There is no denying English-speakers are falling in love with southern Italian cooking. Those seasonal ingredients, creative seafood dishes, spicy peppers, fresh lemons and world-class olive oil leave a lasting impression on travelers who are often anxious to recreate these plates back home. Today, Laura Thayer of Ciao Amalfi! is offering her review of a southern Italian cookbook that focuses on the unforgettable cuisine of her newly adopted home-The Amalfi Coast.

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It’s eerily intimate to read about the history, stories and legends of your home, to see in print the cities and towns that are in your backyard and to understand the culture that is unfolding before you in black and white. No, I’m not Calabrese, or even Italian, by heritage, but I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of hometown pride as I read through the pages of My Calabria. Yes, it is a cookbook, but for those of us in love with Calabria, it is so, so much more.

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All this month we are featuring real Italian recipes and Mamma Mia have we had some goodies. We’ve gone from classic Pasta Aglio Olio Peperoncino to Sicilian modica and today, my sweet-toothed friends, we are in Naples, enjoying sfogliatella, straight from the Amalfi Coast’s own, Laura Thayer of Ciao Amalfi!

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