A bright, bold, fun and funny Italian cookbook with 115+ delicious mix-and-match recipes, and a goofy dose of life advice on the side.

A different kind of cookbook, from a different kind of restaurant. The team behind the award-winning Montreal pizza joint Elena presents Salad Pizza Wine, delivering recipes for all of life’s good things, with fresh, delicious and easy-to-recreate takes on modern Italian dishes, including:

• Elena’s famous pizza: If you could eat pizza every day and feel great, would you believe it? From heavy-hitters to off-menu pies, the secret to a pizza-filled life is in Elena’s naturally leavened dough.
• Salads + Vegetables: Like people, this book contains multitudes; you can stuff your face with pizza on the daily and take pleasure in eating vegetables with the seasons.
• Pasta: Learn how to make two super versatile doughs and their multiple variations, and impress your loved ones with an all-star roster of favorite pastas.
• Meat + Fish: Take your pick from weeknight-friendly recipes, dishes to save for special occasions and one once-in-a-lifetime adventure: the gargantuan Timpano, inspired by the classic film Big Night.
• Hoagies: Who doesn’t love sandwiches? Portable and easy to share with a friend, hoagies are also perfect for wrapping up all your tasty leftovers.
• Desserts: End every meal on a high note with a series of serious sweet treats for beginners and advanced bakers alike.
• Go-Tos: Lay the foundation for your home-cooking adventure with basic recipes that deliver big flavor, from crunchy toasted breadcrumbs and multipurpose sauces to simple pickles and homemade cheeses.

More than a collection of recipes, Salad Pizza Wine shares Elena’s passion for natural wines too—the wine part of Salad Pizza Wine—as well as their goofs and thoughts on living a fuller life. The authors were part of Elena’s opening team who came together, burnt out from years in the industry and ready to start afresh. Their answer was to create a restaurant that was also a healthy working environment (gasp). At Elena, it’s all about making the most of a good thing—and the same goes for this book. Whether it’s planning a dinner (salad, pizza, wine? pizza, pasta, dessert? salad, meat, hoagie?), or letting go of stuff that no longer serves you, Salad Pizza Wine encourages you to choose your own adventure—both in the kitchen and in life.

Written in a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek style, this is a cookbook you’ll really want to cook from, and to read. Because what’s better than cooking beautiful food, being kind to those around us and laughing as we all try to figure it out?