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That's Italian!

We cut through the pasta to check out five Italian cookbooks and see which ones
can take the heat. . Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham.

According to Neil Simon, there are two laws in the universe: the law of gravity, and everybody likes Italian food. Perhaps that's why Italian cookbooks flood bookstore shelves every year like a sea of red sauce. But which book is best? To find out, I held an Italian cook-off in my own kitchen, following recipes for potato gnocchi from five well-known Italian cookbooks. My husband, Paolo, a native Italian and a lifelong gnocchi lover, served as a one-man judging panel.

How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan
(Scribner, $35)
I've always felt a kinship with Giuliano Hazan. My mother is a fabulous baker, which led me to wonder when I was younger whether people liked me for me or for her brownies. (Lest you think I exaggerate: A long-lost pal recently located me online, after two decades. "I think of you often," she e-mailed, "and of the amazing cookies your mother used to make.") Hazan's mother, Marcella Hazan, almost single-handedly introduced authentic Italian cooking to the United States with 1973's The Classic ­Italian Cook Book. That has to weigh on a guy.

But Hazan has more going for him than a famous last name. He can cook. His recipe produces cloudlike Yukon Gold potato gnocchi enrobed in a smooth and flavorful, if overly rich, Simple Butter and Tomato Sauce. (Hazan was the only author of the five to point out that gnocchi marry best with a smooth sauce.)