I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti Book Review And Giveaway
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti
By Giulia Melucci
Grand Central Publishing
Category: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Format: HARDCOVER BOOK
Publish Date: 4/8/2009
ISBN: 9780446534420
Pages: 288
From the publisher – From failure to fusilli, this deliciously hilarious read tells the story of Giulia Melucci’s fizzled romances and the mouth-watering recipes she used to seduce her men, smooth over the lumps, and console herself when the relationships flamed out. From an affectionate alcoholic, to the classic New York City commitment-phobe, to a hipster aged past his sell date, and not one, but two novelists with Peter Pan complexes, Giulia has cooked for them all. She suffers each disappointment with resolute cheer (after a few tears) and a bowl of pastina (recipe included) and has lived to tell the tale so that other women may go out, hopefully with greater success, and if that’s not possible, at least have something good to eat. Peppered throughout Giulia’s delightful and often poignant remembrances are fond recollections of her mother’s cooking, the recipes she learned from her, and many she invented on her own inspired by the men in her life. Readers will howl at Giulia’s boyfriend-littered past and swoon over her irresistable culinary creations.
“I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti” is a book about a woman who loves cooking and used it in many facets of her life. Throughout the years covered in the book she is inspired to cook by numerous men but ends up with none of them. Her writing style is warm and inviting, drawing the reader in like a simmering soup on a cold day. Her story is funny and held my interest. It’s light reading, the kind that’s easy to put down and pick up without losing track of the story. I love the way she mixes real recipes in with her story. The recipes sound delicious and are all written in everyday language and call for regular food items. She’s the kind of person that can make a gourmet meal out of three unrelated items in a cabinet. I wish I could do that. Her recipes were named for the events happening in her life at that time, so some of them are pretty funny. I mean, how can you not chuckle at “No Nookie Gnocchi”, “Pear Cake For Friends With Benefits”, “A Salad That Failed to make a Perfect New Year’s Eve” and “Spaghetti and Meatballs for Cooking Sluts and those Who Love Them”. There’s “Kit’s Drunken soup”, which just cracks me up.
If you’re into personal stories or if you’re a foodie you might enjoy this book.
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THREE winners will each receive their own copy of “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti”.
FYI – I’m giving away another 2 copies over on From Val’s Kitchen.
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I just signed up for your newsletter. Hopefully I did this correctly as this is new to me. Would love to win the book. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.
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My grandma lived with us and every single morning, I helped her cook breakfast and loved it.
My Mom and I baked Christmas cookies every year and now my girls and I carry on this tradition. I so look forward to it!
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Growing up, I always helped my grandparents make pot pie. I would be so excited to cut up the noodles, especially since using a knife wasn’t something I did often. It made me feel so grown up! I have so many great memories cooking and eating in their kitchen.
I’ve been wanting to read this book
Every year when when my Mom makes stuffing she makes a massive batch so that she can cook some for Thanksgiving, and then freeze the remainder for Christmas. Well mine and my sisters favorite part was when we’d get to mix it all up with our hands – it’d be freezing, and we loved it when she’d crack the eggs and we’d swirl it around in there. *lol* Strange maybe, but it’s still my favorite to thsi day nearly 27 years later.
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My maternal grandma would always make such soft and yummy fruit cocktail cookies. I have the recipie, but as Rebecca said, they must be missing grandma love cause they do not taste the same.
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One of the reasons that I ended up with my husband is that he is such a fabulous cook. Back when I didn’t know how to cook well at all, I would come home to fabulous home-cooked meals: lasagna, fried chicken, etc, etc. Just delicious!
Sounds like Juliie and this author should read each other’s books–same line.
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Once a month I would visit my grandma and she would show me how to make cookies….and then we would eat them…yummy!
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I remember making pumpkin cookies with my grandmother. She used to make some plain and some with a creamy icing(my favorite). She finally handed the recipe down to me. I was so excited when she did. The thing is…I still can not get the cookies to taste the way that they tasted when she made them. I guess it was the grandma love she put into them.
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I remember that my grandmother would make spaghetti mac that would feed a lot of us and she cooked it in a great big Dutch oven! She would use macaroni instead of spaghetti because it was easier for the grandchildren to eat – I’m guessing here!
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My mom is an excellent baker, so growing up she was always baking and letting us help. I remember standing on my stool at the stove stirring the fudge. She would always tell my sister and I to not touch the stove, of course, and, of course my sister had to touch it one time & had perfect electric range circles burned on her hand – she has no scar now, 30 years later, but let me tell you that that was a perfect lesson for her
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growing up I guess I remember making pierogis with my grandma, it was just time with her and no one else- no other grandkids and we baked and sewed all week I went to visit here and really only went out for groceries and to visit granpas grave
Growing up my parents owned a pizza place. When I was 4, I was making my lunch (a small pepperoni pizza) all by myself. This was a place that we actually rolled out the dough and tossed it in the air to get the shape. A lovely lady came in and asked if that was a pepperoni pizza I was making. (She already knew, as the customers could see what you were doing) I smile and said “yes”. She said to my mom that she would love to have the pizza that I was making. I was so very proud of myself and when it was done in the oven that lovely lady even gave me a tip. A big 25 cents, which I still have today.