Pasta (Anna Del Conte's Italian Kitchen)

The Italians, who are masters at combining sophistication with simplicity, have eaten pasta for the past millennium or so. They know that no other food can nourish and delight so easily, while asking for so small and effort on the part of the cook. Simple, yet sustaining, a dish of pasta satisfies our hunger yet invites the eye and pleases the palate with its countless shapes, colors, and flavors. ~Anna Del Conte & Eric Treuille Eric Treuille has been in love with cooking since he worked in his uncle's boulangerie in France. He has worked as a chef in Paris, London and New York. Here he presents the ten commandments for pasta making, tools of the trade, pasta varieties, cooking secrets, classic sauces such as pesto and essential pantry items for busy cooks. Recipes: Pasta with Tomatoes - Red Pesto, Tomato and Mozzarella Al Forno Pasta with Butter and Cheese - Butter and Parmesan, Lemon, Basil, and Mascarpone Pasta with Mushrooms- Mushroom, White Wine and Cream Pasta with Seafood- Shrimp with Lemon and Basil, Smoked Salmon with White Wine, Cream, and Chives Pasta with Meat - Crispy Pancetta and Scallions, Classic Bolognese, Classic Lasagne Pasta with Olives and Olive Oil- Spicy Lemon Olive, Chili Olive Pesto Pasta with Greens and Herbs - Basil Pesto with Variations, Sizzling Sage Butter, Spinach Lasagne Pasta with Beans and Lentils - Braised Umbrian Lentils Pasta with Garlic- Golden Garlic and Onion, Roasted Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes Pasta with Peppers and Eggplant- Roasted Pepper Pasta, Red Pepper Pesto Fresh and Filled Pasta - Fresh Egg Pasta, Porcini Mushroom Filling After reading this book you will know why it is important to buy the highest quality pasta you can find, why a heavy-bottomed deep pot is best for slow cooked sauces, and how you can serve pasta in an authentic fashion. At the start of Pasta, you will find page after page of pictures and pasta descriptions. Fettuccine, Tagliolini, Bucatini, Chifferi, and many others make their appearance. At the end of the book, there are sections for what to keep in the refrigerator, freezer and cupboard. The Pasta Planner section lists pasta according to Make Ahead, No Cook, Quick Cook, Slow Cook, and Al Forno. The Pasta on the Menu section gives ideas for Pasta Parties, Pasta to Impress, Summer Weekend Pasta and more. There are notes about using Tipo 00 flour and there are four mail order sources at the end of the book. May I also suggest Zingermans online for pasta and cheese. King Arthur Flour might also be a great source for supplies and bowls. The end of the book shows all the top skills in brilliant color. Learn to peel tomatoes, soak dried mushrooms, peel garlic cloves, chop onions, peel peppers and finely chop garlic. The recipes all have short lists of ingredients which makes this book perfect for new cooks. A few recipes require you to make a separate sauce ingredient, but most of the recipes include the sauce ingredients along with the instructions for how to cook the p

Do you like pasta? Then buy this book! I was looking for a book by Anna Del Conte and decided to try this one. Boy, am I glad I did. It's the best cookbook I own. The authors give basic instructions on such things as making "perfectly cooked pasta every time," and there is an endless number of easy, delicious recipes that also tell you which pasta to use and what can be done in advance. The "at a glance" format makes it so easy to quickly navigate through this book. And there's so much more! You will treasure this book.

I'm a good cook, and love to make more complex meals, but this book has basic great recipes - - while some are more complex, this is the best pasta book I've seen that can point you to ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, and help you to whip up something wonderful. Haven't been disappointed in a recipe yet, and have bought this book for a few friends who are still in the beginner to intermediate stages of loving to cook, and they all love it. Bottom line is that the recipes are great.

I love this book! I learned to cook pasta from my husband's Italian mother and grandmother and I thought I was doing well, but this book has refined and simplified my pasta dishes. The book is easy to read and easy to use with step-by-step directions. After making one of the tomato based sauces, my husband said it was the best he'd ever had! There are recipes for every type of pasta, too, using seafood (my favorite), herbs and oils, and cheese. Fresh pasta, store bought, how to cook it...whether you've been cooking pasta all your life or just learning how this book is perfect. The pictures alone make it worth while. I, also, purchased the author's Ultimate Bread book and love it as much as this one.

This book is the perfect way to get started cooking some great pasta. The first 5-10 pages provide the reader with the basics to pasta, preparation, proper cooking utensils, etc. The book is then divided into chapters such as tomato sauces, cream sauces, meat dishes, vegtable and herb pasta, and many more. The recipes are easy to read and usually contain 10 or fewer ingredients, which makes the 1/2-1 hour after work to make dinner a lot easier. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for good, easy, classic Italian pasta meals.