2024 the best thing about making meatballs review

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(as of Nov 11, 2024 02:16:08 UTC - Details)

How do you boil pasta? How much water and salt do you need? Should you add oil to the water? How well should you drain it? (Turn to page viii for the answers.)

One part cooking course, one part kitchen reference, and one part foolproof recipes, The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles tells the story of flour and water like no other book on the market. Extensively covering the basics of pasta and noodles, this thoroughly researched and taste-tested guide is dedicated to the home cook who needs practical advice on everything from penne to pad thai. The experts at Cook's Illustrated present their knowledge and techniques in a hands-on way so that each and every step of the cooking process can be understood and easily executed. The authors leave room for interpretation and taste, of course, but you will not walk away from this book without knowing which olive oil to buy, why egg pastas tend to complement cream sauces, or how to mince garlic.

The book is arranged in four sections, exploring first dried semolina pasta, then fresh Italian-style pasta, Mediterranean pasta and European dumplings, and finally, Asian noodles. There are thirteen chapters devoted to sauces alone, and recipes are included with the type of pasta with which they work best -- from the simplest to the complex, but all within reach of the home cook. As a bonus, the book includes excellent photographs of the various pasta and noodle shapes, and impeccable illustrations clearly depict each step of key techniques. Special sections are devoted to such specific topics as "Are Electric Pasta Machines Worth the Money?" and "A Guide to Popular Cheeses."

"Cook's has always been the definitive word on any subject it tackles," says The Post and Courier, and The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles will serve as the definitive reference volume for pasta lovers.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarkson Potter; 1st edition (August 29, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0609600648
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0609600641
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches
Reviewer: Heather
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: LOVE this book!
Review: I do not understand all the reviewers who call this text incomplete. Obviously they scanned it and did not actually READ this book. The authors included copious information about each pasta recipe, what kinds of sauces those particular pasta's go best with, and then filled the chapter with lots of recipes to go with those sauces. For example, chapter 15 (I opened the book to a random spot for this) discusses sauces with meat. The chapter introduces itself with a two page write up about meat sauces, which pastas go best with them AND WHY, along with what types of meats should go with those sauces. They then included tips on cooking the sauces properly. Following that very thorough introduction, the remainder of the chapter is recipes. 4 bolognese recipes, 5 rigatoni recipes,5 sausage sauce recipes, then a thorough column on how to make meatballs along with what appears to be a very good meatball recipe. Then there is another thorough column on ribs/chops, along with 5 appropriate recipes. Oh, and the book literally has HUNDREDS of recipes. How is that incomplete? Who needs more than that for pasta?The whole book is thorough like that. The introductory chapters are thorough with the basics, including pasta recipes, the best way to prepare garlic, a nice write up regarding olive oil, things you can skip and things you should never cheat on. They cover cheeses, which ones are best with which pastas, meats and sauces and even fully explains butter in a way I've never seen. I grew up on a farm where we made butter almost every day. Trust me when I say, I know a lot about butter. My mother was a pastry chef and a professional cook for years. So I already knew a LOT of the stuff in this book, yet I learn something new every time I pick it up. We now eat pasta about 3 times a week in my house and my children are thrilled with everything we've tried so far from this book. I highly recommend the recipe for the Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Cream but my family loves Pecorino Romano so we subbed that for the Parmesan the recipe calls for. Very delicious dish. My children loved it.I don't know how many different flavors of pasta are available at your stores, but there are less than 5 at any store local to me. The book has 12 different recipes for pasta. That is just the noodles themselves. How many different ways could you think of assembling flour and a liquid to make noodles? Now that has nothing to do with how you shape the noodles. That's just the pasta recipes. There's an entire chapter dedicated to types of noodles (not flavors, not recipes, just the different kinds of noodles, like gnocci, spaetzle, fettuccine, rigatoni, etc. LOTS.) It then tells you how to shape many of these (the ones that can be done without an extruder.) Someone posted in their review that this text only talks about using dried noodles. I can't fathom where that idea came from. They thoroughly discuss using dried vs. fresh and adamantly prefer fresh for MOST of the recipes in the book. The also discuss egg noodles vs egg-less noodles. My family prefers the body of a homemade egg noodle so we only use those kind for all the recipes but they tell you when to use each. They don't tell you at each individual recipe. They do assume that you can read and remember from one page to the next that at the beginning of the chapter, they told you which noodles to use for what. When in doubt, READ. I think many people treat this book like an ordinary cookbook instead of the valuable tool it really is. If you ONLY want a book full of recipes, this is not the book for you. If you really want a complete book on noodles and pasta, this is definitely the book for you. If there is any flavor combination not included here as a specific recipe, you will be well armed to create it yourself after reading this book. You will KNOW what to assemble together and what NOT to assemble. You will be able to make the best pasta ever, every single night if you wish and never eat the same dish twice. If you feel comfortable in the kitchen, start playing with the recipes. You will quickly find, if you follow the advice in the text, you will never go wrong. Don't combine things they say not to combine, blend flavors they say go together and you can make ANY pasta dish you like and they will always taste wonderful. This text is outstanding!If you must force me to give it a "con" then it would be the same as any other paperback cookbook. Every time I opened it to cook from it, the book kept wanting to close. I wish all cookbooks came in a spiral binding or a 3-5 ring option. Standard hard cover and standard paperback cookbooks are not really "cook friendly." I might eventually take it to kinko's or somewhere for a giant hole punch! I'm willing to take it apart to make it easier to work with. Trust me, it will be your new best friend in the kitchen. If you don't have a pasta roller, get one. You will never look back. They are not that expensive. I bought the Atlas. You can buy what you want and spend anywhere from $25 to $300 on a simple pasta roller. I'm pleased as punch with a sturdy Atlas. Combined with this book, it is always out in my kitchen!!!

