Contents:
1-What this Cookbook is NOT
3-About The Cook
5-The Approach
6-Recipe Layout Explained
7-Sauces
14-Starters & Sides
58-Pasta
84-Eggplant
98-Chicken
123-Red Meat
141-Seafood
Appendix-Ingredient Alternatives
The Approach:
The concept of "Invent Your Recipe" is all about starting with a base recipe, making a few changes, and inventing the recipe that works best for you.
The driving force for this concept is my family and friends. Countless times I have been asked for my recipes and many of my friends were surprised when I told them I didn't use any. That is when the idea for the "Invent Your Recipe" method of Create, Taste, Innovate and a food blog came to fruition. The concept for my recipe structure began when I was trying to write down steps and ingredients for my wife. She wanted to cook the dishes I love and to be able to change the ingredients based on what was available in the house. The name "Invent Your Recipe" was a direct result of the idea of creating a recipe that works best for you.
My love of food originates with my Italian family and cooking with my mom and grandma (Nonna). "Invent Your Recipe" is the larger concept that I have based my food blog on. For this cookbook, I am focusing on my Italian recipes. These recipes are the ones that I made as a young cook, the first recipes that I have written down, and they are dear to my heart.
This cookbook will provide my favorite Italian recipes written with simple, straight-forward steps. The cookbook will also offer simple suggestions and ingredient alternatives. These alternatives will provide ideas for how the cook can invent the recipe that they enjoy the most. There is no special equipment needed or unique ingredients to buy. These recipes are family and home cook friendly.
Cooking can be a lot of fun; add a little of this, change a bit of that, and before you know it, you have great tasting food. That is what I want this concept and cookbook to portray: the idea that when you invent your recipe, the recipes simply become guidelines. The recipes offer the framework for how you can create simple, great tasting food that you enjoy preparing and sharing.
