One phrase summarized Marcella Hazan's cooking philosophy: "What you keep out is just as important as what you put in." She was best known for recipes listing no more than five ingredients. Yet before you can cook like Marcella, you must know how to shop. From artichokes to zucchini, anchovies to ziti, this book offers succinct, practical advice on how to choose vegetables, pasta, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto, and all of the key elements...

Marcella Hazan is known as America's godmother of Italian cooking. The owner of her own cooking schools, and author of bestselling and award-winning cookbooks, she has collected invitations to cook at top restaurants around the world.

Her story begins in Alexandria, Egypt, where an early childhood accident would alter the course of her life and bring her family back to her father's native Italy for medical treatment. In Italy, Marcella was

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