My Cousin Rosa
Cookbook Healthy Cooking Italian Cuisine Memoir & Food Writing Regional & Cultural Cooking Signed & Collectible Cookbooks Australian Food Culture
My Cousin Rosa is the warm-hearted, hard-cover cookbook that turned Melbourne’s best-loved Sicilian nonna into a national food icon. Published by Murdoch Books in 2009, this first-edition volume distils Rosa Mitchell’s authentic Palermo recipes into 200+ pages of generous, family-style cooking. Every chapter is lushly illustrated with full-colour photographs that show exactly how the dish should look when it comes out of the oven—no styling tricks, just real Italian home cooking. Buyers searching for “authentic Italian cookbook signed by author” will be pleased to discover that this copy is hand-signed by Rosa herself, making it an instant keepsake for collectors and food lovers alike.
Inside you’ll find the dishes that made Rosa’s Journal Canteen and Rosa’s Kitchen in Melbourne’s laneways legendary: panelle (chick-pea fritters), pasta con le sarde, slow-braised rabbit with olives, and her now-famous cannoli. Each recipe is introduced with a short anecdote—Rosa’s memories of growing up in Palermo and cooking with her nonna—so the book reads like a memoir as much as a manual. Nutritional notes are woven in, reflecting Rosa’s training as a home economist, so the food is as healthy as it is delicious. Whether you need a fool-proof sugo recipe or want to master Sicilian street food, the clear step-by-step instructions guarantee success.
Because this is a signed first printing, demand is strong among collectors of Australian cookbooks and Italian cuisine enthusiasts. The heavy-duty hardcover and stitched binding lie flat on the counter while you work, and the thick, gloss-laminated pages wipe clean easily—a detail home cooks appreciate. With no previous owner marks, ex-libris plates or shelf damage, this copy presents as fresh as the day it left the bookstore, making it an ideal gift for weddings, birthdays, or anyone building a lifetime library of celebrated chef cookbooks.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now