The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces
by Diane Seed
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Book Summary Information
Author: Diane SeedIllustrator: Robert Budwig
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-03-01
ISBN: 0898152321
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Book Reviews of The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces
Book Review: Beautiful and relatively complete catalog of pasta dishes.
Summary: 4 Stars
`The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces' by Diane Seed, Illustrated by Robert Budwig, is only slightly misnamed in that it is really a book of the author's top 100 favorite pasta dishes. Every recipe is a combination of a specific shape and variety (dried or fresh) of pasta, a specific cooking method (baked or top of the stove), and a specific `finishing touch' of cheese, parsley, basal, or what have you. The best evidence that this book deals with dishes and not sauces is the concluding chapter which includes two different recipes for that ultimate pasta dish, the timballo or macaroni pie.
The book does not select its top 100 from a study of other cookbooks, the author has selected these recipes from her own experiences with cooks throughout Italy from her base in Rome. That does not mean her selection of recipes is a lot different from what you get by polling 20 cookbooks of Italian recipes. Every recipe you may expect to find here is really here, even if a bit it may take a bit of looking to locate some favorites. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the book has NO INDEX! If this were not such an otherwise so thoroughly delightful book, I would certainly consider this as grounds to demote it by at least one star.
But with some perserverence, you will find Pasta Puttanesca, Spaghetti Carbonara, Ragu Bolognaise, Rigatoni with four cheeses (mac and cheese), Pasta Primavera, Pasta with Pesto, Pasta and meatballs, and the aforementioned timballi recipes. The only `famous' pasta recipes I could not find were fettucini Alfredo, a Vodka sauce, or any gnocchi recipes, althought there were several cream based sauces and also many which were made with either wine or brandy. I must note that the `mac and cheese' recipe given here is unlike any recipe you will find in a book aimed specifically at American audiences, as it is made without either a custard or a bechamel sauce. I am really pleased to find this recipe, as I saw a similar one in another pasta book and thought it was something of a mistake. Turns out the mistake was mine, in not fully appreciating the import of some instructions.
I am certain the author did not base her selection of sauces entirely on popularity because the book covers just about every different type of sauce you can imagine, including the whole spectrum of ingredients from green vegetables to beans and lentils to mushrooms to seafood to pork and beef and lamb to olives to squash and pumpkin to nuts to lemon. And, the book is very nicely organized by these principle ingredients, except for the last chapter of special celebratory dishes which either include many different ingredients or include relatively expensive ingredients. This wide variety makes the book a perfect source if you happen to need a recipe with which to use up some frozen peas. Luckily, the table of contents is quite good at pointing to the right page for such a need, especially as this silly book HAS NO INDEX!!!
It is quite appropriate that the illustrator receive front page credit for this book, as the excellent color drawings, probably done with colored pencil or crayon, make this book a joy to browse.
Aside from the lack of an index, the book is also just a bit lax in referring from one recipe to another within the book. All such references are easily misunderstood, as when we are instructed to find something in the `third' recipe, where it is not said whether it means the third recipe in the chapter or the third recipe in the book (they meant the third recipe in the chapter, not my first guess).
I am very fond of the fact that almost all measurements are in both English and metric units. On the other hand, I have the feeling that the cooking procedures are aimed at someone with just a bit more a beginner's kitchen skills. Several of the typical little hints given in Italian recipes such as warnings not to cook the garlic too hard or to cut the basil at the last minute are missing.
While the book covers much more than just sauces, it is not a book on pasta, as there is not a single pasta recipe anywhere to be found. That is probably why there are no gnocchi recipes, as gnocchi is one form of pasta which is almost invariably made at home.
If you have no Italian cookbooks and like pasta (and you have no interest in creating a library of Italian cookbooks), then I think this should be the very next cookbook you buy. If you simply like attractive cookbooks, then you certainly cannot miss this one, as it is relatively inexpensive and will take up little room on your shelf. I have even almost forgiven it's not having an INDEX!!!
Summary of The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces
Great recipes and gorgeous art in an international bestseller.From the Hardcover edition.
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