Category Archives: Marcella Hazan’s Musings

Language and cooking – home cooking that is – are vehicles for consciousness, the thing that makes us human

The world has many magnificent markets, of which I have seen a good number, but it has none like Rialto. Its stalls are lined up behind an embankment along a curve of the Grand Canal, displaying their contents in the open air.

How to describe the flavor of Rita’s food? Intense, yet subtle; penetrating, yet gentle; surprising, yet comforting; fragrant, aromatic, surging from deeper sources of savor than anyone else seems to have tapped.

There is nothing edible from the earth, the sea, or the sky that tastes so wonderful to me as a fully ripe, soft, sweet, and yes, messy fruit

We had our first taste of Sardinia some years ago at the Rialto food market in Venice, and it had the quality of revelation. Daniela, whose vegetable stall is our favorite, offered each of us a small, round, deep red tomato, about 1½ inches in diameter, its top dimpled and marked by splotches of vivid malachite green. “These are from Sardinia” she said. “Pop one into your mouth as though it were a cherry.”

Victor and I had a most succulent dinner today, but anyone who would ask what I cooked would be dismayed by the answer: boiled beef. Why does the word boiled […]

I would start with an introductory course on the spot. My son gives some in the wine country above Verona, see his website. I would then rent a small place […]

Marcella Hazan on being named one of the top cookbook authors of all time. August 16, 2010 Thank you my dear Friends for your kind messages and your loyalty. It […]