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

I have many years of experience in the kitchen cooking all different types of food--French, Greek, Mexican, American, Italian. But every time I make something from this book, I remain convinced that Italian is my absolute favorite food on earth. It is the cuisine I would choose if I had to forego all others, and this is the Italian cookbook in my collection I would choose to keep if I could keep only one. In this Bible of Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan painstakingly pours out her love and knowledge of authentic Italian food. Hazan reveals the secrets and imparts the wisdom of centuries, not just generations. She is a brilliant woman who does an exceptional job showing you how to cook one of the world's finest cuisines. If you are new to Italian cooking, this is where you should begin. And possibly end. Ingredient lists for the recipes are often short and at first glance may seem unimpressive. You may say to yourself, "what can be so special about that?" But special it is! It is Hazan's expertise, the precise way that she tells you to put the ingredients together, that turns out a fabulous dish that you will want to make again and again. I was happy to learn that good Italian cooking doesn't necessarily require that you make a huge mess of your kitchen and spend hours slaving over a hot stove. Many of the recipes in this book take no longer than half an hour to prepare. And some, while needing several hours on the stove or in the oven to finish, allow you to leave the kitchen while they do. I have made about 50 of the recipes in this book. Sausage with Red Cabbage, Sausages and Cream Sauce, and Lamb Stew with Vinegar and Green Beans are among my favorites. The Chicken Cacciatore New Version is ridiculously good and Marcella is too modest about it. Not a bit of refined sugar is added, all sweetness occurs naturally from carmelized onions. I love to make Hazan's sauces and stews. I used to sauté onions only one way: Quickly over high heat. I now know to cook them very slowly in oil over low heat for a long time until they are sweet and golden and have released every ounce of flavor they have. Had it not been for Marcella, I think I never would have done anything with a clove of garlic but to push it through a press. I now chop, slice, and poach garlic as well as sauté the clove whole to release its subtle perfume. And if you were like me, your idea of a stew may be something made in a crock pot or something that comes out of a can. Forget those ideas. Hazan takes stew to places it's never been before. Get out your saucepan, not your slow cooker, and follow Hazan's instructions. You will soon have the most wonderful fragrances and aromas wafting from your kitchen that you have probably never even smelled before or thought possible. And that is to say nothing of the meal you sit down at the table later to savor. And if you have never rubbed a split clove of raw garlic on toast, drizzled it with a little olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper, you are in for a real treat. But be forewarned: Bruschetta is addictive! I admit to never having made homemade pasta. Regrettably, I have never had either the time or the kitchen equipment necessary to do it. But I suspect Hazan's method is the Holy Grail of pasta-making, and if ever I have the opportunity in my life to take on this challenge, it will be Marcella who teaches me how. On the issue of pasta, however, this book will easily serve as your definitive guide to it. Everything you ever wanted or needed to know about pasta is here. The pasta chapter contains an extensive section devoted to matching all types of pasta, both dry and fresh, to sauces. And for each pasta sauce recipe, Marcella gives you at least two pasta choices, in order of her preference, to go with it. But this book won't just make you an expert on pasta. Soups, risotto, gnocchi, crespelle, polenta, and fritatte all have their own chapters and all receive Marcella's dedicated and thorough treatment. There are also separate chapters for appetizers, soups, vegetables, salads, desserts, and specialized breads and doughs. The final chapter of the book helps you to put menus together. Other reviewers who have said that the recipes are repetitive or uninteresting either don't have a real love of Italian food to begin with or they haven't spent much time looking through the book. I went searching for every favorite dish of mine thinking, oh, I bet I won't find it--I found it! While it is true there is no recipe for spaghetti and meatballs (because that dish isn't authentically Italian) there are recipes for meatballs, spaghetti carbonara, eggplant parmesan, chicken marsala, fettucini all'fredo, pasta e fagiole, minestrone, lasagna, clam sauce, steak florentine and all manner of filled pasta. And, yes, even pizza! I was pleasantly surprised to find that nearly every standard on the Olive Garden menu is here, the only difference being that in this book one can count on the dish to be correct. One of the greatest things about reading Hazan is not just the meal you end up preparing; it is the knowledge and the perspective that you take away with you, even when the meal you are making is not an Italian one and even if you didn't make it. Yes, Marcella can be fussy. But she can also be charitable. She has no problem offering acceptable substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients and she happily gives credit where it is due to that which is found outside of her native Italy. She seems to always anticipate every problem you could run into making a dish, as well as every opportunity to make the most of it. And she is always well worth listening to, even if you end up at times disagreeing with her. Because the chances are she will offer you much more advice that you wish to retain and use than you wish to reject. If all you want is a recipe, you don't need to buy this book. There are endless websites on the internet where you can find free recipes. But if you want to learn to cook well--and especially to cook Italian food the way it was meant to be cooked--then you can do no better than Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I wish I could give this more stars. This book has 630 pages of just recipes, that doesn't include the forward, the explanation of what you will use. It's just an amazing book, full of useful recipes and information. I can't wait to start.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is a must-have for anyone who loves authentic Italian food. The recipes are clear, approachable, and timeless, making it easy to create traditional dishes with amazing flavor at home.

