Product Description

The book that taught America how to cook,
now illustrated with glorious color photography

ALL ABOUT
PASTA & NOODLES

A fresh and original way to put the classic advice of Joy of Cooking to work -- illustrated and designed in a beautiful and easy-to-use new book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133689 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
When you hear the word "visionary," Irma Rombauer is probably not the first person to come to mind. But when Rombauer touted pasta as a "nutritious, inexpensive, and quick meal" in the original Joy of Cooking more than 60 years ago, little did she know what an intrinsic part of America's family menus it would become. This beautiful volume is a welcome reminder that with a little TLC, pasta for dinner can mean so much more than spaghetti and red sauce from a jar. The recipes are adapted from the latest Joy, but enhanced until they're almost unrecognizable, with gorgeous color photographs, tips and beautifully illustrated techniques, and a comprehensive introduction that covers everything from cooking pasta and choosing Italian cheeses to 27 different pasta shapes and the sauces to serve with them.

If you have the time to make it, the chapter on fresh pasta begins with a clear, well-written recipe for Fresh Egg Pasta and then offers variations such as Whole Wheat Pasta and Spinach Pasta. A lesson on rolling, cutting, and shaping follows. Novice cooks need not worry, as more tutorials pepper the pages, such as How to Peel, Seed, and Juice Tomatoes, How to Roast and Peel Peppers, and How to Make Tortellini and Cappelletti. There are also well-explained tips throughout the book, explanations of ingredients--such as capers, Italian and Greek olives, and prosciutto--and minilessons on subjects such as freezing filled pasta.

But what really sets this book apart are the myriad recipes for quick, nutritious, inexpensive, delicious meals. All our old favorites are included, such as Classic Italian American Lasagne, Tuna Noodle Casserole, and Bolognese Sauce, as are more adventurous dishes like Pastitsio, Roasted Red Pepper and Herb Goat Cheese Lasagna, and Penne with Vodka. A chapter on Asian noodles includes a little taste of everything, with recipes like Shrimp Pad Thai and Spicy Szechuan Noodles. But it wouldn't be Joy of Cooking without homey dishes like dumplings, so the last chapter covers them as well as variations on spaetzle and potato gnocchi. As always, it's the clear, easy-to-follow recipes that make Joy such a joy to use, and such a valuable addition to anyone's kitchen. --Leora Y. Bloom

About the Author
Ethan Becker is the son of Marion Rombauer Becker and the grandson of Irma S. Rombauer the original author of Joy of Cooking. He attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has been a devoted home cook all his life. Continuing a family tradition stemming from the conviction that fine cooking depends upon the freshest ingredients, Ethan is an enthusiastic organic gardener. He and his wife, Susan, live at the family home, Cockaigne, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

4 to 6 main-course servings; 8 to 10 side-dish servings

This noodle dish is very creamy and very cheesy. The size of the pot is essential in this recipe -- it must be big for the sauce to thicken correctly. If you do not have a 7-quart pot, you can cook the elbow macaroni in any pot; then prepare the cheese sauce on its own in a 12-inch skillet and, once it has thickened to the desired consistency, add the cooked pasta and stir to coat it well before serving.

Bring to a rolling boil in a large pot:

12 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

Add and cook just until tender:

2 cups elbow macaroni (8 ounces)

Drain and return to the pot. Add:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Stir until well blended. Add and stir together until smooth:

One 12-ounce can evaporated milk

12 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon dry mustard dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

I teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground red pepper, or to taste

Set the pot over very low heat and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to the first bubble of a simmer, 5 to 10 minutes. It should thicken noticeably. This may take several minutes. Increase the heat slightly if the sauce is still soupy after 5 minutes, but watch it very carefully. Do not overheat (above 170°F), or the sauce will curdle. Serve immediately. If you are not ready to serve, remove the pot from the heat, cover the surface with plastic wrap, cover the pot, and let stand at room temperature.

Copyright © 2000 by Simon & Schuster Inc., The Joy of Cooking Trust and The MRB Revocable Trust

Customer Reviews

Perfect
This is a an *excellent* book for people who are both new and experienced at handmaking pasta. When I first purchased it I ended up reading it cover-to-cover as if it were a novel. Now, two years later, most of the pages are sauce splattered and flour dusted having seen some serious kitchen usage. The directions are simple and straightforward, the sidebars are entertaining and informative, and all of the recipies that we've tried so far (maybe 75% of them) are fantastic. We've even graduated to filled pastas like tortellini and ravioli now thanks to this book. Definitely an excellent addition to any cooking arsenal.

Joy of Cooking
The Joy of Cooking "All about series" is good but I still prefer the plain old Joy of Cooking. The books do have good pictures and some good information.