This is a hefty book - lots of detail, lots of instruction and pretty strict about how things need to be done. As someone who hasn't ventured outside of my comfort zone for cooking, this structure can be very helpful - but it can also complicate things as I have to prepare everything in advance and rarely can pull off a recipe in this book with a low stocked pantry.

Still, I can't fault the book for my need to prepare - overall it's great and when I do have the time to make a special trip for all the right ingredients I know I'll have everything spelled out for me. The thing is huge so it's not easy to move around a kitchen counter with a couple of fingers in the middle of cooking, but like my title indicates, it's like a text book. There's more than just recipes, there's reference information, instruction on preparation and history. A very well rounded book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the depth of her knowledge of Italian cookery is amazing, on the other, the lack of specifics and inaccurate cooking times can be quite frustrating. This caveat should suffice: when making use of these recipes, make constant use of your tasting spoon!

I made Pasta e fagioli with fresh cranberry beans according to Ms. Hazan's recipe, and, because of Ms. Hazan's widely-acknowledged eminence, I followed her recipe precisely, something I rarely do, as I am an experienced cook. Her time for cooking the beans (45 minutes), left me with undercooked beans; they should have cooked for at least an hour and fifteen minutes, if not an hour and a half. No big deal, except I added the pasta at the point Ms. Hazan recommended.

I am sure that this book will be an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to learn Italian cooking, just make sure to test and modify these recipes as necessary ahead of time; following them as is can result in flubbed meals.

...I've referred to this book over the years for technique and authenticity of Italian cooking...it is a wonderful book. I agree that it is on par with Julia Child's French cookbook. I've made many of the recipes and they are fabulous....the poached shrimp, easy and delicious...the grilled shrimp with flavored breadcrumbs is another favorite, the Lemon, garlic & parsley chicken cutlets is marvelous...her focaccia recipe is the best...fried tomatoes......I can go on and on. Ms. Hazan has given us a remarkable gift.

I only received this book a couple weeks ago.
The 3 recipes I cooked were okay.
I had reservations about the two chicken breast filet recipes:
cooking times requested are very short and your filets can come out raw.
-She should've been more specific on to tell when its done by detailing the weight of the breast filets to use.

However, other recipes, especially the pasta ones, look really good!
Looking foward to using this book more.

This is a good book for technique and ingredients; belongs on every Italian cook's shelf. I agree it's a little limited re recipes. But, her recipe for Minestrone is the BEST I've ever tried! Excellent technique for prepping and cooking all the veggies. I've been making this soup for years and it's a true winner!

I do love a lot of these recipes, but not all of them. I don't think I would've tried to make sauce with San Marzano tomatoes if it hadn't been for this cookbook. I am so glad I did. The recipe for the tomato sauce with butter is to die for. I put some in a small container to let my sister try, gave it to my niece to bring to her, and as soon as she tasted it, she called me on the phone to ask for the recipe. I also tried the Minestrone alla Romagnola soup recipe and was pleasantly surprised again. My brother happened to have a chest cold at the time that I made it, and I sent some home to him when his wife stopped by. Again, he called as soon as he ate it and asked how I made it. Needless to say I have bought several of this cookbook and sent one to my brother and one to my sister. Now we all cook some of the recipes that we each like.
Now my father was from Italy, and he came to the United States when he was a child. He opened several restaurants and was very successful. He passed away when I was very young, so I never had the chance to talk to him much about cooking. However, I do remember how good many of his recipes were, and he always insisted on making everything from scratch, even his chicken and meat stock. After trying the recipes in this cookbook for meat stock, I have to say that it is VERY similar to my dads.

The lemon Chicken recipe in this book is not only tasty, but it's easy as well. Everyone that has tried it agrees. The recipe for the pork braised in milk was just okay for me. I actually prefer making pork roast my way with garlic, rosemary, thyme and extra virgin olive oil processed in a mini chopper and smeared all over the pork roast and slow roasted in a 325 degree oven to an internal temperature of 170.
Eggplant parmesan seems like a good recipe, but again, I prefer my way of salting and draining it and dipping it in egg and milk mixture then flouring it and frying it. After letting it drain on paper bags, then layering it with sauce fried eggplant, parmesan cheese, sauce, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella cheese, eggplant sauce and then more parmesan, and baking it at a 375 degree oven for an hour. It comes out great every time. Now I haven't tried all the deserts, but I have to say that some of them don't look or sound very good, so I tend to look else where for those recipes.
As for the way the book is written and illustrated, I find it very good. I never had a problem reading or figuring out anything that was written, there are plenty of notes and illustration pictures for you to see so nothing is very hard. All in all I do like this book, just not all the recipes, and I do use it often.

