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RIP Marcella Hazan....


Martin Fisher

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Mark Bittman just tweeted that Marcella Hazan has passed- so sad!

Mark Bittman ‏@bittman 4m
"RIP Marcella Hazan, one of the true cooking greats in US history. Died this morning, Longboat Key, FL"

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I know there are people who make fun of her and her strict ways, but when I started cooking 40 years ago, her first few books taught me so much about Italian food, lifestyle and cooking. I still use them as references.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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If you're a cook, there are probably any number of people who helped shape your cooking chops. There's family, of course - grandmother, mother, father, etc. And there are probably some TV personalities too; I always loved watching Julia, Jacques, Pierre, Graham, Jeff, James, Yan, etc. Nowadays, god forbid, it's Rachael and Guy, but that's another complaint and another post, and if they're shaping your cooking chops, maybe you should be, I dunno, drinking?



And then there are the cookbooks and their authors. When I started cooking (I mean, other than helping my mother bake cakes and making scrambled eggs and stuff when I was 7), I took some cooking classes and I taught myself by buying and reading cook books. One of the first, if not the first Italian cookbook that I bought, read and studied was The Classic Italian Cook Book. Released in 1973, I read it cover to cover, many times over. I still turn to it, for inspiration, guidance and just because it's a great read. I mean, look at these lines from the preface:



Nothing significant exists under Italy's sun that is not touched by art. Its food is twice blessed because it is the product of two arts, the art of cooking and the art of eating. The art of cooking produces the dishes, but it is the art of eating that transforms them into a meal.


Marcella Hazan passed away this morning at the age of 90 (and if that's not an endorsement for the art of eating well, I don't know what is), and the world of cooking has lost one of its greats.



RIP Marcella. And thanks for all the lessons you taught me...



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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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One of my favorite recipes - so simple, and so good.

Marcella Hazan's Braised Celery with Onion, Pancetta, and Tomatoes

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I saw her husband's post on Facebook this morning, and expressed my condolences; then kept hoping maybe it was not true. :(

Which is why I came here, hoping against hope but no. It's true.

Her writing style, to me poetic and lyrical - made her books and recipes so much more appealing and inviting. I don't like losing my heroes. Now I fear the loss of Maida Heatter, since she is older than Ms Hazan and completely and utterly eschews technology.

I am going to spend the afternoon going through all my Marcella books and choose something to make for dinner tonight to celebrate a life well lived.

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Sad.

I once had the privilege of eating a meal cooked by Marcella herself.It was superb.

It was many years ago at the Beringer winery in Napa valley where Marcella was their celebrity chef at the time. I don't remember the individual courses, but I do remember that it was a superb meal.

I have her books and still use them.

Its a pity that we're slowly losing some of my food heroes.

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I am going to spend the afternoon going through all my Marcella books and choose something to make for dinner tonight to celebrate a life well lived.

As I posted on my Facebook page, coincidentally or not last night I made pasta with herbs and raw tomatoes. The first time I made it was August 27, 1989 - over 24 years ago. It's a recipe from Marcella's Italian Kitchen.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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So sad. My copy of the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is split and half with pages falling out, many marked with notes.

Her introductory comments on techniques and ingredients really helped me find myself as a cook - and they don't just apply to Italian food.

Viva la strict.

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So sad. My copy of the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is split and half with pages falling out, many marked with notes.

Her introductory comments on techniques and ingredients really helped me find myself as a cook - and they don't just apply to Italian food.

Viva la strict.

Amen. I love that she is so strict about technique. I learned so much from her books and magazine articles.

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When - 35 years ago - I met the very Italian man who is my husband one of the next things I did was buy Ms Hazan's first book. Followed, in time, by all the others. Even though I know many of the recipes by heart I still pull them out often - sometimes just to read. She is a role model - it seems that she had a long, productive and, I hope, very happy life.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Cicero

But the library must contain cookbooks. Elaina

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also sad. I too learned most of what i know about Italian from her books. many thumbed through, some loaned and not returned and replaced.

I envy DH for the meal he had at the winery. the first generation of great cooks as teachers is passing. they taught me much that I now know.

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She was to Italian cooking for Americans what Julia Child was to classic French cooking. I had the very great pleasure of meeting her in Atlanta in the late 1980s, where she was opening a restaurant. I did the lease for it, and was presented with a personally autographed copy of "Marcella's Italian Kitchen" for my effort. (The restaurant was terrific but badly managed and ultimately sold, but is still going strong today.) I will remember her always for the quote to the effect that black truffles are something to be eaten only when white truffles are not in season. Amen and Godspeed on your final journey, Marcella...

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Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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She was to Italian cooking for Americans what Julia Child was to classic French cooking...

She had an impact far beyond America. I bought a copy of the metricated version of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" in 1980. This was the first of many Italian cookbooks that I bought but unlike many of my earlier cookbooks is one that I still use today.

Rest in Peace Marcella, you had a significant global impact bringing authentic Italian cooking to those of us outside Italy and will be missed.

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Nick Reynolds, aka "nickrey"

"The Internet is full of false information." Plato
My eG Foodblog

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I was pleased to see that the Times obit was as simple and straightforward as the woman herself. Victor fixing the trofie and pesto with basil from their terrace brought a tear to my eye. His greatness and contribution should not be lost on anyone, either. If you read her autobiography, you come to understand that he was not always the easiest person on earth as spouses go, but they shared a passion for food, wine and life that we should all be blessed with...

Bill Klapp

bklapp@egullet.com

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I was pleased to see that the Times obit was as simple and straightforward as the woman herself. Victor fixing the trofie and pesto with basil from their terrace brought a tear to my eye. His greatness and contribution should not be lost on anyone, either. If you read her autobiography, you come to understand that he was not always the easiest person on earth as spouses go, but they shared a passion for food, wine and life that we should all be blessed with...

So true, Bill. I'm pretty sure she wasn't that easy as spouses go either.

Russ Parsons' obit in the LA Times is nicely written as well.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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She was to Italian cooking for Americans what Julia Child was to classic French cooking...

She had an impact far beyond America. I bought a copy of the metricated version of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" in 1980. This was the first of many Italian cookbooks that I bought but unlike many of my earlier cookbooks is one that I still use today.

Rest in Peace Marcella, you had a significant global impact bringing authentic Italian cooking to those of us outside Italy and will be missed.

Rereading this thread - I'd like to get a copy of that book with metric weights - very cool.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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She was to Italian cooking for Americans what Julia Child was to classic French cooking...

She had an impact far beyond America. I bought a copy of the metricated version of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" in 1980. This was the first of many Italian cookbooks that I bought but unlike many of my earlier cookbooks is one that I still use today.

Rest in Peace Marcella, you had a significant global impact bringing authentic Italian cooking to those of us outside Italy and will be missed.

Rereading this thread - I'd like to get a copy of that book with metric weights - very cool.

It was the Macmillan (Papermac) edition that was adapted by Anna Del Conte.

Nick Reynolds, aka "nickrey"

"The Internet is full of false information." Plato
My eG Foodblog

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