When most people think of Italian cooking they think of pasta. Sitting down at an Italian restaurant to eat a big steaming bowl of pasta soaked in a rich marinara or cheese sauce has become a classic American comfort food.
It’s very tempting to want to make the same pasta dishes at home. People who take that first step often start at the grocery store looking at a box of dried pasta and a jar of thin, over salted sauce. Following the recipe on the side of the jar usually falls short of expectations. At the same time, for the average American home cook the idea of making pasta and sauce from scratch can feel like a tall mountain to climb.
These days the knee jerk reaction is to turn to the internet for help. Unfortunately, what you usually find with an internet search is an ingredient list and instructions that are an eloquent way of saying “Just dump everything together and stir.” To really honor a dish and understand the process you need to get your hands on it and build some authentic experience.
In some of my other books I tell the story of how I grew up at the apron strings of my adopted Italian Grandma. She was born in Naples Italy and immigrated to America after World War Two where she ran an Italian Restaurant. She and her husband retired just a few weeks before I was born and agreed to take care of me while my Mother worked double shifts. I called them Grandma and Papa.
I grew up eating classic Italian dishes as well as new American tweaks on the Italian food that was so popular in American restaurants through the 60’s 70’s and 80’s. After Grandma and Papa died I dedicated myself to learning how to recreate the classical Italian dishes of my childhood. Some people think of their childhood favorites and Grandma’s cooking as being chicken noodle soup and fresh baked cookies. I think of spaghetti Bolognese and cheese stuffed ravioli.
It was a long process to learn how to make these dishes. A lot of Italian cooking is about learning to take a simple quality ingredient and honor it by treating it right. There are some common mistakes that can ruin a dish and little tweaks that can make it shine.
In this book we’ll take a look at how to decide between cooking with dried pasta or fresh pasta; including the procedures for making your own fresh pasta. We’ll also look at how to make classic Italian sauces paired with classic pasta dishes. There are sure to be some twists and turns along the way.
This isn’t a compendium of all Italian Pasta recipes. With all the decorative pastas out there in the world, and all the regional variations you can apply to them, the subject is too vast to be put into one short book. Instead think of this as a guide to help you get your feet wet. This book will help you get some authentic experience under your belt so you can figure out where you want to go next in your great Italian cooking adventure!
It’s very tempting to want to make the same pasta dishes at home. People who take that first step often start at the grocery store looking at a box of dried pasta and a jar of thin, over salted sauce. Following the recipe on the side of the jar usually falls short of expectations. At the same time, for the average American home cook the idea of making pasta and sauce from scratch can feel like a tall mountain to climb.
These days the knee jerk reaction is to turn to the internet for help. Unfortunately, what you usually find with an internet search is an ingredient list and instructions that are an eloquent way of saying “Just dump everything together and stir.” To really honor a dish and understand the process you need to get your hands on it and build some authentic experience.
In some of my other books I tell the story of how I grew up at the apron strings of my adopted Italian Grandma. She was born in Naples Italy and immigrated to America after World War Two where she ran an Italian Restaurant. She and her husband retired just a few weeks before I was born and agreed to take care of me while my Mother worked double shifts. I called them Grandma and Papa.
I grew up eating classic Italian dishes as well as new American tweaks on the Italian food that was so popular in American restaurants through the 60’s 70’s and 80’s. After Grandma and Papa died I dedicated myself to learning how to recreate the classical Italian dishes of my childhood. Some people think of their childhood favorites and Grandma’s cooking as being chicken noodle soup and fresh baked cookies. I think of spaghetti Bolognese and cheese stuffed ravioli.
It was a long process to learn how to make these dishes. A lot of Italian cooking is about learning to take a simple quality ingredient and honor it by treating it right. There are some common mistakes that can ruin a dish and little tweaks that can make it shine.
In this book we’ll take a look at how to decide between cooking with dried pasta or fresh pasta; including the procedures for making your own fresh pasta. We’ll also look at how to make classic Italian sauces paired with classic pasta dishes. There are sure to be some twists and turns along the way.
This isn’t a compendium of all Italian Pasta recipes. With all the decorative pastas out there in the world, and all the regional variations you can apply to them, the subject is too vast to be put into one short book. Instead think of this as a guide to help you get your feet wet. This book will help you get some authentic experience under your belt so you can figure out where you want to go next in your great Italian cooking adventure!
