Cookbook Profile: How to Cook Italian

How to Cook Italian

by Giuliano Hazan

Few understand how to cook great Italian food in America like Giuliano Hazan. A master teacher in his own right—Giuliano is the son of the authority on Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan—he knows exactly what home cooks want and need: delicious, easy, and often quick-to-prepare authentic Italian meals made with readily available ingredients.

How to Cook Italian is Hazan's masterwork, the culmination of twenty years of teaching experience, and a perfect follow-up to his previous two highly successful books, Every Night Italian and The Classic Pasta Cookbook.

Hazan covers the basics of Italian cooking, including perfectly cooking pasta, sautéing vegetables, making quick pan sauces, and braising meats until they are fork tender. He guides you every step of the way—from what you need (usually just a sauté pan and a pot) and what you don't (expensive, fancy equipment) to how to shop and stock the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for easy, fantastic meals throughout the week.

Over 225 clear and concise recipes reflect the way Americans grocery-shop, cook, and eat. Preparation time and total time from start to finish are listed for each dish. Recipes cover all aspects of the meal, from appetizers and buffet items to soups, pastas, risottos, entrees, vegetables, salads, and desserts.

For quick weeknight dinners, cooks can choose from a wide variety of dishes ready in thirty minutes or less: Spaghetti Carbonara; Risotto with Rosemary; Grilled Salmon with Thyme and Parsley Sauce; Shrimp with Pistachio Sauce; Chicken Breast Fillets with Lemon; and Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic, Arugula, and Parmigiano, to name a few.

When time is more plentiful, there are dishes such as Classic Bolognese Meat Sauce or Tuscan Ragú, Pork Loin Braised in Milk, and Leek and Porcini Lasagna.

To indulge your sweet tooth, try Neapolitan Lemon Trifle, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Grandma's Custard Pie.

Illustrated with thirty-two pages of full-color photographs of finished dishes as well as instructional line drawings throughout, this is the one Italian cookbook that today's American cooks cannot live without.

Buy the Book!

How to Cook Italian
by Giuliano Hazan
Scribner
Hardcover, 448 pages, $35.00
ISBN: 0-7432-4436-2
Information provided by the publisher.