The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles: A Cookbook

Americans love pasta. But this doesn't mean we know about its many types, how best to serve it, or even how best to bring it from plate to mouth. Exploring these topics and more, The Cook's Illustrated Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles offers a comprehensive introduction to the world's pasta, from spaghetti, couscous, and spaetzle to ramen, udon, rice sticks, and more. Compiled from the pages of Cook's Illustrated, the magazine of culinary investigation, the book is a trove of illustrated step-by-step instructions (on rolling pasta dough, for example), hundreds of pasta and related recipes, tips on buying and storage, and other useful data. In chapters such as "Dried Semolina Pasta and Chinese Wheat Noodles," the book explores a particular pasta type and then provides useful supplementary information. Included, for example, are pasta-tasting results, a "gallery" of pasta shapes, and material on matching pasta shapes to sauces. Offered also are comprehensive saucing chapters that cover such pasta accompaniments as olive oil, butter, cheese, bread crumbs, canned and fresh tomatoes, and seafood, among many others. The recipes themselves are exhaustive and, as one might expect, models of accuracy and good taste. Included are the likes of Macaroni with Spinach and Gorgonzola, Lasagna with Shrimps and Scallops, Potato Gnocchi with Butter, Sage, and Parmesan Cheese, and Cellophane Noodle Salad with Charred Beef and Snow Peas. With master recipes for many of the basic pasta types and more than 300 illustrations, the book should enlighten pasta lovers while whetting their appetite for its many satisfactions. --Arthur Boehm