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I do love a lot of these recipes, but not all of them. I don't think I would've tried to make sauce with San Marzano tomatoes if it hadn't been for this cookbook. I am so glad I did. The recipe for the tomato sauce with butter is to die for. I put some in a small container to let my sister try, gave it to my niece to bring to her, and as soon as she tasted it, she called me on the phone to ask for the recipe. I also tried the Minestrone alla Romagnola soup recipe and was pleasantly surprised again. My brother happened to have a chest cold at the time that I made it, and I sent some home to him when his wife stopped by. Again, he called as soon as he ate it and asked how I made it. Needless to say I have bought several of this cookbook and sent one to my brother and one to my sister. Now we all cook some of the recipes that we each like.
Now my father was from Italy, and he came to the United States when he was a child. He opened several restaurants and was very successful. He passed away when I was very young, so I never had the chance to talk to him much about cooking. However, I do remember how good many of his recipes were, and he always insisted on making everything from scratch, even his chicken and meat stock. After trying the recipes in this cookbook for meat stock, I have to say that it is VERY similar to my dads.

The lemon Chicken recipe in this book is not only tasty, but it's easy as well. Everyone that has tried it agrees. The recipe for the pork braised in milk was just okay for me. I actually prefer making pork roast my way with garlic, rosemary, thyme and extra virgin olive oil processed in a mini chopper and smeared all over the pork roast and slow roasted in a 325 degree oven to an internal temperature of 170.
Eggplant parmesan seems like a good recipe, but again, I prefer my way of salting and draining it and dipping it in egg and milk mixture then flouring it and frying it. After letting it drain on paper bags, then layering it with sauce fried eggplant, parmesan cheese, sauce, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella cheese, eggplant sauce and then more parmesan, and baking it at a 375 degree oven for an hour. It comes out great every time. Now I haven't tried all the deserts, but I have to say that some of them don't look or sound very good, so I tend to look else where for those recipes.
As for the way the book is written and illustrated, I find it very good. I never had a problem reading or figuring out anything that was written, there are plenty of notes and illustration pictures for you to see so nothing is very hard. All in all I do like this book, just not all the recipes, and I do use it often.

This is one of the best cookbooks I own, and certainly the best Italian cookbook I own.

Like many people, I get many of my recipes online at sources like allrecipes, Food Network, Food & Wine, etc. It makes me wonder why I keep so many cookbooks cluttering up the kitchen. Then I open a book like Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, and it's crystal clear why it's allowed valuable shelf space in my cluttered kitchen.

Recipes as simple as tomato sauce made with only tomatoes, butter, onion and salt come alive with descriptions such as:

"There is nothing inherently crude about tomato sauce. Quite the contrary: No other preparation is more successful in delivering the prodigious satifactions of Italian cooking than a compentently execute sauce with tomatoes; no flavor espresses more clearly the genius of Italian cooks than the freshness, the immediacy, the richness of good tomatoes adroiitly matched to the most suitable choice of pasta."

Essentials is quite literally essential for anyone who wants to create authentic Italian dishes. The recipes focus on the quality of ingredients and the methods for preparing those ingredients to maximize the flavor and experience. Few recipes require more than 5 ingredients.

The instructions are comforting, as Marcella makes you feel as though she is in the kitchen with you. From her Bolognese Meat Sauce recipe, she instructs: "When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface."

Essentials is the perfect volume, for both seasoned foodies and beginner cooks alike. The introductions and recipes read as though you are cooking beside your Italian grandmother. Remarkable, given that I am only Italian in spirit!

I was tempted to give this book one star out of spite, but it really still is a five-star work. Had I known that this version of the cookbook had been updated for modern tastes I would have bought a copy of the original on the used market instead. But despite the revisionism in the cookbook it still is very good.

For some reason I've never been able to articulate, I've spent about 35 years of my life shunning French and Italian food as not being worthy of interest. Mario Batali got me over my phobia of Italian food and French fell in right behind it without any prompting. I recently realized that I didn't own any of the classic cookbooks for those cuisines, so I've started to pick them up.

