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Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
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Title: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking <>Binding: Hardcover <>Author: MarcellaHazan <>Publisher: AlfredA.Knopf
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Hardcover, 704 pages
Published
October 27th 1992
by Knopf Publishing Group
(first published February 12th 1992)
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My favorite when it comes to Italian food. I love Marcella, though my Italian friend Christiana says Marcella and her adorable husband are "trailer court Italian."
We actually own TWO copies of this book, the nice newer copy you pick up to leaf through, and a tattered older copy that I learned Italian cooking from. It has a permanent rip for the risotto recipe, the polenta recipe, the braised carrot with parmesean recipe and something else. Oh yeah, the braised leeks. Ah-MAHZ-ing.
Marcella can be ...more
We actually own TWO copies of this book, the nice newer copy you pick up to leaf through, and a tattered older copy that I learned Italian cooking from. It has a permanent rip for the risotto recipe, the polenta recipe, the braised carrot with parmesean recipe and something else. Oh yeah, the braised leeks. Ah-MAHZ-ing.
Marcella can be ...more
Time to tackle one of those eternal verities: to choose good, or to choose evil; is it nature, or nurture; hang to the left, or to the right? Can a cookbook be treated as read based on completion of a statistically significant sample of the recipes or do I have to go over every page of the damn thing?
Having majored in chemistry, I long fancied myself as a talented cook. My family did not agree, with my wife often bitterly complaining about the state of the laboratory after the experiment was com ...more
Having majored in chemistry, I long fancied myself as a talented cook. My family did not agree, with my wife often bitterly complaining about the state of the laboratory after the experiment was com ...more
I've never used this reviewer's cliche before, but if I could give it ten stars, I would.
If you think your pasta sauces are good, make hers and stand astounded.
If you think you have a handle on making pasta, pizza, gnocchi, soups et cetera, let her school you.
If you want to eat really, really well every night, then work your way through this cookbook.
This is widely considered to be the definitive Italian cookbook, by a woman considered to be the Julia Child of Italian cooking. You will learn, yo ...more
If you think your pasta sauces are good, make hers and stand astounded.
If you think you have a handle on making pasta, pizza, gnocchi, soups et cetera, let her school you.
If you want to eat really, really well every night, then work your way through this cookbook.
This is widely considered to be the definitive Italian cookbook, by a woman considered to be the Julia Child of Italian cooking. You will learn, yo ...more
Apr 04, 2007
christina white
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Anyone trying to cook Italian food
Shelves:
cookbooks
This book is what I consider one of the three essential reference texts for anyone who is serious about the culinary arts. I have learned almost everything I know about Italian food from this book...and I'm still learning from it after ten years! I brought this book with me the year I lived in Milan and tried to cook my way through it...it was impossible since it is such a tome. Fabulous recipes which are easy to execute thanks to brilliantly clear instructions. A prodigy of James Beard, you can
...more
O mia cara Marcella! Thanks to her I will never eat bottled tomato sauce again!
I have used this cookbook on a near daily basis since I received it as a gift two months ago. I have made and frozen almost all of her tomato-based sauces and I cannot imagine ever opening another jar of Prego in my life. Chicken cacciatora, pan-broiled steaks with tomatoes and olives, spaghetti alla carbonara... So many favorite dishes, so few days of the week.
I have used this cookbook on a near daily basis since I received it as a gift two months ago. I have made and frozen almost all of her tomato-based sauces and I cannot imagine ever opening another jar of Prego in my life. Chicken cacciatora, pan-broiled steaks with tomatoes and olives, spaghetti alla carbonara... So many favorite dishes, so few days of the week.
Marcella is the cranky Julia Child, but she does know her Italian cooking and with her husband who writes/translates into english her books teaches you the basics of Italian cooking. Her pesto and Bolognese recipes are amazing and staples in our house. You have to put up with her snottiness (which just cracks me up), but it's worth it.
...more
May 21, 2008
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys food
We have cooked many recipes from this cookbook, and they have all turned out well. I almost think you could pick a recipe at random, and it would be good. I think we eat from this book at least once or twice a week.
