Comfort Food & Fiction

Angelina D'Angelo is a young widow. Her husband took his last breath eating a succulent morsel of her Frangelico Chocolate "Dream" cake. You'd think that would discourage her from ever baking again. But it did the opposite. She cooks to take her mind off the loss and shares the dishes with friends and neighbors. It all started when she commissioned to cook breakfast and dinners six times a week for a neighbor's brother. Then the word spread in the close-knit Italian neighborhood in South Philadelphia. Next thing you know, Angelina is cooking for a few bachelors.


Many moments spent reading this book was during lunch. It just seemed appropriate given the content.


Angelina's Bachelors is comfort food and fiction. A cookbook with a side dish of fiction. A love story about food. It has a good storyline with well-developed characters. I wasn't surprised to learn the author, Brian O'Reilly, was the creator and executive producer of Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network. His wife, Virginia O'Reilly, is a culinary writer and producer. They believe in a perfect world there would be pie every day. My kind of folks! There is an index of recipes and topics of discussion. Pick a recipe and bring a dish to your next book club meeting. Or for Thanksgiving!


"Cooking was not just about food. It was about character."


Title: Angelina's Bachelors
Author: Brian O'Reilly
Published: August 2011
Pages: 359
Edition: ARC
Rating: ♥♥♥