To my mind, the mark of a great cookbook is one in which the recipes haunt you. By that I mean, as you flip through the pages, recipe after recipe keeps calling your name. You think "that sounds good" or "I could make that" or "if I had the ingredients to make that, I'd do it right now, cause I'm hungry!"

The recipes in a truly great cookbook will continue to haunt you, for days or even weeks following, not allowing you to rest until you actually end up trekking to the store to buy the magical components that will allow you to concoct this gustatory masterpiece that has been nagging at your brain since you first picked up the book.

Simply Tuscan is such a book. A perusal of its recipes is like a Siren's song that won't let you go until you actually start cooking. And boy will your friends and family be happy you did, the results will be delicious.

What makes these recipes all the more appealing is the fact that most are simple and relatively easy and hassle-free to prepare. Yes, some of the recipes would be considered gourmet and some of the ingredients might take a bit of time to procure (although a good Italian market should fix you up just fine). But most of the recipes could easily be whipped up for every night fare - albeit every night fare that will make the entire neighborhood want to eat at your house.

More than just great recipes, this is also one of those coffee table type cookbooks that is as much travel guide as it is cookbook. Recipes are accompanied by Pino's witty commentary and pages are filled with breathtaking full-color photographs, both of the recipes themselves and of the fabulous Tuscan countryside.

Over the last year and a half, more Italian cookbooks than I can count have crossed my desk. Simply Tuscan is by far, the best of the lot! Highly recommended.