You won't find a better cookbook about classic Italian cooking than this one.
It covers everything you need to know---pasta, pizzas, soups, risotto---and Marcella Hazan exuberantly shares not only her recipes but also her thoughts and opinions about the ways others do Italian cooking. ...more
It covers everything you need to know---pasta, pizzas, soups, risotto---and Marcella Hazan exuberantly shares not only her recipes but also her thoughts and opinions about the ways others do Italian cooking. ...more
Haven't made every recipe yet, but I am planning to do so. The recipes simply haven't failed me yet (and probably will not). It also includes some in-depth knowledge on cooking skills specifically used for traditional Italian recipes as well as more general used skills and knowledge about ingredients. For inexperienced cooks it might pose a bit of challenge as it doesn't save you from gaining years of cooking experience.
Though, to me this is the Bible of Italian cooking. ...more
Though, to me this is the Bible of Italian cooking. ...more
Sep 11, 2007
Kira
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone wanting to learn how to cook (especially italian)
I love this cookbook!
At the time I bought it, I was living in London with an italian man who was homesick and dreaming of mama's cooking back in Venice. I felt like the author, Signora Hazan, was my own private teacher and my live-in guinea pig definitely approved of the risotto (one of my first endeavors). And don't think it's all just pasta and starches! There are lots of recipes for soups that are easy and satisfying as meals, as well as frittate (like quiche), more than 150 pages on meats, t ...more
At the time I bought it, I was living in London with an italian man who was homesick and dreaming of mama's cooking back in Venice. I felt like the author, Signora Hazan, was my own private teacher and my live-in guinea pig definitely approved of the risotto (one of my first endeavors). And don't think it's all just pasta and starches! There are lots of recipes for soups that are easy and satisfying as meals, as well as frittate (like quiche), more than 150 pages on meats, t ...more
I'm a not-very-good cook who would love to be a great chef. Hazan's cookbook was recommended by a friend who is a fantastic cook, and it was absolutely illuminating. About 30 pages in, I thought "man, I'm doing everything wrong!" And you will feel like that as you read this book. She has very exacting standards, and she is very peculiar about ingredients - only fresh, whole cloves of garlic that you chop yourself, never the stuff in a jar, etc. But by faithfully following her recipes to the lett
...more
This is a wonderful and classic cookbook. My mother has used it for years and gave me a copy some years ago and I go to it often. For pasta dishes, meat dishes, salads. There are some extraordinary dishes in this book that you have most likely not had before and will cherish for all your years as a cook and food lover. A great book for a beginner or an expert cook or anyone in between. One for the ages of your kitchen.
Excellent! Can't go wrong with Marcella even after 30 years.
...more
If you only have room for one Italian cookbook on your shelves, this is it! Beautifully written, wonderfully opinionated, as the title says: essential.
I returned to this book today to look up a recipe, but I have read and reread this classic for about two years. We need a button here for "always reading."
...more
A masterpiece. Marcella lays out the philosophy and reasons behind Italian cooking. The recipes are good of course but it's not the point, it's really about the soul of Italian cooking that you can keep for a lifetime.
...more
Probably one of the most comprehensive Italian cookbooks I've come across to date. While I did borrow this from my local library, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking seems an indispensable cookbook for just plain good, beautiful, delicious Italian food. The book is filled with countless authentic recipes from Italy's many diverse regions, ranging in difficulty, but none that seem undoable for most home chefs.
