Comments: If you thought Kansas City was only about steaks and barbecue, you've overlooked one institution that has been on the scene for more than 55 years – Jasper's (Italian) Restaurant. Now run by two sons of the founder, the cooking is managed by executive chef Jasper Junior, who has turned many restaurant recipes into family recipes for you to prepare.

Certainly you (one) can mess up Italian cooking, but (one wonders) how can the food not be good when it is all about such wonderful, seasonal ingredients as found in these recipes? The chapters feature starters (or "mouth openers"), soups and salads, pastas and risottos, main courses, and desserts. Many are Italian standards, but others have been dressed up, and many are unique to Jaspers. There is also historical and anecdotal information on the Mirabile family (here and in Italy) and a fair bit on how the restaurant started, how it is run, and how it became such an institution.

A number of the recipe names are in Italian, which is going to be a challenge for some people, but they are all categorized in English the index.

Chef/restaurant cookbooks often or always have personality. This one also has heart.