Book Review: The Complete Book of Pasta Sauces

The Complete Book of Pasta Sauces: The Best Italian Pestos, Marinaras, Ragùs, and Other Cooked and Fresh Sauces for Every Type of Pasta Imaginable by Allan Bay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’ll admit that I’d fallen in a pasta rut, consisting of two dishes – mac and cheese, and basic spaghetti with tomato-meat sauce. If I wasn’t in the mood for either of those, I wasn’t considering any other options. I now feel like I am aware of many more options, some of them surprising – I would never have thought of making a potato sauce for pasta!

But as marvelous and varied as all these recipes seem, I have to be honest. Even after reading the entire cookbook, I still have no idea what a potato sauce should look like. Or an asparagus and pine nut sauce. Or any of the other sauces described in this cookbook. This is because every single picture is a stock, generic photograph. They are beautiful but only have a passing acquaintance with the recipes they are paired with.

We learn to cook with our eyes, not just our hands. This cookbook held such promise, but ultimately left me feeling blind.

My thanks to author Allan Bay, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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