Pasta Improvvisata: How to Improvise in Classic Italian Style

by Erica De Mane

You may find yourself dusting off your hand-cranked pasta machine after thumbing through Erica de Mane's Pasta Improvvisata. She has taken pasta in one hand, tradition in the other, and pulled... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068482972X
• ISBN13: 9780684829722
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.7" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

My new bible

When I first saw Erica De Mane's 'Pasta Improvvisata' I was intrigued by the word improvisation. I was looking for a wedding gift for a friend of mine, an Italian Restaurant owner that I have had the pleasure to work with for several years. Obviously I looked inside in order to make sure that it would be a relevant addition to this experienced cook's varied library. Minutes and hours went by as I was marveling at the genuine, practical style and the feminine touch of Ms.De Mane. All I had ever thought of and learned about Italian cooking was expounded with amiable ease and spontaneity. I think I fell in love with Erica by page 10. As most Italian men I am skilled in carrying on late night conversations about technique, ingredients and legitimacy of classical and new recipes - in my case I am also a proficient, though not professional cook. In addition to that, like Erica, I come from a family that held cooking and its traditions in high esteem. My grandmother was Cordon Bleu de France and Sommelier and operated her own private cooking school for many years. In addition to that I have been working as a musician and entertainer in many renowned restaurants in Italy and other European countries over the past 20 years and I have experienced and learned first hand to appreciate the individual artistry of the local chefs. Erica put into beautiful words all I have ever thought about cooking and it's philosophy. She is never boring - on the contrary: on each page she manages to provide the aficionados with interesting, valuable essential tips and variations, with correct references to the many regional traditions and how to stretch and renew them without falling into the infamous trap of 'fusion'. Her recipes are complete and you can actually follow them word by word to a happy culinary ending - something all kitchen books promise and never maintain. An impossibility unless you already are an experienced cook. To me however, the most striking think is how she manages to translate flavors and their combinations into words and colors making her book a pleasure to read and dream by even if you are about to dine out... Improvisations is the modern Italian Jazz Thesaurus of Pastas and has become my reference guide, my new Bible of Italian Cuisine. It goes without saying that I left the shop with a second copy for myself and I am currently spreading the word buying many more for friends and foes. My next step will be to fly to N.Y. city in the hope of meeting Erica, propose to her and forever make mine her genuine artistic genius. Erica I love you. If you like Italian pasta this is the first book you have to get!

Loved It

I have found so many wonderful recipies in this book. I would recomend it to all. She teachs you to not be afraid to try new things and really explore Italian cooking. I can't wait for more from her.

This book expresses the true spirit of Italian cuisine

The approach of this wonderful book is truly innovative. Erica de Mane takes the lay cook in hand and shows how much fun it can be to improvise in the kitchen. I am not particularly courageous when it comes to this sort of cooking and appreciate the encouragement. Whatsmore one has the option of simply following the recipes and getting marvelous results. The array of recipes are mouthwatering and those I have tried have pleased my two daughters who are difficult to please.

the most fun i have had in the kitchen

cooking with erica demane's book is a blast. everything i have made has been delicious and new, and with each recipe i see how to use ingredients together that can be used in other ways as well. she makes it easy to learn how to improvise and it makes me feel like a real cook. a lot of her pasta sauces can also be a side dish or a stuffing for potatos or dressing for meats and fish. it is an enormously fun and seemingly effortless way to learn how to make really delicious, totally satisfying food.

The New York Times Raves

Here's what the New York Times said on June 6, 1999, in a round-up of the year's best cookbooks, by Corby Kummer: "Unlike most books on America's favorite home-cooked supper, 'Pasta Improvvisata' is a book you will use. Erica De Mane, a first-time author, has adapted pasta recipes from all over Italy to her fine Italian-American palate and her well-stocked but not recherche Italian-American pantry. De Mane is a bit talky and not yet a prose stylist, but she is an experienced, generous home cook who understands how both Italians and Americans like to eat, and she deftly manages to bridge the two cultures. I like her abundant good sense and outspoken opinions, probably because I agree with many of them. 'Dried pasta made by American companies is so inferior to the firm, nutty versions imported from southern Italy that it is not even worth considering' (although I would add that my own favorite, Martelli, is made in Tuscany). 'There is nothing wrong with eating a lightly sauced dried pasta dish as a main course, but a big dish of tortellini bolognese is too rich and filling to be eaten in any but small servings.' She borrows French techniques when they suit her and makes freer use of butter, goat cheese, cognac, French garlic sausage and even garlic itself than Italian cooks would. But that's her point. 'When transporting a recipe across country lines, you want to preserve the spirit, adapting it when necessary to the ingredients you have to work with.' This straightforward theory is surprisingly hard to practice. With apparently endless invention and love of actual cooking, De Mane succeeds."