Customer Reviews

The Classic Pasta Cookbook (Classic Cookbooks)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(1)
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I've had this cookbook for several years, and it is stained and dogeared from all the use I've given it. "Classic Pasta" possesses everything I look for in a cookbook: both classic and creative recipes, manageable ingredients and techniques, informal but professional tone (with nice anecdotes by the author), and great pictures. The pasta dishes actually end up looking like the cookbook's pictures! I'm a pasta lover, and I turn to this book at least once a week. If you only want to show off your culinary skills, don't buy this book. If you want easy, affordable, delicious, and inspiring, you really should have this cookbook in your collection. Mangia!

I had a roommate who had this book and two years ago, we moved away and she took the greatest sauce recipes with her. The bolognese in this book is the kind you eat half of before you get to serving your guests. The recipes are simple but classic, using ingredients that are fresh and flavorful yet affordable and easy to find at any grocery store. What's more, the author has some wonderful stories about how he learned to cook and educates the reader on all there is to know about pasta dishes without being condescending. Now that I am getting this book, I will keep it forever.

If you like pasta this book is a must have. I am Italian, and learned to cook because I appreciate good food, and I like to eat! Eating is essential to life, why not eat the best foods, you only live once! I learned from watching my mother and grandmother cook and I can tell you the recipes in this book are the real thing; after all my mother bought this book for me. In my opinion(and my mother's) Marcella Hazan wrote the bible of Italian cookbooks with "Essentials of Italian Cooking"(also a must have), and this book is written by her son, so it is natural that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I have used this book countless times over the years, it is my reference for any pasta dish. It is easy to understand and follow, and after a while you will realize all these dishes are easy to prepare. Great illustrations on how to make fresh pasta and excellent sauce suggestions for different types of pastas. Lots of pictures so it makes it easy to understand what the dish is meant to look like, and what the ingredients should look like...I may have had a head start being of the Italian culture, but this book should make it easy for anyone to understand. Italian cooking is not centered around spaghetti and stewed tomatoes over tons of burned garlic, Italian cooking is colorful, diverse and subtle. This book will give you some insight into true Italian pastas, and the importance of fresh ingredients. Buy it, read it and eat in good health Per Cent' Ani!

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced cook, this book will add to your culinary accomplishments. It has sections on pasta types, making your own pasta (and different variations thereof) and some incredible - and incredibly simple - recipes. The Basilico e Pomodora has become a staple in our house. These recipes are so simple, and so delicious, that my cupboard will never see a jar of pre-made sauce again.

Ever wonder why the food in Italy is so good when it seems so simple? The secret is good technique combined with locally-fresh ingredients. I love to cook, I love French food the best and I love complicated food, but I love a simple pasta just as well. I am also very visually oriented. Thus, the illustrations of the mise en place is perfect for me. I usually only need to glance at the actual instructions for the classics, which include visuals of all your ingredients. If you appreciate Eyewitness Guides (also published by DK) you'll appreciate the visual approach to cooking. The Carbonara is my favorite - although I always add a little chicken broth to pull it all together, and take the pancetta out of the pan till the last minute then toss it in (so it does not get soggy) and the Puttanesca ROCKS! I've tried at least 3/4ths of these and they are great. The only one I've tried that isn't awesome is the zucchini & shrimp pasta. A great pasta book and a great cookbook overall. It's in the canon if cookbooks - right up there with Joy of Cooking.

This is a fabulous cookbook. I'm an adequate cook, but whenever I make one of these recipes people rave about it. It's unbelievable. And the recipes are simple and easy to follow. You can't beat recipes that allow you to cook a fresh sauce in the amount of time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta.

I got this book while living with my sister in florence, italy. at first glance it looks like a step-by-step "idiots guide to pasta" but once you jump past the children's book exterior, it really is a great resource. The recipes make the best use of easily accessible fresh and imported canned ingredients. The sauces are straightforward and simple both in preparation and taste. I personally like the huge quantity of vegetarian or easily-adjusted-to-be-veg recipes. Having access to the florence markets made everything taste like heaven!!! Don't miss the recipe whose introduction begins something like: "If I were sentenced to death and allowed to choose a last meal, this pasta with white truffles would be it."

So far, I have cooked a few of the different recipes from this book. Fettucine with Fresh Herbs, Tomatoes and Crean and the Pasta Fagioli have been the best received. Several of the recipes are very simple to make and others will take you quite some time. The book also includes a very helpful guide on stocking your kitchen and shopping for the right ingredients. All in all, this is a fantastic recipe book for cooking pasta.

This was Giuliano's first book and it was a gem! My copy is well worn. Giuliano is Marcella Hazan's son and some of this was learned in her kitchen and some in his own. Buy it if for nothing else his classic tomato and butter sauce. MMMMMM...The bad news is this is out of print so if you find a copy grab it.

This is the best "pasta book" I've ever seen. Precise, exact, not to fancy, easy to follow.

Respect for traditional recepies. Simple = Italian pasta filozofy. I can't imagine doing it better!