Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: 30th Anniversary Edition: A Cookbook

Reviews

1. 

   Anonymous – July 29, 2024

   From a foodie, Oh! What a goldmine.
   I bought the book after reading the other reviews here at Amazon. I was searching for a book to teach the basics of traditional Italian cooking. What I got was a treasure chest packed with priceless information on “all things” classic Italian cooking. I skimmed through the book when I first got it. I’m in the process of reading it in depth now and have made a couple dishes from the recipes that looked interesting as I read though them. Pasta and bean soup made with home made pasta and cranberry beans. I had never heard of cranberry beans and was prepared to substitute red kidney beans as the recipe suggested but low and behold… Central Market had the real deal in the bulk section so I was able to prepare the dish with dried cranberry beans. I was really happy I found the cranberry beans because they are nothing like kidney beans. They’re more like pintos only twice as big. I had never made home made pasta before but Ms. Hazan’s instructions were detailed and exact. I was able to turn out a reasonable noodle and further, the experience taught me that I really do need a pasta machine. And, I just bought one here before writing this review.I digress. Of the handful of dishes I’ve prepared from the book’s recipes, I can say all were rich and flavorful, delicious. My favorite so far has to be the Bolognese meat sauce, which I served with baked rigatoni. Seriously, the Bolognese meat sauce may be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Everything I’ve prepared to date is far superior fare than the typical olive oil drenched, garlic laced American Italian foods I’m used too. I was shocked to find out that Ms. Hazan cooks with butter and vegetable oil much more often than with olive oil. Watching Italian Americans cooking on typical TV cooking shows available here in the USA had me convinced that classic Italian cooking was all about olive oil and garlic. Not so. And, while pasta is up there in my top 10 favorite foods, the breadth and depth of Italian cooking is so much more than spaghetti, lasagna and calamari.This book will not only provide you with great detailed recipes that generate truly great food, it will teach you skills needed to make classic Italian foods with traditional methods. The writing is clear and directions are easy to follow. Ms. Hazan breaks the most tedious processes down to clearly defined steps. The book is a pleasure to read. It is truly entertaining.

2. 

   DaRq_MiNoS – July 29, 2024

   The Genius Is in the Simplicity
   I will never buy pasta sauce in a jar again. Who would’ve thought that you could saute some onions and/or garlic in extra virgin olive oil, then add a can of chopped-up Italian plum tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes, and have the best pasta sauce you’ve ever created? I certainly didn’t, and I’ve spent years doctoring jarred sauce with sugar and various spices to make them palatable.The recipes in this book are simple, mostly inexpensive, and supremely delicious. Among my favorites are the Minestrone alla Romagnola, Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Sauce with Sausages, and Tuna Sauce with Tomatoes and Garlic. I love tuna, but when I saw a recipe for tuna in a red sauce, I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. But man oh man, it turned out to be my favorite way of preparing tuna. Another great thing about this dish is that it only costs about $7 to make 4 to 6 servings.For those of you who require photos in your cookbooks, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that there are no photos, and there are very few illustrations. The good news is that you really don’t need photos if you look at the recipes. They are all simple, as all great Italian cooking is. They use very few ingredients, and the steps are easy to follow. I would have to say that they are foolproof, idiotproof, and bulletproof. I don’t really see how you could mess them up unless you weren’t really paying attention to what you’re doing.The “Fundamentals” section which begins the book is also a great read. Here the author explains how Italian flavors are created, the do’s and don’ts, and how to select and use the ingredients. I think most people would pick up at least a couple of useful hints about cooking in general from this section.If you are at all serious about cooking Italian food, this book is a must-have. I have a lot of what are considered all-time great cookbooks, and this one might be the one I’d pick for the desert island scenario.

3. 

   Daniel Morin – July 29, 2024

   brilliant

4. 

   Robert – July 29, 2024

   The book is Wonderfull, but my book had a lot of damage. For some reason amazon sends books in boxes or plastic bags without any kind of cushion. The book covers all the basics of traditional Italian cuisine really good, is text and some drawings, no pictures of the dishes, but is really good.

5. 

   Yman – July 29, 2024

   Nic dodać, nic ująć, bardzo fajnie opisana i napisana książka, z masą inspiracji i wiedzy o tradycyjnej włoskiej kuchni.