This is about as classic as you can get for Italian cooking in the United States. It is well written and instructive; and it definitely lives up to its reputation. I've only had it for a day now, so I haven't cooked anything yet, but it has been a great read so far. I'm glad that it still includes classic items such as tripe and brains. I'm also glad that the recipes don't appear to have been time or ingredient compressed.

I'll probably still buy the original on the used market, but I don't think I'll regret owning this revision.

Among serious home cooks and many professional chefs, Hazan's book is widely considered to be one of THE essential books on Italian cuisine.

All of her recipes are well written, well explained, well organized, and the flavors are well honed and she's obviously been making (and teaching) them over and over again for years ... and as a result, her book has a polished and reliable feel to it. Even if you momentarily lose your way and are faced with a leap of faith on some ingredient or technique, you quickly learn to trust Mrs Hazan's advice and experience, because she earns it the hard way.

Her recipes range from the basic and reliable, to the sublime.

Classic Risotto ? It's in there.

Want to make various types of fresh pasta from scratch ? It's in there.

Braised Pork Chops in Browned Sage Butter ? A fabulous recipe. I loved it so much that I went out and bought a $160+ top of the line heavy duty covered saute pan in order to do it proper justice, and to be able to serve 4 people at a time.

If you're the sort of foodie who understands and appreciates the differences between "Classic Italian" and "Italian-American" cuisine, and if you cook either at home with any degree of regularity, then this is THE book for you.

All glowing praise aside, I do have a few minor nits:

1) Although this book represents a welcome giant step beyond mere "Italian American" in the direction of Classic and Authentic Italian, the authoress could have gone still further, but didn't. For instance - there's not nearly as much focus on seafood in this book as there is in Italy. Also, sausage making dealt with fairly minimally, and Offal is barely mentioned at all. For those sort of things, you need to go to a hardcore gourmand chef like Mario Batali. Most mainstream home cooks won't bat an eye missing such things, so I can't really complain too vigorously ... but I adore offal, and I noticed its absence.

2) Marcella is most assuredly old school - and you either love or hate that. I happen to love it, but I thought it worth mentioning. Case in point - all pasta in this book is made the old fashioned way ... flour, egg yolks, and rolling pin, and occasionally a dowel or (if you're really a geek) a chitarra. You wont find any mention of taking shortcuts with semolina flour and water, or using food processors or electric rollers/extruders in this book, and if you were to ask her in person she'd probably shake her finger at you in a disapproving fit of apoplexy, while remarking that pasta that's extruded like [...] matter will taste like it too. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but not much. Anyway, hardcore traditionalists love and admire her for her commitment to traditional techniques.

Glowingly recommended.

Among serious home cooks and many professional chefs, Hazan's book is widely considered to be one of THE essential books on Italian cuisine.

All of her recipes are well written, well explained, well organized, and the flavors are well honed and she's obviously been making (and teaching) them over and over again for years ... and as a result, her book has a polished and reliable feel to it. Even if you momentarily lose your way and are faced with a leap of faith on some ingredient or technique, you quickly learn to trust Mrs Hazan's advice and experience, because she earns it the hard way.

Her recipes range from the basic and reliable, to the sublime.

Classic Risotto ? It's in there.

Want to make various types of fresh pasta from scratch ? It's in there.

Braised Pork Chops in Browned Sage Butter ? A fabulous recipe. I loved it so much that I went out and bought a $160+ top of the line heavy duty covered saute pan in order to do it proper justice, and to be able to serve 4 people at a time.

If you're the sort of foodie who understands and appreciates the differences between "Classic Italian" and "Italian-American" cuisine, and if you cook either at home with any degree of regularity, then this is THE book for you.

All glowing praise aside, I do have a few minor nits:

1) Although this book represents a welcome giant step beyond mere "Italian American" in the direction of Classic and Authentic Italian, the authoress could have gone still further, but didn't. For instance - there's not nearly as much focus on seafood in this book as there is in Italy. Also, sausage making dealt with fairly minimally, and Offal is barely mentioned at all. For those sort of things, you need to go to a hardcore gourmand chef like Mario Batali. Most mainstream home cooks won't bat an eye missing such things, so I can't really complain too vigorously ... but I adore offal, and I noticed its absence.

