Italian cookbooks. Which one?

There are plenty of Italian cookbooks out there. Which one is the right one for you? Since we are not the expert in an Italian kitchen, we turned to our friend Giuliano Hazan to help us with this article on Italian cookbooks.

Giuliano Hazan approach to cooking - few ingredients, simple directions, quick results and impressive tastes. You will find this in his Italian cookbook "Every Night Italian", since then he has written many more. He started young under the watchful eyes of his mother Marcella Hazan whom herself is a well known author of an Italian cookbook "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". If by chance you have friends who tried Italian cooking. You can ask them about "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" we are pretty sure they have either heard of it or has a copy in their Italian cookbooks library.

Who is Giuliano Hazan? At an early age of 17 Giuliano began working as an assistant to his mother's renowned School of Classic Italian Cooking. He dedicated himself to mastering recipe, genuine flavors of Italian cuisine. Today, he is an author, teacher, entrepreneur, and one of the foremost authorities on Italian cooking. He is also regularly feature on U.S televisions TODAY Show and has been profiled in many U.S publications.

Although he was born in the U.S Giuliano spent much of his childhood in Italy and started his teaching career at his mother's School of Classic Italian Cooking in Bologna. From 1995 to 1999 he led a number of multi-day courses at the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice not to mention appearing in numerous Food and Wine Festivals including Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, The Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel, California, The Book and The Cook in Philadelphia, The Reading Festival in Sarasota, the Epicurean Classic in Michigan and for 6 years he taught at Disney's Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

 

CLASSES WITH GIULIANO HAZAN

Yes if you happen to be at the right place, at the right time you can attend Italian cooking lessons with Giuliano. Find out where he is teaching. One of best highlights of learning with Giuliano is to learn at Villa Giona, a country residence from the Renaissance period, near romantic Verona (yes the place of Romeo & Juliet) and beautiful Lake Garda up Northern Italy.

ITALIAN COOKBOOKS AUTHORED BY GIULIANO HAZAN

 

 

Tips to help you get started by Giuliano Hazan

 

Learning Italian cooking for the first time? Make sure you use the best ingredients and use them with respect. Don't over sauce and add too many things. The flavor of Italian cooking is simple, pure and clear.

Each of Italy's 20 regions has it's own cuisine and specialties. One could generalize that Northern Italian dishes tend to be richer and more dairy based and Southern dishes are often lighter and olive oil based. Each region do have some difference in their preparations.

If and when you start Italian cooking lessons there's no need to rush out to furnish your kitchen with distinctive Italian cookware's. A good knife, solid cookware and sharp peeler are probably all you need. Be kind to your pocket. Of course in time, like most of us we do tend to buy all sorts of kitchen gadgets.

Learning Italian cooking does not requires you to start with Italian pasta, you can start with any dish - fish, meat, risotto. Just remember to keep it simple and don't over sauce!

Although everyone talks about serving Italian wines with Italian cuisines this is also a personal decision. If you enjoy having wines with your meals then yes serve wines but it is not necessary that an Italian meal must be accompanied with Italian wines.

Never cook Italian before? We suggest you buy this Italian cookbook "Essential of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan published in 1992. This is a classic that every Italian kitchen should have.

 

MARCELLA HAZAN is retired these days. She is credited to have introduced Italian cooking to the United States and Britain. Her husband Victor Hazan is a well known wine writer. The couple moved to New York city soon after getting married in 1956. Originally Marcella was born in the village of Cesenatico in Emilia-Romagna. Marcella started giving Italian cooking lessons in her apartment and opened her own Italian cooking school in 1969 called The School of Classic Italian Cooking. Her first Italian cookbook was published in 1973 - "The Classic Italian Cookbook", a sequel "More Classic Italian Cooking" followed in 1978. "Essential of Classic Italian Cooking" is a collection of these 2 Italian cookbooks. At her school Marcella emphasize careful attention to details. She recommends preparing food by hand rather than by machine and she prefers stovetop to the oven because it allows the cook to engage more fully with the food.

 

TIPS ON ITALIAN COOKING BY MARCELLA HAZAN

1. Choose vegetables that are in season and plan your entire meal around them.

2. Soak vegetable in cold water for half an hour before cooking to remove all trace of grit. Cook them until tender but not mushy, so they have a rich flavor.

3. When sauteering onions put them in cold pan with oil and gently heat them. This process will help release their flavor gradually and give them a mellower taste compared to starting them in hot pan.

4. Some Italian pasta like tagliatelle are best made freshly at home while others like spaghetti should be bought dried.

5. Different Italian pasta should be match carefully to sauce.

6. Olive oil isn't always the best choice for frying. For delicate flavored dishes a combination of butter and vegetable oil should be used.

Her son Giuliano is doing a fine job of carrying the family culinary tradition through his Italian cooking courses he conducts four times a year in Italy. Held at the 16th century Villa Giona a nine room ancient hotel. Each course runs for a week and accommodates 12 students maximum. Classes are taught in English. You will need to book in advance.

 

 

For Quick and Easy Guide use Amazing North Italy sitemap to find information

 

 

 

 

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