Commandments of Italian cooking

-Start with fresh ingredients.

-Cook with the calendar - in-season produce tastes best.

-Make friends with your cheese seller - learn names of Italian cheeses and how to buy and use them.

-Master how not to follow a recipe.

-Taste as you cook.

-Many Italian recipes begin by sauting vegetables in olive oil. Don't rush this step. It builds flavor.

-Be frugal. Italians believe the maxim, "waste not, want not."

Source: "Italian Cooking for Dummies," by Cesare Casella and Jack Bishop