Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: My expectations for this book were sky high after reading the feedback from the majority of the reviewers. Sadly, I have not found many recipes in the book that I enjoy. The recipes are repetitive and mostly mundane. This may be traditional but it is uninspiring. I also find that her use of fats (butter, heavy cream, etc.) is a bit over the top for my taste. I do appreciate her writing style which is very pleasing and easy to read. The lack of pictures hurts. A few personal favorites from the book: tomato sauce with porcini mushrooms, chicken with two lemons, and the bolognese meat sauce.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive
Review: This book is among the greatest cookbooks--clear and concise, informative, imaginative, inspiring. It will introduce you to a far geater range of Italian cooking than most Americans are familiar with. Once again, to my mind the great cookbooks combine all the qualities mentioned above, as well as just being a joy to read. Indispensable.

Rating:
Summary: crucial book
Review: This is the single best cookbook I've ever used. The recipes are generally very easy and very good.

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book
Review: This is an incredible book. I have read it from cover to cover, and even lugged it on vacation to read (yes, I am a bit obsessive). Everything that I have tried so far has been wonderful. Marcella's recipes are very approachable, and, best of all, they work! I am not Italian, nor have I ever been to Italy, so I can not speak to it's authenticity as Italian cuisine, but I can speak to the fact that this is wonderful food. She does insist on high quality ingredients, with which I am in total agreement, but I wish that she had included name brand names and resources in this updated edition. I have yet to be able to find anchovies in salt--even on the internet! The tomato and butter sauce is now my favorite pasta sauce, the veal marsala is delicious, and the cream and butter sauce is also wonderful. She goes into incredible detail about making pasta, as well as pairing fresh and factory products with the appropriate sauce. I would highly recommend reading the first part of the book before diving into the recipes, because she discusses several cooking techniques, as well as how to determine quality in your ingredients. If you love simple, wonderful food, you will not be disappointed with Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Rating:
Summary: Now That's Italian
Review: I divide my life into two periods: Life Before Marcella Hazan and Life After Marcella Hazan. Life is better now.

In my pre-Marcella life, I sought flavor in more and more ingredients--more spices, more herbs, more cheese varieties. My recipes were longer than the space shuttle's pre-flight checklist.

Marcella taught me the truth about flavor: it can spring from a few carefully selected ingredients, lovingly prepared.

Take Marcella's Tomato and Butter sauce for example: it is probably the best thing I've ever had in my mouth, yet there's almost nothing in it. Marcella reveals the key to this magic: imported Italian tomatoes (yes, it does make a difference) simmered slowly (uncovered) with butter and onion.

Similarly, the pork braised in milk is full of mouth-watering flavor. The ingredients: pork and milk. And the chicken with two lemons? You guessed it; the ingredients are two lemons and a chicken.

These foods will make you happy.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet and Simple
Review: Marcella Hazan has written an excellent cookbook affording simple,but classic, entries to pasta, fish,risotto,etc. This is my most frequently consulted cookbook. The pasta sauces listed are varied, simple to make, and turn out wonderful. Fish receipes too are wonderful. If you have to have only one Italian cookbook, this is it!

Rating:
Summary: Marcella Does It Again!
Review: Marcella does a wonderful job of presenting traditional Italian recipes in a straight forward manner anyone could follow. As the Italian Cooking Host @ Bella Online, I run out immediately to buy any book Marcella writes the minute it hits the stores. I lived in Italy for 8 years myself, and her recipes back back memories of the wonderful food experiences we had. My only complaint that includes all of Marcella's books, is that she should include pictures. Her recipes are all so great, the pictures would be truly inspiring!

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Summary: Italian cooking made easy & fun
Review: Have tried numerous receipies and have not been dissapointed with any. Well written, easy to follow directions and no nonsence techniques lead to great results

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Summary: What a cookbook!
Review: I own many Italian cookbooks. This has to be my favorite. It is jammed with recipes that are easy to follow and provide a wonderful taste of Italy. Ms. Hazen knows both Italian food and what ingredients are available to Americans. She combines this knowledge to create a useful, yet very Italian cookbook. Ms. Hazen is also a practical cook and simplifies some of the cumbersome, traditional Italian techniques without sacrificing flavor! I have made at least 50 of the recipes, all successfully. There are at least 100 more I want to try! Her recipes take me to Italy via wonderful, authentic, Italian food.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the mouth-watering photos!
Review: This book is well written and entertaining. The recipes are easy to follow and tasty. But, what I found to be most useful are the tips and tricks to Italian cooking. It clearly describes how to use olive oil, basil, and other herbs and spices. It tells you the origin and uses of Italian ingredients, as well as how and when to select them. The skills you will learn from this book will go a long way! The only thing this book lacks is photos. If you are like me and thouroghly enjoy seeing what your creation should end up looking like, then compliment this book with another. My best X-mas gift was "The Complete Italian Cookbook" by Carlo Bernasconi and Christian Teubner ISBN:1-898250-85-5. This is a 1999 book and not yet available through Amazon. Plan on spending a bundle, but it's dynamite! And for the photo lovers like me, it has 440 pages of recipes with at least one photo per recipe. Many photos are taken to show the step-by-step process. ALL photos in this book are HIGH quality color. You will find more photos in this book than your local-corner photo lab!