2) Marcella is most assuredly old school - and you either love or hate that. I happen to love it, but I thought it worth mentioning. Case in point - all pasta in this book is made the old fashioned way ... flour, egg yolks, and rolling pin, and occasionally a dowel or (if you're really a geek) a chitarra. You wont find any mention of taking shortcuts with semolina flour and water, or using food processors or electric rollers/extruders in this book, and if you were to ask her in person she'd probably shake her finger at you in a disapproving fit of apoplexy, while remarking that pasta that's extruded like [...] matter will taste like it too. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but not much. Anyway, hardcore traditionalists love and admire her for her commitment to traditional techniques.

Glowingly recommended.

When I started learning how to cook, this was the first cookbook that gave me reliably good results. Hazan's instructions are scrupulously clear, so that even fairly involved recipes like polenta and home-made pasta will come out right the first time. She tells you when some or all of the steps in a recipe can be completed ahead of time. (I wish more cookbooks did this.) She also tells you when you may substitute ingredients and when you may not--e.g., when you may use canned beef broth instead of home-made. Her advice can sound snobbish, but it is correct. The roasted bell pepper sauce with garlic and basil is sublime when made with freshly grated parmiggiano-reggiano cheese. Made with domestic parmesan, even if freshly grated, the sauce is merely nourishing. The book also offers helpful advice on how to match pastas with sauces and on how to put together a collection of dishes that will make up an authentically Italian meal.

In general, my experience has been that if I like the ingredients that go into a recipe, I will find the results at least pleasant and often delicious. I can't say that about many other cookbooks. Among the best recipes in the book are those for chick pea soup (non-vegetarian), sage and butter sauce with home-made fettuccine, risotto with celery, frittate with onions, braised pork chops with sage and tomatoes. , sauteed swiss chard stalks, and olive oil cake (accurately described as "surprising and savory"). The introduction to the chapter on salads is also most helpful. Since learning how to dress a salad in the Italian style, with salt, oil, and the slightest drizzle of wine vinegar, I've never had the desire to purchase a salad dressing.

Much as I love Italian food and the preparation thereof, I often find this book frustratingly unclear in its recipes.

It is also very old-fashioned as far as nutrition goes. For example, if prepared to the book's specifications, many dishes we tried tasted overwhelmingly salty to us--and we don't generally even make a conscious effort to avoid salt in our diets.

After reading all the positive reviews here on amazon, I mentioned this book to my sister, who gave it to me for my birthday. I've rarely been happier with a cookbook. The recipes are very simple, not too many ingredients, but the way they combine is delicious, and many can easily be expanded upon or slightly altered (though I really recommend trying all of them in their simple forms first, as the way they are cooked and the advice on selection of ingredients lends them unexpected complexity).

I've so far cooked several of the pasta sauces, two of the pizza recipes, and the unique layered crespelle, and all have been delicious and not difficult to make (most can be made with one sauté pan, a wooden spoon, and a good knife). Even more helpful than the recipes themselves is the essentials section which offers a very good guide to what italian home cooking essentially consists of, ingredient selection (which includes some surprising things, given common American understanding of Italian cooking and common restaurant practices here), basic technique, and so forth. Each section also includes an introduction to the book's approach to it, and most recipes have a description of the region or city the dish is from with some interesting tidbits about them to give the reader a frame of reference.

I've never been to Italy, so I cannot attest to the book's authenticity, but it certainly gives the appearance of being very well-researched, and those I know who have been to Italy have given me very positive feedback on the dishes I've made from it. On the whole Hazan's work is scholarly in its rigor, but approachable and appreciable in its style and lack of pretense.

Last Fall three women and I went to Italy; my first time but it will not be my last. I fell in love with Italy and her people. For Christmas my husband bought this book and her son's How to Cook Italian at my request. Neither book let me down. For me, together they are my bibles for true Italian cooking. Every recipe has been delicious! There is soooo much information; it's mind boggling but wonderful; there's so much to soak up. I recommend both books wholeheartedly; you will not be disappointed.

In our family, when it's someone's birthday or special occasion, the one who is celebrating gets to request a home cooked meal of their choosing. For years, everyone chooses something wonderful from Marcella Hazan. When we use her recipes, we are esteemed as great cooks, thanks to Marcella. Try the skewered shrimp, the minestrone, the eggplant parmigianna. (I think there must be a typo in the recipe for the sauteed spinach...as is, it's inedible due to too much salt). I've given this book to four grateful friends already.

