Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Marcella Hazan has been called the Julia Child of Italian cuisine. Just as Child introduced Americans to French recipes, explaining as she did so how to use the ingredients found in American grocery stores, so Hazan did the deepest of dives into the dishes of her native Italy, demonstrating to cooks in the US the scope of Italian cuisine.

This posthumous volume (Hazan died in 2013) contains a foreword by her husband Victor that pays tribute to his late wife. An injury early in life left her right arm and hand disfigured, but she taught herself how to write with her left hand and went on to enjoy an active, athletic life. She would earn two doctoral degrees, one in natural sciences, the other in biology before she and Victor married. The two young people decided to move to New York where Victor’s family had a fur business where he could work. Marcella did not know how to cook at that point, but she began to make a serious study of Italian cuisine that she had grown up with.

An article about her by New York Times food writer Craig Clainborne landed her a book contract for The Classic Italian Cook Book. The origins of the current volume are based on recipes from that first book, along with her More Classic Italian Cooking which were first combined into one volume in 1991. It was an opportunity to expand the descriptions of ingredients and techniques and to incorporate new technology like the microwave oven. This newest version includes forewords by Victor Hazan and Lidia Bastianich.

For American cooks ready to expand their Italian repertoire beyond pizza and pasta, this cookbook is a treasure trove of recipes for vegetable dishes, meats, desserts, breads, and more. I made the recipe for Smothered Cabbage, which I then incorporated into Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup, a smooth, tangy dish that used arborio rice, beef broth, and wine vinegar. It was quite tasty, and the detailed instructions were easy to follow.

Hazan wants her readers to understand the ingredients they are using and how they figure into Italian dishes. This makes the cookbook invaluable not just for Italian cuisine but for cooking in general. Hazan’s thoughtful explanations of the building blocks of Italian recipes make this an important and foundational work, a book that successfully guides American cooks through the intricacies of serving up Italian specialties.

An excellent overview of Italian cooking. I was very pleased with the introductory pages, which gave a thorough overview of the ingredients found in Italian cooking. The recipes and instructions were clear and well laid out. I can see myself purchasing a physical copy of this book in the future. I do wish the ebook had photos, however! I hope the physical book does.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A very informative cookbook, but seriously lacking pictures.

Classic recipes that are easy to recreate! What a wonderful addition to our collection. I first heard of the infamous tomato sauce online and was thrilled to be able to see it in print. This title is on my list for Santa.

This was such an interesting read! I really enjoyed reading through this book and I can't wait to try some of what I read. Great book!

Great title, good display of recipes. Found it very helpful and will purchase copies for gifts. Artfully done. Recipes easy to follow.

My copy of Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cookbook is well-worn, sauce stained, and much loved. Passed down to me by my mother, I've use this book so often there's no way I can pass it down to someone else. The world needed a new copy, with an improved appearance over the encyclopedia-like look of the original. The recipes hold true, but the forward and improved readers advisory materials make it a worthwhile purchase, even if you haven't used your copy to the point of no return.

I'm buying a copy of this for my library and myself.

ESSENTIALS OF CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING by Marcella Hazan is coming out with a 30th Anniversary Edition. In its 1992 review, Booklist called this cookbook "the definitive resource for Italian cuisine." Hazen, who died in 2013, was born and raised in Italy and taught cooking classes for many years. She split the cookbook into roughly two dozen chapters with recipes for Risotto, Gnocchi, numerous types of meat and so much more. To get a sense of the contents for ESSENTIALS OF CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING, use the "look inside" feature on amazon. The index gives an idea of the type of recipes included and other pages show that this cookbook is heavy on text and has no photographs, only line drawings.

From someone who went to culinary school I was absolutely in love with this cookbook and will be purchasing my own copy for home.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I wanted to read this as I have an Italian background

This has a great background of fundamentals of Italian cuisine.

At the beginning it has great information re ingrediants and then moves onto some fantastic information regarding recipes

The only improvement I could suggest is that I wish there had been pictures of the recipes, although I appreciate this would affect the cost of the book

This republication of the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is a necessity for any kitchen. The new edition has new forewords by Lidia Bastianich and Victor Hazan, but other than that - it's the classic recipes as they originally were released in 1992. The recipes hold up and are delicious. You'll find many classic dishes and even some that you may be discovering for the first time - that'd be the crisp fried zucchini blossoms for me. Yum! Highly recommended to anyone looking to explore Italian cuisine. The recipes are easy enough for anyone to accomplish.

I love cooking classics, AND essentials, so this caught my eye. As I flipped through, I saw some pro tips for using balsamic vinegar and basil, that will definitely up my game. Also included are some recipes that look simple yet delicious, so it makes sense these recipes are classics. In particular, I look forward to trying the Butter and Parmesan Cheese Sauce. Butter, cheese and pasta, yum. :)

This 30th anniversary edition of a Hazan’s classic Italian cookbook includes new forewords, but otherwise appears to be a republication of the original 1992 cookbook. As it is indeed a classic, a republication to bring it to the attention of new generations of cooks seems fitting. This is not “fast food” Italian, yet the recipes aren’t complex. The focus is on fresh ingredients, cooked simply.

This is a great cookbook for people who want to learn the foundations of Italian cuisine. The recipes are delicious and there is something for cooks of all levels!