Valerie Bertinelli's Home Cooking, Reviewed

She had me at Lobster BLT (Can you imagine?), and kept my rapt attention with Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Shrimp with Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce, Brown Sugar Sriracha Bacon Bites, Steamed Clams with Spicy Garlic Bread, and Slow-Cooker Pasta Bake. Clearly this is a book offering a wide variety of recipes to satisfy a wide variety of tastes. The book in question is Valerie Bertinelli's Home Cooking, More than 100 Delicious Recipes to Share with Friends and Family.

When I'm asked to review a celebrity cookbook, I often cringe. There are celebrity cookbooks, and there are celebrity cookbooks. Some of them have great value; others are merely marketing tools to promote the celebrity author. I wasn't sure what to expect with Valerie Bertinelli's Home Cooking, but was most pleasantly surprised.

It is divided into six cleverly named sections: Rise and Shine, Getting Through the Day, Happy Hour, Around the Table, A Side Note, and Finishing Sweet. As much as I do love desserts (Don't we all?), Getting Through the Day was my most favorite. I find lunch the most difficult meal of the day and, like Bertinelli, would like to have the same type of lunch that I enjoyed while on vacation. If you feel the same, you will find just what you're looking for here. The Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches with Giardiniera Aioli, was but one of my many favorites.

I’ve been a fan of Bertinelli for a long time. She may be in her 50s, but she is still as engaging today as she was back in the ‘70s when she played Barbara Cooper in the TV sitcom "One Day at a Time." But our girl is all grown up now, the mother of an adult son, and spending a lot of time doing what she loves to do most, whipping up recipes in her well-stocked kitchen. Here, she invites us in, to sit at the table and chat, and cook, enjoy a cup of tea, and slice of pie (Cherry Cheesecake Pizza Pie, perhaps).

This book is full of charm as well as recipes. There are more than a hundred of them, all easy to prepare, made with simple ingredients, and sure to please every member of your family. The instructions are simple and concise, and every taste is considered. Each recipe is preceded by a personal memory, along with tips, helpful advice, stunning photos; the pictures of her mother's old recipe cards will surely touch your heart as they did mine.

 One of the most beautiful, personal, and thoughtfully written cookbooks that you will find this year. For more information or to buy a copy for yourself or to give as a gift, click here.

This post contains affiliate links.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.