[close] How to Make Pasta Sauces is a small treasure. In fewer than 100 pages, it presents illustrated, step-by-step instructions for preparing pasta sauces with tomatoes, vegetables, seafood, meat, and cheese--basic recipes, tips, and information that all cooks can use.

Following an enlightening section of pasta basics (American dried pasta is just as good as the imported kind, the authors assert), the book offers "master" sauce formulas with interesting variations and related recipes. Bolognese Sauce, Quick Meat Sauce, Meatballs in Smooth Tomato Sauce, and Carbonara Sauce comprise a typically brief but to-the-point chapter. Readers will also want to make Escarole and White Bean Sauce and Portobello Mushroom Ragu, among other unusual recipe variations. Underlying techniques are explored and illustrated throughout (bearding mussels is one) and sensible tips abound (for example, use scissors to cut knife-resistant pancetta).

A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library, a modest yet consistently authoritative series from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm [close]