoes and ended up puréeing the sauce to appease kids. I also only used 14 oz. of water for the sauce.

  • EmilyR on August 12, 2023

    We made this again with a 'cheater method' of not doing the soffrito or making our own meatballs. Even so, this is a great recipe that is well worth doing it all if you have time, but even if not it's a somewhat light, but filling meal.

  • ellwell on May 21, 2024

    This was definitely restaurant-quality as EmilyR said. I made the soffrito a day ahead and pureed the sauce in the end because I thought it would have a weird texture (slivered garlic, sofrrito veg) otherwise. I need to add a little acid to the sauce in the end and used a squeeze of lemon. The braised greens surprised me with what they added to the dish—texture and also punch from the preserved lemon. When the ricotta melts into the sauce it becomes heavenly. Alogether a treat!

• Steamed mussels and clams with 'nduja, preserved citrus, fennel pollen and grilled bread

  • SheilaS on March 19, 2025

    Tons of flavor in the broth! I had some lobster stock on hand so I used that but with the 'nduja, preserved lemon, fresh lemon, fennel seeds, garlic and shallot, you could easily get by with a simple veg broth or even a light (not roasted) chicken stock.

• Sunchoke soup with pickled Fresno chiles and oregano

  • adelina on December 28, 2020

    I wanted to really like this soup but it was just okay. The capers and pickled chiles were a nice added flavor but seemed like it was missing something. Maybe herbs... It was also a bit time consuming on prep of the sunchokes.

• Housemade ricotta with basil, dried zucchini, lemon zest, and grilled bread

  • pattyatbryce on April 25, 2021

    Making this home cooking... Grill regular zucchini (olive oil and S&P). Serve with ricotta, lemon zest and juice, basil leaves, and Maldon. It's not true to the recipe, but much easier to the home cook.

• Blistered snap peas with mint

  • mjes on October 05, 2021

    I chose this recipe to practice the blistering technique -- something I don't do often. The results are excellent (especially after you convince a very young guest that you didn't burn them, that is how they are supposed to look).

• Roasted cauliflower with paprika aioli and soft herbs

  • adelina on April 25, 2020

    I loved the cooking method. I had to cook my cauliflower longer since it was larger. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this dish with aioli sauce.

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    This is very good. The paprika aioli is delicious. The cooking method for the cauliflower is a bit fussy. Next time, I'd just toss with olive oil and roast as I usually do.

• 'Nduja pizza

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    Loved the combination of toppings in this pizza. The mild fresh mozzarella, spicy 'nduja and slightly bitter, crispy black kale are great partners.

  • Smokeydoke on May 24, 2026

    Very good! Pic included.

• Gorgonzola pizza

  • SheilaS on April 30, 2021

    Simple and delicious. The mild fresh mozzarella and sharp gorgonzola are perfect together. Kale adds a bitter note and parts get crispy in the oven. I don't think the extra salt on top was necessary as the gorgonzola I used was salty enough.

• Grilled stuffed quail with blistered shishito peppers

  • lsmedley on November 16, 2022

    This was so delicious!! We don't have a grill, so we just pan seared it on the stove, but it was still delicious! I had never cooked with quail and I was very nervous, but it turned out amazing.

• Grilled fennel-crusted pork chop

  • pattyatbryce on April 25, 2021

    Tasted great, but no noticeable change from my usual night-before S&P(though + fennel seed rub).

• Lemon-poppy seed olive oil cake

  • bwhip on January 03, 2019

    I love this cake. So simple, but so very flavorful! Great texture, nice and moist with a crispy edge, and the poppy seeds give it a nice added depth. Just great all by itself. Excellent recipe.

  • ellwell on May 22, 2024

    Meh. I have had better lemon poppy seed cakes. It’s a little too moist for me. The head note warned it was “pudding-y and I am not a fan of a gooey cake. I am wondering if the texture could be due to the fact that the directions for reducing the juices were unclear. I may have used too much in the end. The directions to beat the eggs until just foamy was also a little unclear to me. I think the cake would have been better if I had beaten them past that point. Not a repeat for me.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Bestia mixes refinement with rustic Italian cooking to deliver fresh, beautiful dishes that anyone can master.

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• What's Gaby Cooking

  ...easily my favorite restaurant in all of LA. They nail Italian food to a T. The pizza, the salads, the sides, the cocktails, you cannot go wrong!

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