cover image MARCELLA SAYS... Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes

MARCELLA SAYS... Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes

Marcella Hazan, . . HarperCollins, $29.95 (390pp) ISBN 978-0-06-620967-8

Corrections: In the May 17 issue, the agent for In Our Hearts We Were Giants, by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev, was incorrectly listed. The agent is Alison Bond of Alison Bond Ltd.

The correct title of the Crown book from the editors of Rolling Stone is simply Cash (Forecasts, May 24).

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MARCELLA SAYS... Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes Marcella Hazan . HarperCollins , $29.95 (400p) ISBN 0-06-620967-6

Hazan, the woman credited with teaching Americans that there's more to Italian cooking than spaghetti and meatballs, models her sixth book on her renowned cooking courses. Thus, as readers progress through this work, they'll feel Hazan's censorious presence as they wonder, for example, if they can skip blanching and proceed directly to sautéing rapini, but they'll learn a lot if they can overlook her occasionally blunt manner ("The unbalanced use of garlic is the single greatest cause of failure in would-be Italian cooking"). Hazan gives loads of practical instructions and dozens of fantastic recipes concentrating on insaporire , the act of developing "the flavor of a single or several ingredients." Indeed, insaporire is the focus of many lessons, whether it's making the perfect Italian broth—subtler than stock, yet elegant and versatile—or matching pasta shapes to sauces. Nearly the first hundred pages consist of information-packed paragraphs deriving from Hazan's classes, where she haughtily but knowingly details techniques and ingredients. Next come the recipes, a tasty array of antipasti, pasta sauces, homemade pasta, fish, meat and vegetables. Throughout, readers will find useful notes—"Marcella Says"—in which the famous teacher gives hands-on advice. (Oct.)

Forecast: Though aging, Hazan is still teaching and will promote this book nationwide. Her fans will surely want it for their collections.