How to Cook Italian

by Giuliano Hazan

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Every Night Italian comes a new bible of Italian cooking--consistently America's favorite cuisine--for the way we cook today. of full-color photos. Illustrations... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743244362
• ISBN13: 9780743244367
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 433 Pages
• Weight: 2.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.9" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

An excellent start for cooking Italian

Giuliano Hazan does an excellent job of putting together a variety of Italian dishes. His book contains dishes of both northern and southern Italy. The book starts with a very good primer on how to cut vegetables correctly, what tools you will need, and information about basic ingredients of Italian cooking. I also like that he limits the recipes to ingredients that can be found in your local "Mega Mart". I found the primer in the begining of the book to be very helpful. Sometimes just knowing how to prepare or cut a particular ingredient can help take away any intimidation you may have with a new ingredient. He has step by step instructions for cutting up artichokes, onions, and so much more. I also like he takes the time to tell you what tools are essential, he isn't one for useless gadgets. The ingredients that you will need, you will find in a local grocery store. Nothing too exotic will be asked for in this book. It is annoying trying to make a recipe and having to forage for some rare ingredient. The recipes do span both northern and southern Italian cooking. So often in the United States I think we often feel Italian food is just red spaghetti sauce. Northern Italian food is rich, has unique sauces, and if you haven't tried any northern Italian food, you are missing out. His recipes also do a good job of spanning appetizers, meats, rice, pasta, salads, vegetables, and desserts. I like that the recipes are written clearly, and are easy to follow. He lists out steps, so you can make sure you are on the right track with his recipes. Also the recipes have ingredients that you are familar with. His recipes are written to where they are almost fool proof. This is a well put together cookbook. I like that ingredients are easy to find. Recipes are written out clearly, and they are easy to understand. He also does a good job of featuring recipes from northern as well as southern Italy. If you are looking for a book to start out our Italian cooking adventures you will be pleased with this book.

My husband loves to cook with Giuliano's books!

We love Giuliano's new book How to Cook Italian! A few years ago we bought Every Night Italian and were ready for some new and exciting options from Giuliano and we got it with this new collection of gems! The recipes were easy to follow and the explanations for each next step were so helpful. My husband loves to cook with Giuliana's books and it was fun for the whole family to join in the kitchen! Thanks for another wonderful book!

Italian Perfection

I run a hands on cooking school and use Giuliano's newest book, How To Cook Italian, as a foundation for the course. If you want to become an expert on Italian foods, cooking and cooking techniques, and how to make your meals genuninely Italian, you must have this book.

An Authority Worthy of our Trust

In this modern age of information overload, it has become ever more essential to have authorities in different fields whom one can trust. How does one select a title on Italian cooking from the dozens which seem to be published every year? In the realm of authentic Italian cooking, Giuliano is an authority that one can trust. The son of Marcella and Victor Hazan (acclaimed experts on Italian cooking and wine respectively), Giuliano has shown himself worthy of continuing their legacy with a series of Italian cookbooks (The Classic Pasta Cookbook, Every Night Italian, and now How to Cook Italian). Each book is faithfully dedicated to the true principles of authentic Italian cooking: simplicity, freshness, and flavor. As always with Hazan, the food is the focus. He is not a celebrity chef interested in entertaining his readers, but a cook in the best sense who desires to nourish those he feeds and who use his cookbooks. The cookbook is wisely laid out in the manner of an Italian meal: appetizers, first courses, second courses, vegetables, salads, and desserts. The cooking is from throughout the varied regions of Italy and, as a result, presents the many different kinds of cooking existing throughout Italy, from the rich and luxorious cooking of Emilia-Romagna in the North to the lively cooking of Italy's Southern regions. Before the recipes is a helpful descriptions of the tools and ingredients one needs to stock a proper Italian kitchen. The book does have a few faults, however. Although the photography is stunning and beyond improvement, the font and layout of the rest of the book leave something to be desired. There's something overly utilitarian in feel about the book. A more beautifully presented book, such as Marcella Hazan's Marcella Cucina or Mario Batali's Molto Italiano, would have done more justice to the excellent content of the book. I must also admit that I miss the more poetic language of Marcella's books. When reading those, one becomes swept up in the beauty of language as well as food. Perhaps it is unfair to expect from the son what we've come to love in the mother, and perhaps Giuliano's publisher refused such effusiveness. One could only hope in the future for a book which is a little more personal and less textbook like in nature. Having said this, I in no way mean to lessen the importance or excellence of the book. It fully deserves the five stars I've given it. As a teacher of classic Italian cooking myself, I have become forever indebted to the Hazans for the excellence of their teaching. All of Marcella's and Giuliano's books hold a place of uniqueness in my kitchen, and I would urge anyone interested in Italian cooking to give them a prominent place in theirs as well.

Giuliano Hazan's How to Cook Italian is a winner!

Let Giuliano lead you into his home kitchen and you will be richly rewarded with memorable meals. Giuliano is blessed with the unique combination of an Italian palate and American organization. This book works. The concise, easy to follow recipes are based on using a handful of ingredients and following a few simple steps. Each one's preparation time is listed, and most take under an hour from start to finish. The book includes a thorough discussion of kitchen tools, ingredients, and techniques used in the Italian kitchen. Its gorgeous full color photography will make you want to race into your kitchen and start cooking for your family and friends. -- Nanette Galloni