Reviewer: Cissa
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Thorough overview of pasta, focused mostly on the European
Review: I've given this book 5 stars because it has some of my very favorite, go-to pasta dishes in it!Like the Asparagus (or, with a few differences, the Spicy Broccoli) lasagna. SO good! I make at least one asparagus lasagna every eyar during asparagus season, and generally at least one spicy broccoli in the winter. The use of no-boil noodles makes it really easy, and I appreciate the more delicate texture of them in the dishes. I do tend to double the amount of veg in both, plus add a chopped onion or 2 (most recipes around here start with chopping an onion or 2!). Also, for the asparagus, I don't use the whole amount guyere cheese; that was just too rich (and also expensive). I usually mix it with mozz (the brick kind, not fresh) and/or cheddar. For the broccoli, I use more spice to make it hotter, and use half cheddar and half mozz for the cheeses- we love cheddar and broccoli.I don't make fresh pasta much, though I aspire to do it more. The recipes I've tried have worked fine. The basic egg pasta was easy and very good; the gnocchi were OK, but got better as i got more practice.The mac&cheese recipe is wonderful- it's one that I make a lot! This is the first mac&chz recipe I'd ever found that does NOT use a white sauce in which one melts cheese; the sauce is custard-based. I find that the white sauces muffle the full flavors of the cheese, and this is better. I don't remember if it calls for 8 or 12 oz of macaroni- use 12, unless you're after a really rich side dish. I prefer regular white-flour mac here- while I love whole-grain pastas in various other dishes, here their somewhat gritty texture is a turn-off. I prefer to use the sharpest cheddar I can lay my hands on for the cheese; the evaporated milk (I use skim) keeps it from breaking, at least until one warms up leftovers (best done in a double boiler, though I generally don't bother). I often mix in a half jar of chipotle salsa toward the end of the cooking. Also, I generally don't bother with the breadcrumb topping, and I cut the butter to 1 tablespoon rather than 4- believe me, it's plenty rich! Very, very good, and generally makes around 5 generous servings as a main course.As far as cooking with basic bought pasta goes, I love the way they've organized the sauces, and have suggestions for shapes for each one. I like just browsing in those chapters, and picking one at random to try. And when I just browse, I usually find another few recipes that I want to make, even though I've had it for many years now! I know that the recipes will work, too.It's not for someone who wants to make her own soba, I think. But for someone who wants a wealth of options for pasta- home-made and purchased- it's a wonderful resource.My copy is the hardcover- I got it that long ago!

Reviewer: S. Miles
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book - ordered at same time as buying a pasta machine, so I could get creative right away. This is like my pasta bible now...

Reviewer: G. Bisaillon
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I thought everyone knew that pasta should be made with the hardest (least starchy) flour, or, better yet, with durum semolina. That's why Italy imports zillions of tons of durum wheat from us.Yet, this book tells you to use all-purpose flour!The pasta is not merely the carrier for the sauce, and properly-made pasta is a real treat, but you will never experience this if you pair your lovingly-made sauce with pasta made with flour that was never meant to be used for that purpose.So, buy this book for the sauce recipes, but to make pasta, use the directions that come with your Italian pasta maker. Or buy fresh pasta.

Reviewer: B. Cavener
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am very disappointed in this book. Forget any pictures,there are none. A giant book of the same thing just with different pasta. You're better off to search the internet for better authentic pasta recipes.