Canal House Cookbooks

I would also add that in addition to being beautiful and well-written (and well put together), the recipes are very good. More than anything, they're inspiring--they make you want to cook good, simple food. Most recently, I made the meat ragu from La Dolce Vita (I think that's the name of it) in the Canal House series, and it was seriously the best ragu I've ever eaten. Amazing. It made several meals for us. I highly recommend them.

I was seduced by the hype and own the set. They are the kind of cookbook that has a lot of narrative. In short, they are excellent for reading in bed. Lovely photography. Because they are issued serially, there is no index in the individual books. (I think they have issued some sort of overall index that one can get from the web site.) I have tried some of the recipes (once I locate them---that's the index problem) and they are generally good, although I have to say that if you own a lot of cookbooks you won't find much that you can't find elsewhere. Each book is focused on a particular season of the year.

I've never seen them. Notwithstanding that fact, I would urge you to visit www.chowhound.com and their Home Cooking board, where they feature one cookbook per month and people report on their experiences with the book's recipes. I would bet that these Canal House cookbooks have had some attention on that board.

I have 1 - 3. They are incredibly inspiring. They definitely are must-haves, in my opinion.

I have volume no. 7. It is the first one that I have ever bought. I would definitely recommend the book to others. The recipes are interesting. Each recipe has a story that goes with it. There are also sections and recipes on how to make some of the ingredients yourself (example ricotta). Therefore, not your usual cookbook. Nicely educational with good recipes.