SC - Re: Amazon.com Delivers Giuliano Hazan

[DianaFiona at aol.com]

    Though ya'll might enjoy seeing this article by Marcella Hazan's son, 
especially since some of the things he says touch on some of our recent 
"cooking philosophy" discussions........... :-)

                Ldy Diana

In a message dated 5/3/00 7:44:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
cooking-editor at amazon.com writes:

<< Subj:     Amazon.com Delivers Giuliano Hazan
 Date:  5/3/00 7:44:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:  cooking-editor at amazon.com
 Sender:    editor-sender at amazon.com
 To:    dianafiona at aol.com (cooking-subscribers)
 
 
 Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Cooking
 
 
 Every Mother's Day we reflect on the valuable lessons
 learned at our mothers' sides, from beating egg whites to
 peeling potatoes. Now, imagine if your mother were Marcella
 Hazan, the godmother of Italian cooking in America! The
 lessons might include everything from polenta to pancetta. 
 To celebrate Mother's Day, Amazon.com Kitchen asked
 fortunate son Giuliano Hazan to share his memories of
 growing up in one of the most admired kitchens in the
 world--his mother's.
 
 You can find our new Kitchen store at
 http://www.amazon.com/kitchen
 
              ********
 
    What I Learned in My Mother's Kitchen
         by Giuliano Hazan
 
 My earliest memories of my mother's kitchen would probably
 be of the pots and pans I would regularly pull out of the
 cabinets, and of olive oil. I suspect the olive oil incident
 is more indelibly etched in my mother's memory than mine. 
 One day I decided to pour an entire bottle over myself, and
 the term "squirmy baby" took on new meaning for my mother.
 
 As I grew older, the kitchen continued to be one of my
 favorite places to hang out, and I was often perched on a
 stool watching my mother prepare our meals. Instinct and
 intuition play a very important role in cooking. I think I
 mostly learned to cook through osmosis while watching my
 mother cook. I got to help, too. I probably stirred my first
 risotto when I was tall enough to reach the pot!
 
 One of the things I learned was that once one got to know a
 dish, recipes were really only to be used as a guide. Except
 for desserts, my mother almost never measured. I remember
 she would say that if she had chopped a little too much
 garlic or onions she wasn't going to throw away the extra,
 she would just sauté it a little less. Or if she had chopped
 too little she would sauté it a little more. The most
 important ingredient in the kitchen, she would always say,
 was common sense.
 
 Just as important as watching my mother cook and helping
 whenever possible was sitting at the family table and eating
 what my mother had prepared. Accumulating those taste
 memories was indispensable to me when I started cooking for
 myself. Just as a painter or a sculptor has an image in his
 or her mind as they work, when I cook I am often recalling a
 taste or flavor that I am trying to recreate.
 
 What is probably the most important thing I learned is a
 love and respect for good food. It not only makes one of
 life's necessities more enjoyable but it brings a family
 together as well. Mealtimes were always a special part of
 our day, and they continue to be now that there are three
 generations at the table.
 
  >>