In our family, when it's someone's birthday or special occasion, the one who is celebrating gets to request a home cooked meal of their choosing. For years, everyone chooses something wonderful from Marcella Hazan. When we use her recipes, we are esteemed as great cooks, thanks to Marcella. Try the skewered shrimp, the minestrone, the eggplant parmigianna. (I think there must be a typo in the recipe for the sauteed spinach...as is, it's inedible due to too much salt). I've given this book to four grateful friends already.

I've been a fan of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" for 25 years, and my copy is falling apart. I bought two copies of "Essentials" (which expands upon and updates the original), one for my own use and one for friends who have admired "my" Italian cooking. I spent several happy hours annotating favorite recipes for my friends and in my own new copy. I recommend it highly.

I've been a fan of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" for 25 years, and my copy is falling apart. I bought two copies of "Essentials" (which expands upon and updates the original), one for my own use and one for friends who have admired "my" Italian cooking. I spent several happy hours annotating favorite recipes for my friends and in my own new copy. I recommend it highly.

For those who do not need colored pictures to wet their appetites this book is great. It covers all you need to know about Italian cooking and more. I have used it often and find it an easy readable companion for those who know what they want. The way books used to be ...

I bought this book after a recent trip with my family to Italy. The food was so wonderful that I wanted to learn more about it. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. It explains the basics as well as the regional specialties. I learned so much! I highly recommend it.

I bought this book after a recent trip with my family to Italy. The food was so wonderful that I wanted to learn more about it. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. It explains the basics as well as the regional specialties. I learned so much! I highly recommend it.

This is a terrific cookbook that anyone who enjoys cooking should own. More than just recipes, it actually teaches you about Italian cooking (and cooking in general). The recipes themselves are always excellent; they always work; guests always rave. In a few months, it has become one of my dearest favorites.

The book is very well written and it teaches very good techniques for cooking wich gives more flavor to the food. I have tried several of the recipes following the instructions as exactly as I could, but I am a bit dissapointed because they did not seem to me very tasty. I expected to obtain results similar or equal to the dishes you have at Italian restaurants, but there are only, perhaps,a few of them. However, the flavor is not bad either, and I love the techniques given, is just that I expected more.

This is a wonderful cookbook full of great ideas, helpful hints & superb recipes. I have made several recipes already & the family has raved! Nice addition to my cookbook collection.

The book is fabulous, and it was delivered very promptly. Couldn't ask for more.

This is not a cookbook that is filled only with recipes. Marcella Hazan spends the first 50 or so pages giving you an intimate lesson in Italian cooking techniques and the correct use and preparation of ingredients. You don't know what a soffrito is? After this book you'll know what it is and why it is important to the dish.
Marcella Hazan has been giving cooking classes for many years and this book (her second) shows us why she has gotten rave reviews for many decades.
There are plenty of recipes and when necessary there are very informative hand-drawn illustrations, showing how to prep the artichoke or shape the gnocchi.

Anyone who has been to Italy knows how different the food tastes to eating Italian in this country.

If you want to replicate the flavours of traditional Italian cooking without crossing the Atlantic then this book is your you

Buon appetito!

Lots of other reviews here, so I'll keep this simple. I was on this page to buy a second copy, since I've spattered and abused my first one so badly that my favorite recipes are barely legible and the book itself is falling apart. Of course that isn't counting all the copies I've given away as wedding presents and Christmas gifts.

This is THE Italian cookbook to have, period. I have been cooking out of the Marcella's original Classic Italian Cookbook for 15 years now. It was a quality paperback, but I used it so much that it broke into a bunch of pamphlets that I had to keep together on the shelf. So when I saw this book on the market in hardcover at a truly reasonable price, I had to get it -- and I am glad I did. The organization and presentation are superb and I get the added wisdom of her second tome blended in with the first. Even simple and elegant dishes like the beef braised in red wine (the best roast you will ever eat in your life) have been slightly repackaged to the reader's benefit.

If you like Italian food and want to prepare it the right way with simple and easy to follow instructions, this is the only book you need. When you serve Marcella's meals, the dinner table gets very quiet except for the groans of pleasure at every bite.

