Marcella Hazan, The Classic Italian Cook Book: The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating. Knopf, 1980 (10th printing – first Knopf edition 1976).
Republished with More Classic Italian Cooking as Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, but notes here refer to the original volume.
A few recipes tested in Steve and Nancy’s kitchen and highly recommended:
- Chick-pea soup (p. 85)
- Spaghetti with garlic and oil (p. 103)
- Handmade egg pasta (p. 113ff) [It’s been awhile … If you want to borrow our pasta rolling pin or the pasta machine, let us know.]
- Fettuccine with gorgonzola sauce (p. 134)
- Blender pesto (p. 140). (Recipe posted)
- Risotto (p. 179ff)
- Baked striped bass and shellfish sealed in foil (p. 212) — our introduction to the book, thanks to Steve’s sister Kate and her husband of Italian heritage.
- Stewed squid with tomatoes and peas (p. 230)
- Roast pork with bay leaves (p. 286)
- Roast chicken with rosemary (p. 307)
- Sautéed chicken breast fillets with lemon and parsley (p. 314)
- Sautéed broccoli with garlic (p. 363)
- Carrots with parmesan cheese (p. 365)
The list is obviously just a taste of the wonders of the book. Along with essays on a well equipped kitchen, the structure of an Italian meal, and tips on menu planning, the book is a treasure. You can see from the picture that ours from about 1980 has been well used over the years!
If you’ve got other favorites from the book, please do comment!
(4.00 out of 5)
For a “Julia and Julie” type experience, see the blog http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/pomodori_e_vino/ where nine friends work through 400 recipes from Marcella’s book that combined the first two books.
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The Greens cookbook that I just posted includes a sausage/cabbage/pasta recipe that is similar to one we’ve made at least a couple of times a month for years. We started with Marcella’s “Chicken Fricassee with Red Cabbage” and “Sausages with Red Cabbage” in “More Classic Italian Cooking” (pages 313 and 302 respectively), but we almost always serve them both over pasta. You’ll find them on pages 333 and 428 of the Essentials (two volumes in one) book.