|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading Title, and not the best Italian cookbook..., April 11, 2003
...but that's only because the best Italian cookbook is Diane Seed's "Top 100 Italian Dishes."There is nothing to dislike about this book! The misleading title complaint is only because this isn't just a book of pasta sauces, unless you consider things like Fusilli con Polpettine (Fusilli with meatballs) or Penne alla Alberoni (baked penne with shrimp and mushrooms) to be just a sauce. By the way, the meatballs and the baked penne are two of my top 10 favourite recipes -- I perfected the meatball recipe, and I'm forever messing around with the penne, using scallops instead of shrimp, adding sake, feta cheese, green and waxed beans (but steam or zap those first, I discovered). It is such a foolproof recipe that it is possible to experiment like that and still know that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, and that your guests will love it and demand the recipe. Warning: This is NOT a Westernized cookbook, it is an unapologetically Italian cookbook with extremely authentic recipes. There is very little meat in most of these recipes, and pairings of things that would rarely be thought of outside of Italy, like a main dish composed entirely of pasta, chickpeas, and celery. However, if you are prepared to be adventurous, and would like a source of wonderful meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare, then this is the book for you. Come home exhausted, put a big pot of water on, sit down and relax until it boils, then create Linguine alle Olive in ten minutes flat. Linguine, garlic, black olives, olive oil, parsley salt, parmesan on the side, is all. You can dramatically change the recipe just by choosing what kind of black olives, from regular mild canned olives to intense oily kalamatas (I recommend the latter). This book is completely filled with recipes like that. I much prefer photographs of finished dishes in cookbooks, but the fanciful illustrations here (by Robert Budwig) turn the book into a work of art. Not all of the recipes are quickies, but the slower ones are where Ms. Seed does most of her teaching. You literally have NO idea what Spaghetti Bolognese is until you have spent a couple of hours making her version (only a half hour of that time requires your presence in the kitchen). I've had this book for several years, so it is now dog-eared and much scribbled upon. I must have made at least thirty of the recipes, with only one dud, and that just because my palate just couldn't encompass the idea of having lemon as the overriding flavour in a main dish. In summary: a wonderful cookbook, mostly full of very simple recipes that call for little time and few (but excellent) ingredients, coupled with a few time-consuming spectacular creations for special occasions. Now, do yourself a favour and check out the BEST Italian cookbook...
|
by Diane Seed
by Charles A. Bellissino
by Diane Seed
by Cook's Illustrated
See all 7 books citing this book
