Cooking Italian with the Cake Boss: Family Favorites as Only Buddy Can Serve Them Up

In his third book (Cake Boss; Baking with the Cake Boss) Valastro, owner of Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., and star of TLC’s Cake Boss and Next Great Baker, shows readers he knows more than desserts. The author shares 100 Italian-American recipes for absolutely everything imaginable. Valastro firmly believes “that nothing brings a family together like food,” and he aims to demonstrate that important point. He focuses on simple dishes geared toward the home cook that “don’t have to be followed to the letter.” Dishes are accompanied by a simple layout and clear instruction, and Valastro adds a personal twist to favorites such as Madeline’s white bean and tomato bruschetta (his grandmother’s) and Gloria’s fried artichokes, a dish inspired by his mother-in-law. Soups are standard (pasta e fagioli; pasta dishes familiar (gnocchi; spinach and ricotta ravioli; and rigatoni “alla vodka”). The main courses have a personal touch: steak alla Buddy (the author’s father); fish roasted in sea salt; and eggplant parmesan. The sweets include Rockin rice pudding and banana cream pie). (Nov.)