Marcella Says...: Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with More Than 100 of Her Irresistible New Recipes

Amazon.com
"I cook for flavor," says Italian cooking authority Marcella Hazan in Marcella Says..., a gathering of her culinary wisdom with 120 recipes. "Like truth, [flavor] needs no embellishment." Fans of Hazan's marvelous cookbooks, including Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and Marcella Cucina, will recognize in this declaration her credo--that food is best when it tastes fully of itself. To help readers achieve this result, Marcella Says... includes a "master-class" chapter that culls a lifetime of Hazan's cooking smarts, presented in the likes of "When Is it Done" (cook vegetables all the way to tenderness, she advises); "How to Cook a Pasta Sauce" (use a saucepan for long-simmering sauces, a skillet for the rapid reduction fresh sauces require); and "Herbs, Garlic, Spices, Salt, and the Pursuit of Flavor" (herbs and condiments never compensate for undersalting).

These explorations are the heart of the book, but Hazan also supplies typically attractive, easily accomplished recipes, such as Rapini and Butternut Squash Soup, Spaghetti "Rotolo" with Zucchini and Bacon, Fish Fillets Marinated and Baked with Lemon and Thyme, and Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Apples--all written with her characteristic attention to detail. Her formulas also offer asides to help readers with technical and other matters. And, of course, there is Hazan's voice, her writerly acumen. This isn't icing on the cake, but a matter of making what is understood by the author best understood by her readers. Recipes aside, Hazan's graceful thoroughness is why her cookbooks are so beloved--and so often consulted--by cooks of all caliber. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly
Hazan, the woman credited with teaching Americans that there's more to Italian cooking than spaghetti and meatballs, models her sixth book on her renowned cooking courses. Thus, as readers progress through this work, they'll feel Hazan's censorious presence as they wonder, for example, if they can skip blanching and proceed directly to sautéing rapini, but they'll learn a lot if they can overlook her occasionally blunt manner ("The unbalanced use of garlic is the single greatest cause of failure in would-be Italian cooking"). Hazan gives loads of practical instructions and dozens of fantastic recipes concentrating on insaporire, the act of developing "the flavor of a single or several ingredients." Indeed, insaporire is the focus of many lessons, whether it's making the perfect Italian broth—subtler than stock, yet elegant and versatile—or matching pasta shapes to sauces. Nearly the first hundred pages consist of information-packed paragraphs deriving from Hazan's classes, where she haughtily but knowingly details techniques and ingredients. Next come the recipes, a tasty array of antipasti, pasta sauces, homemade pasta, fish, meat and vegetables. Throughout, readers will find useful notes—"Marcella Says"—in which the famous teacher gives hands-on advice. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Hazan, the undisputed queen of classic Italian cooking for an American audience, offers another compilation of recipes that reflects her experience from years of teaching students in both Italy and the U.S. Now resident in Florida, she culls from her students' questions and observations those topics that seem of greatest curiosity. She dissects in great detail the differences in pasta preparation from the north of Italy to its southern climes. Hazan reminds the reader that Italians rarely indulge in desserts, but they do appreciate fruits, especially those creatively marinated in sugar and wine to vary and to enhance their natural flavors. Because she has so thoroughly covered the realm of Italian food in her earlier volumes, this collection of recipes tends to pick around edges. Rapini, Italian bitter broccoli, figures in many of the soups. A rainbow of sweet peppers brightens other soups and appears also in pasta sauces. Hazan relies on the deep, earthy scent of mushrooms slowly reduced for maximum intensity to flavor sheets of the thinnest green noodles. Hazan's many fans will appreciate their mentor's latest batch of inspirations. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

Marcella Hazan is acclaimed for her trailblazing cookbooks, but first and foremost she is a teacher. From cooking classes held in her small New York City apartment kitchen in the 1960s to the avidly sought after Master Classes she led in her beautiful Venice home, Marcella has been the authoritative guide to Italian cooking.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Marcella Says contains 120 new recipes, but Marcella Hazan's sixth book is intended to be much more than a recipe book. In an interview, its author explained its purpose in her inimitable way: "Always the students ask me: 'How long do you cook it, Marcella? How do I fry without making it greasy, Marcella? So many questions, all the time. I thought, why not answer all in one place? So the first part of the book has no recipes, only teaching and learning. It's called 'Master Class.' " Marcella Says is designed to be a sane crash course in Italian cookery -- and it succeeds.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this valedictory recipe collection and teaching book, legendary author and inspirational cooking teacher Marcella Hazan shares invaluable lessons in Italian cooking, including mastering traditional techniques, selecting and using ingredients, and planning and preparing complete Italian menus.

Marcella Hazan is acclaimed, certainly, for her several trailblazing cookbooks. But, first and foremost, she is a teacher. From her first cooking classes, in the 1960s, held in her small New York City apartment kitchen, to the avidly sought-after Master Classes she led in her beautiful Venice home, Marcella has been the authoritative guide to Italian cooking. Now, in a much-anticipated follow up to Marcella Cucina, she brings her warm, conversational, and illuminating teachings into home kitchens everywhere.

Part of what has made Marcella such a beloved teacher and author is her unique ability to present each recipe as a narrative, with subplots, characters, and rich history. This latest collection of 120 tantalizing recipes demonstrates just how many delicious new stories she still has to tell. Alongside her classic recipes are essays offering in-depth information on the techniques that make authentic Italian food so delicious. In a volume whose novel format pulls the reader into class with Marcella, she provides recipes and instructions for everything from fruit to seafood, meats and grains, and a valuable "Master Class" chapter complete with tips and procedures for handling ingredients to get the most flavor out of them. Pure and simple, it is as close as you can get to have Marcella alongside you in your kitchen.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Hazan, the woman credited with teaching Americans that there's more to Italian cooking than spaghetti and meatballs, models her sixth book on her renowned cooking courses. Thus, as readers progress through this work, they'll feel Hazan's censorious presence as they wonder, for example, if they can skip blanching and proceed directly to saut ing rapini, but they'll learn a lot if they can overlook her occasionally blunt manner ("The unbalanced use of garlic is the single greatest cause of failure in would-be Italian cooking"). Hazan gives loads of practical instructions and dozens of fantastic recipes concentrating on insaporire, the act of developing "the flavor of a single or several ingredients." Indeed, insaporire is the focus of many lessons, whether it's making the perfect Italian broth-subtler than stock, yet elegant and versatile-or matching pasta shapes to sauces. Nearly the first hundred pages consist of information-packed paragraphs deriving from Hazan's classes, where she haughtily but knowingly details techniques and ingredients. Next come the recipes, a tasty array of antipasti, pasta sauces, homemade pasta, fish, meat and vegetables. Throughout, readers will find useful notes-"Marcella Says"-in which the famous teacher gives hands-on advice. (Oct.) Forecast: Though aging, Hazan is still teaching and will promote this book nationwide. Her fans will surely want it for their collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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