I totally want to love this book, and I’m sure that the recipes within it are really good, but I just can’t cope with the layout of it. There aren’t any pictures. It’s a small book and it’s so busy with information that I can’t take it all in. Each page has got a big margin with extra suggestions and variations which would be great for some people but is all a bit too much for me. I’m really sorry about this because I love Italian food and I know there are things I want to cook in it. Whenever I look through it I spot things I want to cook but for whatever reason I don’t come back to it.It doesn’t contain any odd ingredients, has lots of gluten and soya free options – in fact, too many! Please tell me what I should try first to get me into this book, which I’m sure is full of little gems.
Cooking the Vegan Books 
I love the Lasagne Al Forno Bolognese. It takes a lot of time to put together but if you’re only making it for a few people you can make 2 lasagnes out of the recipe and freeze one to bake later. The white sauce for the recipe is especially lovely. The Paster per Mimi was nice as well. I’m sure I’ve made more than that but I don’t remember now!
I agree there is a lot of information in the book and the split pages are a bit much. The Authentic Chinese Cuisine one is the same with lots of suggestions and notes but for some reason it’s not as overwhelming as the Italian one.
This is one of my go-to cookbooks. For me, Bryanna is all about new cool ways to do things you never thought you’d be able to do as a vegan–you can learn technique from her and riff on your own afterwards. BCG is all about science (as opposed to, for instance, presentation). Personally, I’m not so much into her “big” dishes, composed of several different recipes, as into the “little” ingredient-type recipes. Such as:
Almonzano (a staple in my house at all times)
Spinach-“Ricotta” Dumplings (IMO the best recipe in the book)
Potato dumplings (gnocchi)
Vegetarian Burger (polpetti)
Hot Italian Seitan Sausage (again, polpetti, a different kind)
“Slipper” Bread (ciabatta)
Lemon Tart
Just start with these and go from there. If you like, you can check out some of the recipes I’ve done with pictures at my blog, http://airyway.blogspot.com–just search Bryanna Clark Grogan. I really like reading recipe books, just reading them, so all the text is just a bonus for me.
I am a total Bryanna-phile, and this and Authentic Chinese Cuisine are two of my favorite and most used of my many cookbooks…
I’m 99% sure that this book contains Bryanna’s excellent caponata recipe. If so, try it!
Bryanna Clark Grogan is one of my favourite cookbook authors. Sometimes, the books are rather information dense but this is truly what I enjoy about her books. There is always something to learn about cooking when you read/use her books. Give her another try….you won’t be sorry!