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Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking [Hardcover]

Marcella Hazan , Karin Kretschmann
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (205 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 27, 1992
With more than 100 illustrations by Karin Kretschman.

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Buy Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and get The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles's Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Perhaps more than any other person, Marcella Hazan is responsible for bringing Italian cuisine into the homes of American cooks. We're not talking spaghetti and meatballs here--Hazan's cuisine consists of polenta, risotto, squid braised with tomatoes and white wine, sautéed swiss chard with olive oil and garlic.... Twenty years ago, when Hazan first exploded into the American consciousness with The Classic Italian Cook Book and More Classic Italian Cooking, such recipes were revolutionary. With time, however, these classic dishes have become much-beloved family favorites.

Now a new generation is ready to be introduced to Marcella Hazan's way with food, and in Essentials of Italian Cooking Hazan combines her two earlier works into one update and expanded volume. In addition to the delicious collection of recipes, this book serves as a basic manual for cooks of every skill level. Recipes have been revised to reduce fat content, and a whole new chapter full of fundamental information about herbs, spices, and cheeses used in Italian kitchens--as well as details on how to select specific ingredients--has been added. New chapters, new recipes--who could ask for more than Essentials of Italian Cooking?

From Publishers Weekly

In the language of cookbooks, the word "classic" is bandied about nearly as frequently as the terms "low-fat" and "no-cholesterol." In this case, however, the estimable Hazan ( More Classic Italian Cooking ) does indeed contribute a classic to the ever-increasing literature of Italian cuisine. A revision and update of her two previous "classic" Italian cookbooks (with more than 35 completely new recipes), this one includes recipes not "in pursuit of novelty, but of taste." As Hazan puts it, the book "is meant to be used as a kitchen handbook . . . for cooks of every level . . . who want an accessible and comprehensive guide to the products, the techniques, and the dishes that constitute imperishable Italian cooking." From marinated carrot sticks to sweet-and-sour tuna steaks, Trapani style, to tortellini with fish stuffing and polenta shortcake with raisins, dried figs and pine nuts, the outstanding recipes--many of them poetically simple--are too numerous to do justice to in few words. Included is a spirited discussion of squid and the essentials of preparing fresh pasta, gnocchi (potato dumplings), authentic risotto, frittate and polenta dishes. While writing from Venice, her home for much of the year, Hazan never fails to consider the availability of ingredients in the U.S., and never assumes that all readers understand complex methods or exotic terminology. This volume is the perfect gift for a new homemaker, a seasoned chef and all lovers of good food. Illustrated. 40,000 first printing; Home Style Book Club main selection, BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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: 7.2 x 1.7 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (205 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

So far, my family has enjoyed every recipe we have tried. Imperial Topaz  |  42 reviewers made a similar statement
This book is a must-have for anyone who loves Italian cooking -- I can't recommend it enough! K. Topper  |  32 reviewers made a similar statement
Easy to follow, ingredients required in recipes usually in pantry. Gianna Castellucci  |  38 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
254 of 264 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Behold a Sacred Text February 15, 2001
Format:Hardcover
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.

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320 of 336 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
`Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking' is Marcella Hazan's fourth book, composed of an edited and updated amalgam of her first two books, both of which were on `classic Italian cooking'. As with all of Ms. Hazan's books except for her latest, `Marcella Says', my main regret is that I have not read them sooner. All, especially this volume, are every bit as good as the blurbs may lead you to believe.

Some reviewers have compared this book to `The Joy of Cooking'. It is much more accurate to compare it to Julia Child's seminal `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' on several counts. First, like Child's book, Hazan's book is devoted exclusively to the techniques, ingredients, and recipes of a single major national cuisine. Second, unlike `The Joy of Cooking', it does not cover absolutely every kitchen technique and issue such as hygiene, nutrition, preserving, and obscure game meats. Third, the book is published and edited by the same people, Knopf and senior editor Judith Jones. This common publishing team means the two books have a very similar look. Both are illustrated by line drawings and both benefit from Knopf's traditional skill in designing the typeface and layout of books in general for easy reading. Fourth, Ms. Hazan arrived at cooking in almost exactly the same manner as Julia Child, in that they found themselves married to men who likes to eat well, and they did not know how to cook at the time.

The 64-dollar question of course is whether this book is equal in quality to Child's book.
... Read more ›
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94 of 100 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, Delicious, Delicious December 1, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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!

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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book July 5, 2000
Format:Hardcover
This is an incredible book. I have read it from cover to cover, and even lugged it on vacation to read (yes, I am a bit obsessive). Everything that I have tried so far has been wonderful. Marcella's recipes are very approachable, and, best of all, they work! I am not Italian, nor have I ever been to Italy, so I can not speak to it's authenticity as Italian cuisine, but I can speak to the fact that this is wonderful food. She does insist on high quality ingredients, with which I am in total agreement, but I wish that she had included name brand names and resources in this updated edition. I have yet to be able to find anchovies in salt--even on the internet! The tomato and butter sauce is now my favorite pasta sauce, the veal marsala is delicious, and the cream and butter sauce is also wonderful. She goes into incredible detail about making pasta, as well as pairing fresh and factory products with the appropriate sauce. I would highly recommend reading the first part of the book before diving into the recipes, because she discusses several cooking techniques, as well as how to determine quality in your ingredients. If you love simple, wonderful food, you will not be disappointed with Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful basic recipes
beautiful book and in excellent condition (purchased used) Great recipes and a good source of reference. This is a great addition to a very large cook book collection.
Published 11 days ago by patbirdlegs
3.0 out of 5 stars Some good recipes
I know it's a classic, but I was hoping for a few more recipes that didn't need special ingredients or kitchen gadgets.
Published 12 days ago by Northwest teacher
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive English language book on Italian cooking
This is for anyone serious about cooking Italian. Marcella is an undisputed authority on Italian food. A must have for any serious cook.
Published 1 month ago by Robert Shaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Hazen cook book
This is a classic. I highly recommend it. Her recipes are totally authentic to the type of Italian cooking that my family, close friends, Italian I might add, are used to and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cheryl Miglioretto
5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource
I have the paperback edition and wanted to have it with me so ordered the Kindle version.

Love, love, love the recipes...YUMMY
Published 1 month ago by Carol Mandracchia
5.0 out of 5 stars Ah, Marcella...
What's not to like? MH gives us recipes which include tips on how to buy the raw ingredients, the different variations one can make to successfully prepare such dishes as polenta... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marilyn
5.0 out of 5 stars Best cookbook ever
This really is everything you need to know about Italian cooking.

I find the recipes easy to follow, accurate, and tasty! Read more
Published 1 month ago by jjnbos
5.0 out of 5 stars I have the Classic Italian Cookbook
I gave this one to my daughter who has been hinting for years that she would like one like mine, and this is a compilation of two or three of Hazan's books. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Evelyln M. Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have
The author of this book is well known and presents the recipes in a way that makes them easy for almost any cook. A must have for anyone who loves Italian cooking.
Published 1 month ago by antiquebabe
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive book on Italian cooking!
The authenticity of the recipes in this book make the results sing! The options in the recipes are great, easy to follow and the book is now dog eared and stained, my official... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marilyn Franks
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