I've only had this book a few months and am pleased to say that it's already well splattered with cooking detritus. Cannot recommend it enough. It has recipes that are very quick to prepare (sauteed chicken breasts with lemon and parsley) as well as roasts and stews that are wonderful in a dutch oven (I especially like the beef stew in red wine). Plus tons of veggie dishes and references on ingredients. The tomato/onion/butter sauce tasted unlike anything I had ever eaten. I cook from this book three or four nights a week and still can't wait to try new recipes from it. Stop reading, just buy it and enjoy!

I love this book, but it is a lot of work. Her recipes are so enlightening, but often laborious. What a delightful book to read at night with a glass of wine! But to prepare a dish with school children clamoring for attention...no. Everything here is wonderful, and everything takes time and attention. If you have time to savor the cooking as well as the eating, then you will enjoy this book. Love the Swiss Chard Torte w/ Raisins and Pine Nuts, Drunken Pork Roast, Monte Bianco (Pureed Chestnut & Chocolate Mound).

This book is amazingly awesome. You should look in the sample pages at just even the introduction section, which is really interesting and helpful. It goes through the theory, I suppose, of Italian cooking, and talks extensively about all kinds of ingredients. This book just really changes how you view cooking, and see the world! Really! :)

I read everybody, but I always return to Marcella. Methodical and generous, she is my benchmark for great Italian cooking.

Favourite recipes 'Roast chicken with lemons' and 'Roast Easter lamb with white wine'

We've had it for four years, and still haven't found a bad recipe.

I love this cookbook! My husband is from Florence, Italy ("the birthplace of culture" as he likes to remind everyone!) and I am always looking for recipes to recreate that true Italian taste he is so used to. This book has it! Marcella Hazen writes her recipes in a friendly, and easy to read format -- and also includes "make ahead tips" which come in handy when cooking for a dinner party. I am not Italian, but I have used this book for everyday meals, in addition to two big dinner parties (of 12 or more people), which I prepared myself, for Italians. Both parties were successes -- and I was even asked for some of the recipes! In fact, I believe in this book so much, I have two copies -- one for our home in the U.S. and the other for our home in Florence. Marcella Hazen is from Venice, but she covers dishes typical from regions of northern Italy down to Rome. If you want to try true Italian cooking, get this book. You can't go wrong.

I have had this cook book since the mid '90's. I recently bought one for a co-worker because I use it so much. Everything I've ever made from this book has been exceptional. The recipes are easy, have little prep time, and can be thrown together quickly.

I have tried a variety of recipes so as to authenticate my Italian cooking. Having lived in Italy, many of the dishes and deserts make me feel like I am back there again. Very easy to follow and for a fledgling cook, quite an accomplishment in taste.

Fabulous book. WE had just returned from Italy and missed the cooking, and this book helped me recreate the cuisine, while understanding the techniques and ingredients better. This appears to be, to Italian cooking, what James Beard's American Cookery is to American cooking

My husband is an italian Chef and he thinks than even the recipes are quite simple, they are VERY ITALIAN...and also easy to follow. Very recommendable

This is a truly wonderful cookery book. It is an exemplar of good publishing: it is beautifully bound and printed on superb paper in fonts that delight the eye and with classically pleasant engravings for illustrations. All this before one gets to the text and recipes: the text is culturally informative and the recipes are excellently thought out, being easy to follow and a pleasure to carry out. Using this book has made a real difference to the taste of Italy in our household.

If you have only one cookbook, as other reviewers have also said, this is the one to have. The best thing about this book is that absolutely every recipe turns out wonderfully. I own lots of cookbooks and am often on the epicurious website and must say that that is very rare. I have made about half the recipes in the book and hope to finish all of them within the next year. A winner!

I really don't have to say much since the overwhelming opinions of this book are beyond positive. I will say however as a professional chef, that the author has gone far beyond a collection of recipes, capturing the essence of Italian cookery and providing the reader with the backround of many types of dishes as well as the method used to prepare them. Detailed explanations are given that fully explain the reasoning behind certain techniques, allowing any individual to produce exceptional results. This book truly demystifies Italian cooking, so don't let the absence of glossy photos intimidate you.

I must notate, that the detailed explanations contained in this book, in many cases exceed the instruction I received in culinary school!

Enjoy