The Pasta Machine Cookbook (A Nitty Gritty Cookbook) (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks) [Paperback]

Donna Rathmell German (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nitty Gritty Cookbooks | Publication Date: April 1, 1993

Make incredible pastas at home with hand-cranked or electric extruder pasta machines. Pasta recipes in 112 varieties accompany more than 40 exciting sauces and toppings. A nutritional analysis supplements recipes flavored with a variety of grains, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

If it contains flours and grains, Donna Rathmell German has probably written a book about it! With more than 5 million books sold, she is the leading expert on bread machine baking, and the author of many books on the subject, including The Bread Machine Cookbook series, The Best Pizza is Made at Home and The New Book of Waffles and Pizzelles. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bristol Publishing Enterprises (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558670815
• ISBN-13: 978-1558670815
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Pasta

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contains some useful recipes and some useless recipes, January 2, 2002

By 

W. A. Norris (Redmond, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pasta Machine Cookbook (A Nitty Gritty Cookbook) (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks) (Paperback)

If you want to make a reasonable selection of pastas, this book will give you recipes to do it. Spinach, tomato, and other flavored pastas, as well as pastas made from a variety of grains. It also contains a reasonable selection of sauces that are generally easy to make, though if you have any experience making pasta sauces (or another cookbook that covers the topic), I doubt you'll find anything terribly interesting or innovative to try as far as sauces go.

However, I guess that wasn't enough to fill up a book, because the book also has a bunch of recipes that look questionable at best. It looks kind of like the author sat down and tried to brainstorm everything she could possibly think of to make pasta out of -- kind of an illustration of the old adage that if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. For example, there are some recipes for curry pastas here, which seems like a reasonable enough idea if you can think of something to make that wuld go well with it. However, the author's only serving suggestion is to then make a curry and serve it over the curry pasta, which makes a lot less sense to me than making a pasta with a flavor that would complement whatever curry you are making. There are a number of recipes like this, where the author suggests using a set of ingredients from a dish in a pasta to go with the dish.

Beyond that there's no discussion of making tortellini and only a brief discussion of making ravioli, with only a few ideas for fillings. This seems like an area where the author's creativity could have been put to far better use, as there are a vast number of possible fillings that might go really well tossed lightly with oil or with a simple cream sauce.

This is a very inexpensive book and it contains a wide variety of of useful recipes for various pastas, so this book does the job it sets out to do. However, I can't help but think it could have been a much better book if a little more thought and discretion could have been put into it.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Guide to Pasta Making!, February 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Hoboken, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pasta Machine Cookbook (A Nitty Gritty Cookbook) (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks) (Paperback)

This is a great cookbook for anyone who had or wants to own a pasta machine. The easy to follow recipes are adjusted for both the hand crank and electric machines as well. For this past Valentine's Day my girlfriend and I brought out her old pasta machine and following one of the recipes we made a four-spice pasta that was incredible. We had once tried to make pasta before and it took a lot longer then because we didn't quite know the proportions needed. However, following the instructions Donna German gives. Making pasta took a lot less time, even with a hand crank pasta machines. Although we have not tried any of the sauce or main dish recipes they look pretty darn good too. Off to find my own pasta machine...:-)

68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making fresh pasta has never been easier!, April 21, 2000

By 

Daniel F. Moore (Yarmouth, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Pasta Machine Cookbook (A Nitty Gritty Cookbook) (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks) (Paperback)

I bought this book a few years ago after purchasing an electric pasta maker. The instructions are very clear and concise. But the best thing is that the book gives the reader a huge number of pasta recipes including the use of various flours, herbs, vegetables, fruits, spices and cheeses. After using the book for awhile, I decided to experiment with some of my favorites...garlic, basil and parmesan. You will delight every person who sits at your table and you will be proclaimed an absolute gourmet chef. Pasta is very healthy and now it can be equally delicious. Imagine chocolate pasta topped with brandied strawberries! Even the kids can make pasta with these recipes. I have had many hours of culinary pleasure thanks to Donna German and you will too!