The best of the best and this is the go to reference for all things in Italian cooking. Although I have many, many Italian cookbooks this one stands out as the “best” and if I needed to decrease my collection to just a single book this one, without a doubt, would be the keeper. I own it in hard cover, paperback AND this electronic version. What can I say?

Marcella Hazan released two cookbooks in the 1970s, and then condensed them into this essential single volume in the early 1990s. It is every bit as relevant today, as it was in 1992. I won't bother to list the recipes in this book that have brought me joy over the years. But her Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter is a masterpiece. Elemental, and as simple and superb as anything Jony Ive would design. I consider it one of the essential cookbooks on my kitchen shelves, and even if the price seems high, you owe it to yourself and your family/friends to own this book. Really, it is that good.