Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 704 pages
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1st edition (October 27, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 039458404X
ISBN-13: 978-0394584041
Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.7 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Marcella Hazan
List Price : ~~$35.00~~
Price : $21.06
You Save : $13.94 (40%)

Customer Reviews

I agree with the other reviewer here: this is the one cookbook I'd keep if I could only have one. This book takes you so far beyond spaghetti and meatballs you won't believe it. It is also meticulous, thorough, and yet very enjoyable just to read. Here are my favorite recipes:
1. The Bolognese Pork Roasted in Milk - this recipe is insane. It is like a wonderful chemistry set experiment you can eat. Marcella says it would be one of her top 10 choices of recipes that embody the genius of Italian Cuisine.
2. The Lemon Chicken - Also amazing. Easy to do, wonderful. Great summer dish.
3. Veal Stew w/Tomatoes and Peas
4. Veal Stew w/White Wine and Sage
Also, some of the standards are given great treatment:
1. Eggplant Parm
2. Osso Bucco (this is by FAR the best version I've seen of this).
3. Fried zucchini.
This makes a great gift too because it isn't full of esoteric stuff that only foodies (no derision intended) would make.

This is it: The single indispensable cookbook -- not just for Italian food, but for good food. Marcella's (sometimes acerbic) commentary on ingredients and recipes is wonderful, but the reason to buy this book is for the dishes. Almost everything I've made from this book has been an absolute treat, from the succulent mushroom and ham pasta sauce to the delectable stuffed tomatoes. And with the size of this compendium, you'll never run out of new tastes to try.
My one quibble? The desserts don't seem to measure up to the rest of the dishes. The two I've tried -- lemon almond cookies and the farm wive's pear tart -- were disappointing. The cookies tasted great, but had the texture of cardboard, while the "tart" was more like a clafouti; although I baked it far longer than the recipe called for, it remained doughy and wet. With all that ripe pear in the batter, though, it certainly tasted acceptable!
With two disappointments out of the 30-or-so fabulous recipes I've tried, this is still single finest book I've ever cooked from. (and much better than her recent huge success Marcella Cucina). Oh, the soups! Oh, the pastas! Oh, the vegetables! Oh, Marcella!