The Classic Italian Cookbook

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Summary: Marcella Hazan's best: the one I reach for first.
Review: I have always considered myself an Italian cook, although myrange is considerably broader, but this book changed my whole out lookto Italian cookery. I have collected most of Marcella's books, including the latest, but this is the one I reach for first. The section on Italian style grilled vegetables has become a summer favorite and has literally changed the way I plan a vegetable garden. It alone was worth the cost of the book. The osso bucca is to die for, and in my veal poor region it has withstood the substitution of lamb shanks. Every fall I put up a years's supply of the oven dried plum tomatoes in oil and the hot peppers in oil. I was asked for recipes of these dishes so often, I bought a half dozen of the paperback version of this book to distribute to my children and friends. I am invited out to dinner now by friends who have prepared one of these classic dishes (Chicken al Diavolo, for example) and even forgotten where they got the book. I am saddened to see it is out of print, because I could use a few more copies for friends who can't be trusted to know how to boil pasta ascuitta but are embarking on "Mediterranean diets". Joseph Chiaravalloti

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Summary: My Favorite Cookbook
Review: I regularly cook from about 10 cookbooks representing most of the great cuisines of the world, and this is my favorite book (perhaps tied with the essential The Joy of Cooking, aka Joy). Marcella's sensible if opinionated commentary provides much of the appeal, but it's the recipes that keep me coming back: they are simple, easy to follow, wholesome, and delicious. Sure, the Bolognese meat sauce takes 4 hours to make, but it's still simple. Rabbit braised in white wine, fried artichoke wedges, home-made pasta, a range of simple delicous antipasto, awesome parmesan-battered lamb chops, and several versions of scaloppini (and you can be sure she tells you how to slice it right!). Verdura (vegetables) are extensively covered with a series of improbably good, simple treatments: fennel becomes a sublime accompaniment, artichokes take center stage, green beans sparkle, and her take on potatoes is simple and great. Everything in this book is wonderful. This is her original, and it's the best.