Photo: Amazon.com

'Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook'
Recipes from Food & Wine Magazine
Photographs by Melanie Acevedo
Food & Wine Books -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Whether you're an avid subscriber to Food & Wine or you visit the website once in a while for a recipe, this is the book to add to your kitchen shelves. "Quick from Scratch Italian Cookbook" provides cooks of all levels with satisfying and healthy recipes. Classics are translated into practical weeknight meals with basic step-by-step instructions and there are recipes for every season.

And what would an Italian meal be without wine? There's a no-fuss wine-pairing recommendation for each and every recipe to take pressure off the cook.

Boasting everything from antipasti, soup and pasta, to fish, poultry and steak, recipes like linguine with cauliflower, garlic and bread crumbs and baked rigatoni with spinach, ricotta and Fontina will keep everyone at the table content. Finish the meal off with one of many tantalizing desserts such as honey-baked figs with ice cream or espresso granita with whipped cream.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Takeaway tips: Cooking Italian food doesn't have to be daunting -- in fact, it can be fun, quick and delicious. The first several pages are dedicated to "Test Kitchen Tips," which include pasta-cooking tips, portion sizes and how to store fresh herbs. Going along with the quick theme of the book, it also includes no-cook antipasti suggestions such as serving cured meats, cheeses, olives and raw vegetables. The section is completed by an Italian wine and cheese guide that will make readers look like pros at the dinner table.

Quality of pictures: In-your-face glossy and enticing pictures just like the ones in the magazine will have you dog-earring recipe after recipe. Unlike most cookbooks, the authors and editors of this book provided an image for each recipe, which just makes them that much more delicious.

We tested: Farfalle with prosciutto, spinach, pine nuts and raisins along with white-bean and prosciutto bruschetta

You won't miss the red or cream sauce on your pasta with this lighter alternative packed with garlic. The sweetness from the raisins mixed with the salty prosciutto and bitter spinach created the ultimate combination of flavors. Nutty hints from the toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan finished off the meal, leaving this one in our permanent repertoire of recipes.

A refreshing twist on a classic, white beans are pureed with vinegar, oil, thyme and parsley to a creamy mash. Strips of prosciutto and a healthy dollop of the bean mixture top each toast to create a super-speedy appetizer.

Worth the investment: Updates to classic recipes along with new alternatives with short prep and cooking times make this cookbook ideal for weeknight meals. You'll find the daily dinner grind a whole lot easier.