365 Ways to Cook Pasta

I picked up my copy in 1990 when I was in college and haven't stopped using it. As a college student my favorite dish was the fresh tomato, basil and ricotta sauce on ziti. Yum! When I was a nanny for a California family with California taste, recipes like the spaghetti with blue cheese and walnuts saved my fanny. And now that I'm married and cook for my extended family, one of my favorite potluck dishes is the "light and easy" Salad of Penne and Chicken with Spinach and Buttermilk Dressing. My family loves it too.I love the spiral binding and hard cover that lay flat. The different chapters ("Asian Connection," "No-Cook Sauces") etc. make for good browsing. And I like that many additions are offered too. Lots of times I pull out a variety of things from my fridge and cupboard and then go to this cookbook to figure out what to make. For example, if I had leftover spaghetti, some eggs, and a handful of veggies to chop up, I could bang out a delicious spaghetti frittata that I know my family would love.This cookbook has been a staple in my kitchen for 11 years and has held up wonderfully!

This cookbook is one of the most often used of my collection of 100+. The "Emergency Dinners" chapter is wonderful! It includes a list of 16 staples, regular stuff, like olive oil and onions and bacon. These staples are combined in various ways to make the 16 recipes in the chapter, all of them delicious and very quickly prepared, great for unexpected weeknight dinner guests. Many of the recipes in the "Italian Classics" chapter are as easy and quick to prepare as the emergency dinners, and are as good as versions I've had in Italian restaurants. In fact, every chapter includes recipes that are easy to prepare, although some require longer cooking times. The "American Classics" and "Elbows" chapters include a bunch of variations on macaroni and cheese, and may be helpful in getting kids to eat more vegetables, and some unfamiliar ingredients.

I am a dedicated home cook and I also work as a personal cook for a private client. I rely on this book again and again for unique and delicious pasta recipes. I have not made anything from this book that has been a dud, in fact, I often don't even bother to taste for seasoning adjustment--it's that precise and on-key. Like the reviewer below, I haven't gotten anywhere near to exhausting the possibilities, and every time I open the book I have a hard time deciding which direction to go in because they all look so good! And just to clarify, when I say "unique" recipes, I don't mean things that require you to make a trip to a specialty market, like burdock, or fava beans. At random, here are five recipe titles to give you an idea: Lamb Stew with Herbed Elbows; Seafood Lasagne; Rigatoni with Cauliflower and Garlic-Anchovy Oil; Creamy Tuna Sauce with Capers and Lemon; and Spinach-Stuffed Manicotti with Red Pepper Bechamel Sauce. Oh, and let's not forget dessert! How about Lemon-Scented Pastina Souffle? Or Couscous, Dried Fruit and Honey Pudding?If you turn to pasta as part of your cooking repetoire, you must have this cookbook on your shelf. There, don't I make decision making easy?

Without a doubt, my favorite recipe book. I am not a greatcook. Yet I have been able to make some fabulous dishes with thisbook. The roasted red bell pepper sauce is to die for! Great ideas for gorgonzola and more! I am buying it as a wedding gift for a nephew.

If your idea of pasta is lukewarm spaghetti with watery sauce from a can, then take a look at Marie Simmons' 365 Ways to Cook Pasta. Here, you can find everything from basic cooking directions to classics to desserts, all presented in an easy-to-read format and arranged by type of dish (i.e., pasta salad, quick-cook sauces, Italian and Asian dishes, healthy meals.) I use this book 3 out of 4 times when I cook, and have not even come close to exhausting its possibilities!365 Ways to Cook Pasta would be perfect for a beginning cook, as none of the recipes (as far as I have found) are impossible, and many of them give you a solid basis for your own creativity in the kitchen. I think veterans would like to have this book around as well, for a reference and source of ideas. A must for any '90s cook!