Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook

Authors Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali published Lidia’s—Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine as a huge volume with hundreds of recipes from appetizers, soups, sauces and main dishes through sweets. The first author has some half dozen Italian cookbooks published and if you own any, you may not need her latest. The authors start with a very extensive (seventy five pages) section, virtually a mini cooking class, on detailed discussion of ingredients and preparation techniques.

This is very useful for both beginner and experienced cooks. Another equally helpful section at the end is a huge glossary (forty five pages) on everything in Italian cooking and cuisine. The index is just as broad and well cross referenced. The recipes are well written and range from easy to complex but most are relatively accessible to beginner cooks. With many recipes the authors include a little note at the end related to the recipe or possible variations. The recipes are written for American cooks but a well-stocked market with extensive Italian ingredients is a must. Only occasional little black-and-white sketches are the illustrations, otherwise the text and recipes run through without break—a huge inconvenience to cooks when following recipes.