Make it Italian . . . But how to achieve the genuine Italian flavor that we Americans love so much? According to Nancy Verde Barr, author of the incomparable We Called It Macaroni, the secret lies in knowing one’s ingredients and how to cook with them; it is a birthright that is passed down through generations of Italian families. She learned by watching her grandmother, Nonna, and now, in this wonderfully instructive and warmhearted book, she translates that hands-on experience into a primer of techniques and tastes that will become our Nonna in the kitchen. First she introduces us to the Italian cupboard -- essential ingredients that give Italian dishes their distinctive flavors. Then, for each category of food, she gives us a Primary Recipe, detailing the right cooking techniques, timing, seasoning, and finishing touches to achieve the perfect balance of taste and texture. Countless variations follow, enabling us to put into practice all we have learned. For example, once we have mastered Penne and Marinara Sauce, we can confidently whip up Linguine with Tuna and Pea Sauce or Rigatoni with Eggplant Sauce or Ziti with Sausage and Peppers. The perfect formula for making Veal Scaloppine with Lemon and Parsley invites us to use pork, chicken, or turkey, or to try rolled, stuffed, and breaded versions. Fresh fish and seafoods are roasted, sautéed, steamed, or braised according to what is the best for each species. The detailed instructions for Roasted Whole Red Snapper can be applied to small stuffed sardines; the formula for Sautéed Tuna Steaks with Prosciutto and Tomatoes works beautifully for Sautéed Monkfish Medallions with Pancetta and Cream. The same principle applies to vegetables, the glory of the Italian table. The right cooking techniques bring out the best in each seasonal offering, from Roasted Green Beans to Smothered Broccoli Rabe. The desserts she gives us are her own favorites, homey and simple to make -- light Semolina Pudding, “cooked creams” like the classic Panna Cotta, tender sponge cake (and its reincarnation in her version of Tiramisù), some fruit delights, and the formula for crisp biscotti. There are charts throughout to guide us in creating our own recipes out of the lessons we have learned. For Nancy Verde Barr, Italian cooking is musical and diverse, and recipes should be inspirations, not inflexible instructions. Now, with the tools she has given us, we can confidently reproduce that genuine Italian flavor. Barr (We Called It Macaroni) learned to cook from her Italian grandmother, who learned from her mother and her grandmother. With her latest book, Barr hopes to impart that familial knowledge and kitchen instinct to other cooks. She refers to her book as a primer and urges readers to draw on her techniques to improvise their own dishes that taste of Italy. To that end, she provides what she calls "Primary Recipes," detailed recipes that cover all the basics, and related recipes that build on them, along with charts on "Creating Your Own"-guidelines and proportions for putting together variations on these themes. Barr writes in a reassuring, "hands-on" style, describing the why and how for each recipe step and offering many useful tips along the way. Her opening chapter, "Flavors That Say `Italian,'" is an illustrated buying guide to ingredients, and each chapter begins with a thorough introduction; numerous boxes on all sorts of culinary topics add even more. Filled with delicious recipes and important information, Make It Italian is an essential purchase. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Make It Italian comes from Nancy Verde Barr, who has set herself a goal of weaning Americans away from restaurants to cook Italian food at home. She starts off with a careful inventory of Italian staples to provide cooks a common terminology and to ensure that her recipes turn out successfully. Current expanded availability of Italian meats and cheeses in groceries across America also helps to make many of these dishes possible to reproduce authentically-pancetta, porcini mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil are now common supermarket offerings. Barr presents key recipes and then shows how each element can be manipulated to take advantage of the day's freshest ingredients. Her analysis of pasta sauces ranks as a notable, concise summary of culinary theory as she explicates the role of cooking fats, central ingredients, liquids, and finishing flavors. Nevertheless, Barr isn't wed to rigorous tradition: her recipe for spaghetti with white clam sauce allows for Parmesan cheese, a horror to the Italian original. Fish cookery and meat courses follow authentic Italian principles of freshness and simplicity. Mark Knoblauch Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved ian . . . But how to achieve the genuine Italian flavor that we Americans love so much? According to Nancy Verde Barr, author of the incomparable We Called It Macaroni, the secret li