From the beloved and best-selling ambassador for Italian culinary traditions in America, the ultimate master class: a beautifully produced definitive guide to Italian cooking--everything from ingredients to techniques to tools, plus 400 delectable recipes. Teaching has always been Lidia's passion, and in this magnificent book she gives us the full benefit of that passion and of her deep, comprehensive understanding of what it takes to create delicious Italian meals. Readers will learn all the techniques needed to master Italian cooking. Lidia introduces us to the full range of common ingredients--meats and fish, vegetables and fruits, grains, spices and condiments--and how to buy, store, clean, and cook with them. The 400 recipes run the full gamut from classics like Risotto alla Milanese and Tagliatelle with Wild Mushroom Sauce to Lidia's always-satisfying originals like Bread and Prune Gnocchi and Beet Ravoli in Poppy Seed Sauce. She gives us a comprehensive guide to the tools every kitchen needs to produce the best results. And she has even included a glossary of cuisine-related words and phrases that will prove indispensable for traveling in Italy and dining there. There is no other book like this one--it is the one book on Italian cuisine that every cook and every kitchen will need.