Italian Classics

by John Burgoyne and Cook's Illustrated

Book Overview

Favorite Italian dishes updated for the home cook. What's the best way to prevent ricotta cheesecake from becoming watery? Is there a trick for coaxing more flavor from basil when making pesto? Does... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0936184582
• ISBN13: 9780936184586
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Cook's Illustrated
• Length: 481 Pages
• Weight: 3.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 8.6" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Italian reference for American cooks

A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years, concentrating on Italian cooking for the last 10 years, writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry". With more than 500 cookbooks in my collection I am usually disappointed in my recent cookbook acquisitions. I am also very tough on Italian cookbooks in particular. The "Italian Classics" by the editors of Cooks Illustrated Magazine pleasantly surprised me. I expected the typical Italian American recipes that I dislike. This book is much more authentic that I expected it to be. Even as an experienced Italian cook I find it difficult to criticize this book to any large extent. The editors of Cook's Illustrated write this book in the same manner as their other books. The writers tell you what they tried that didn't work, before they get to the ingredients and techniques that did work. There are very few pictures in this book. The paper is not the glossy stock that you find in my cookbooks today. I would have appreciated if the book had included the Italian names for the recipes. Sometimes they include the Italian name of the recipes in the narrative about the recipe, and sometimes they do not. But, the recipes themselves more make up for these minor disappointments. The book is outlines as follows: 1. Antipasti 2. Salads 3. Vegetables 4. Soups 5. Pasta 6. Risotto, Polenta, and Bean 7. Poultry 8. Meat 9. Fish and Shellfish 10. Bread and Pizza 11. Eggs and Savory Tarts 12. Fruit Desserts 13. Chilled and Frozen Desserts 14. Biscotti, Crostate, and Cakes The first recipe that I check out in any Italian cookbook to gauge its authenticity is Spaghetti Carbonara. If this recipe has cream included the book is immediately put back on the shelf. Unexpectedly, the recipe is this book does not add the cream, as American books tend to do. As I looked further, I realized that the authors tried to make each recipe as authentic as possible. The reason for the qualifier is that it is always not possible to make a recipe 100% authentic. I for one have never found an American supplier of Guanciale (cured pig's cheek), and Farro is also tough to come by. The writers did a very nice job substituting products that are easier to locate in the US. If you are in need of comprehensive and reasonably authentic Italian cookbook, this will make a nice addition to your cookbook collection.

Better than average reference for Italian dishes.

'Italian Classics' is a 'Cooks Illustrated' treatment of well known Italian recipes. I have reviewed a number of similar 'Cooks Illustrated' books and a fabulous number of Italian cookbooks, and I believe that this volume is both better than the average 'Cooks Illustrated' volume AND better than the average Italian cookbook. Part of the value of this book is not due to the efforts of the 'Cooks Illustrated' staff, it is due to their applying their usual approach to a body of recipes which are well established and about which there is a great body of writing already available in English. That means that when they evaluate a pasta Puttanesca recipe, there is little chance they will be going wrong, as they have the writings of Marcella Hazan, Lydia Bastianich, Mario Batalli, Giuliano Bugialli, and Michelle Scicolone to proof their researches against. This is not to say that they sometimes go off the deep end of fussiness, as when they suggest parboiling the garlic in the pan before adding the oil and other ingredients so as to not burn the garlic when starting out on their Puttanesca. Still, I am always guaranteed of seeing a highly reliable recipe for the Italian standards in this volume and while I have multiple volumes written by all those other authors, I still refer to this book first every time I want to do meatballs or lasagna or gnocchi or osso bucco. Recommended for people who like to cook Italian.

Excellent reference book on Italian Cooking

Would you like to learn all the tips and tricks about Italian Cooking? How about learning what is the best perfoming spaguetti brand, or different types of eggplant and how to work with it? Best garlic crusher, best pans, best everything - look no further: this is the book to get all the information you need. The guys at Cooking Illustrated did an outstanding job researching for this book, I was very pleased and impressed. This is my first "The Best Recipe Series" cookbook! (and now I that I know the format of these books I want to buy the other ones too.!!) This is a book you want to take to bed and read - recommended for both the amateur cook and for the professional - lots and lots of interesting facts and information about ingredients, techniques, products, equipment, utensils, you name it. If you are a cookbook lover like myself, you will see the difference between this one and all the rest of the books you have read.

Best Practical Italian Cookbook I've ever used.

This cookbook is by far the best Italian Cookbook I have ever used. While many Italian cookbooks require ingrediants that are both expensive and hard to find, Italian Classics' recipes are intended to be made with ingrediants that are easy to find in an American grocery store. The recipes, however, don't sacrifice flavor at all. Every recipe that I have cooked, without exception, has been excellent. I was so surprised by the excellence of the recipes that I am in the process now of asking my family to give me other cook books from the Cook's Illustrated "Best Recipe" series for Christmas. They explain the steps of cooking so novice cookers can use the recipes as well. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Italian cooking.

Best of the Best

The Best Recipe series have outdone themselves. This is the best one yet.(I am partial to cooking american-italian food at home). This illustrates great recipes that are tasty and user friendly. I especially love the risotto cakes. This book goes beyound recipes and teaches one about techniques and what to do or not to do. THIS IS A GREAT LAST MINUTE GIFT FOR THE NOVICE CHEF TO THE AVID COOK FOR THE HOLIDAYS OR ANY OCCASION. Definately a keeper if you like italian cooking.