The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. The recipes generally do not requir ...more
The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. The recipes generally do not requir ...more
Jul 27, 2008
Angela
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Angela by:
Sam's mom
A brilliant work of comedy! That would be anytime Marcella waxes authoritarian about the exact timing for adding dried pasta to rapidly boiling water. ;)
Well, this is your book if you want authentic, well-organized, and delicious instructions to prepare meals featuring lasagne, sauteed spinach, pesto, homemade pasta, or a shockingly simple sauce for spaghetti (recipe: heat olive oil. Add garlic - optionally, add as much hot red pepper as you can hack - cook for two minutes. Toss with spaghetti a ...more
Well, this is your book if you want authentic, well-organized, and delicious instructions to prepare meals featuring lasagne, sauteed spinach, pesto, homemade pasta, or a shockingly simple sauce for spaghetti (recipe: heat olive oil. Add garlic - optionally, add as much hot red pepper as you can hack - cook for two minutes. Toss with spaghetti a ...more
"Cooking" in the United States has often become an exercise in precisely following instructions in glossy magazines that are more travelogues and guidebooks for the upper middle class than actually learning anything. I have been extremely pleased to find brief but high quality cultural explanations, multiple variations of dishes, and a focus on simplicity and authenticity in this compendium of Hazan's earlier cookbooks. It's broken down intuitively into various types of dishes and ingredients, a
...more
Jun 02, 2007
Rebecca
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
cooks, italophiles, foodies
Shelves:
foodandwine
This is the cookbook I probably use most often. Marcella's recipes, for as intimidating as they may sound (risotti, stuffed squid, spinach and ricotta gnocchi, carciofi alla romana, etc.) are all authentic, easy to follow, and turn out properly every single time. Furthermore, there's lots of great information about ingredients (and how to select the best and freshest), history and culture as relates to ingredients and dishes, and overall good, sound cooking common-sense. She is occasionally more
...more
This book was recommended to me by a Chef when he was teaching me the art of making fresh pasta. It is easy to use with the recipes being very clear and basically spot on. I love that Marcella has also included additional notes at the end of the recipes giving clarification and "Do ahead" pointers. I started with the pasta recipes and now have moved into the main entrees.
If you want a good starting point to produce results that will match a Chef, I suggest Drunk Roast Pork or make the Bolognese ...more
If you want a good starting point to produce results that will match a Chef, I suggest Drunk Roast Pork or make the Bolognese ...more
This is truly the essentials of Italian cooking. Not only do you learn how to butterfly and chicken breast, stuff a squid and de-bone a leg of lamb, but her recipes are also basic, flavorful and the majority of them are easy to make with everyday ingredients you have in your pantry. Her bottom line is building flavor. If you take nothing except one lesson from this book, take her advise about being a patient cook and taking the time to build a strong base flavor with good olive oil, garlic, onio
...more
My goto Italian cookbook. This is the essence of Italian cooking simple recipes using great ingredients. The recipes are simple and logical. Italian does not have to have garlic and gravy like sauce to be Italian.
American's often learned what Italian food was from emigrants from the south Italy that opened restaurants using red checkered table clothes. These neighborhood eatery's of the 60's and 70's often used too much garlic and served food of poor quality in my opinion.
Hazan will broaden yo ...more
American's often learned what Italian food was from emigrants from the south Italy that opened restaurants using red checkered table clothes. These neighborhood eatery's of the 60's and 70's often used too much garlic and served food of poor quality in my opinion.
Hazan will broaden yo ...more
This book combines Hazan's first two books, the Classic Italian Cookbook and More Classic Italian Cooking. While the combined volume is convenient, something is lost. Specifically, in the original works, Hazan gave suggest accompaniments for each recipe. You pick a Primi course, for instance, and she suggests Secondis, and vice versa. This helps you to come up with a truly Italian meal, as two courses are characteristic there. I have found this to be very valuable, and it has been omitted from E
...more
As a novice cook, this book has a wealth of knowledge for the uninitiated. Some parts I felt were rather hard to follow. I assume these are for the more advance cooking talents. Still a great and useful book to add to the shelves.
She's a wonderful traditionalist in many ways -- sometimes the recipes take on more steps than necessary, but she is -- was -- a taskmaster. And more than a few of us like that about her.
...more
Best Italian Cookbook...Tastes Like You are There!
A classic that all those interested in Italian cooking should have on their shelves. Like many others, this is the book that truly taught me the basics of Italian cooking.
I still look to this book for recipes of many classic dishes that I rarely make but should make more frequently.
Absolutely essential. Amazing cooking methodologies. Don't miss the Ragu, Bolognese Style on page 127. Our book falls open to that page.
...more
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