Very fun, easy to understand recipes.

I have mixed feelings about this cookbook. I had the original hardcover books but gave them to my eldest son when he got married; he loves to cook and he really liked the original books. Afterwards, I found that I missed them and often found myself wishing to use them. When I saw this book on Kindle, I was extremely pleased; both books combined and on sale, happy dance. However, as I read the introduction, I was upset that the author had rewritten the book, changing some recipes, dropping others, and adding new ones. The author’s explanation about changes made sounded reasonable, though, and I was satisfied that it was actually an improvement. I was happy that there were some new recipes, butI had serious reservations about some recipes being discarded. Maybe I’m a bit obsessive compulsive, but I was concerned that maybe a recipe that I liked had been discarded. Still, I would have given the book five stars, except for what I found to be a problem. The index/table of contents was poorly designed. I couldn’t just look in an alphabetical listing for recipes, which was very frustrating. The recipes were broken down into categories, which was helpful. However, it was frustrating to have to flip through all pasta recipes to find the one I wanted. If I want a lasagna recipe, I want to look in an index for the word ‘lasagna’, not just under the category ‘pasta’. I was able to bookmark recipes, but it shouldn’t be necessary. Therefore, I would have given this book three and a half stars if I could have, but since I couldn’t, I gave it four. As for the recipes themselves, they were excellent. The author gave careful instructions and even explained why one should or shouldn’t do something. Some recipes required a long list of ingredients and several steps but that shouldn’t put off a novice cook. Almost all of the ingredients are easily accessible in an ordinary grocery store. When an ingredient is not easily accessible, the author has listed substitutes that are easy to find. As well, when several steps were required, the author broke them down into easy to follow steps. She explained which steps to do first and why one step should be ready in advance of another step. She also was careful to note what would happen or what something would look like if the cook made a mistake. For example, onions should be sautéed first and then the garlic added to it, because onions take longer to cook and if garlic was added at the same time, it would get too brown and it would not taste the way it should. I recommend this cookbook to anyone who likes Italian cooking. Several recipes call for alcohol to be added, but there are usually non-alcoholic substitutes. So if someone is an total abstainer or is worried about cost, there are ways to work around a recipe. Overall, I don’t believe most recipes would be expensive to make. For example, I made the meatballs for a dinner party and I received a lot of compliments and requests for the recipe. It was amazing how good a simple meatball could be, just by changing how one prepared them, using the same basic ingredients that I always used, but using a different method.

This is an old fashioned traditional cookbook by an experienced cook familiar with the ingredients and traditions such as used by previous generations. Paper is like good traditional books for information, but not the smooth stock with color photos. Even if one cannot follow the recipe exactly, it is good to see how a traditional recipe works, then adjust them to your lifestyle. For example, with mediterranean recipes one can often swap a protein, but you have to leave in the tomatoes and olive oil.

Great book. Very different from the contemporary kookbooks with The illustrated steps and mouthwatering pictures. But if you have a little bit of imagination and a blind faith in Hazan then this should not stop you

Bellissimo libro con tantissime ricette di cucina italiana, inoltre c'è la conversione del peso in grammi il che non guasta!

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

This is the best Italian cookery bible. So easy to read with step by step instructions throughout. The recipes I used came out magnificent! I bought 3 copies to give away to family.

Fabulous book with wonderful food. Really informative and educational.