Classico e Moderno: Essential Italian Cooking: A Cookbook

I plan on traveling to Italy as my right of passage into the world of professional cooking, and this book only reinforced that dream of mine. In this book are incredible recipes given to you from one of the best possible sources. I had no idea who Michael White was before opening this book, and I now sincerely respect the man.

The recipes are easy to make and the results are consistently good.

I’ve read many of the reviews, and yes there are small errors in instructions verses the photos included. As to one commenters feeling that dishes are dumbed down and simple. Well, Italian food for the most part is simplistic and you are free to gussy them up if you desire. For me, it is a great book to focus on the traditional and then see what a great chef can do with it to make the dishes more contemporary. I bought my copy used an it came as if it had never been opened. It came with a thick plastic jacket over the paper jacket which is a nice touch if you plan to use it in the kitchen. I wish more cookbooks came this way. It will take some time to read through it all….it’s a rather long book. Worth every penny.

I am new to Italian cooking and had no idea whose book to try first. I remembered seeing Michael White on Anthony Bourdaine's show No Reservations so I decided to go with his book. I have only tried a few recipes, but things went well. The Tortelli De Ricotta is wonderful! If you're comfortable in the kitchen, the recipes are not difficult. There are also some great pictures of dishes and scenery. In the back of the book is a list of sources for finding some of the ingredients you will need, what a great feature.

This book is a great resource to have, and I recommend it to a bunch of people already. It is not for the home cook however as a few of the techniques are a bit advanced. I bought this when I was helping design the menu in one of the restaurants I worked in, and it gave me plenty of inspiration. Now that I changed careers I still crack it open and make a few of the recipes for my wife and I. Especially since we are rocking the Mediterranean Diet.