How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

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How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 14,752 ratings · 530 reviews

How do you update a classic? For his bestselling, award-winning How to Cook Everythingthe modern bible of home cookingMark Bittman started from scratch, going page by page, recipe by recipe, carefully blending the best of the beloved original with appealing new recipes and fresh, current information. The result is an even more useful and authoritative cookbook, ready to

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Bittman has added hundreds of new dishes, and completely updated the remaining recipes and every line of guidance. New features abound: Each chapter now opens with "Essential Recipes," a section that highlights the core dishes for every cook's repertoire, such as building blocks for simple soups or ten ways to cook any seafood. He has also expanded the chapters on vegetables and fruits, grains, beans, and desserts. New charts will help you customize recipes with a variety of flavors and ingredients, and new how-to illustrations bring the total to nearly 400. With this revision, Bittman also tags fast, make-ahead, and vegetarian recipes with icons for easy menu planning.

The new How to Cook Everything provides a lifetime's worth of quick, simple, and delicious options. Its 2,000 recipes and variations cover everything from Pad Thai and Carrot Salad with Cumin to Simplest Whole Roast Chicken, Six Ways and Traditional Apple Pie. All of the recipes are easy to preparemore than half can be completed in 30 minutes (many in even less time)and none requires special equipment or fancy techniques. Throughout, the emphasis is on fresh, widely available ingredients and healthy, uncomplicated preparations.

As always, Bittman's recipes are instantly appealing, uniquely accessible, and refreshingly straightforward. And many of the special features you loved in the original are still here, too, fully updated. Bittman's thoughtful and inspiring sidebars and lists (like "Twenty-Five Pasta Sauces You Can Make in Advance") and suggested menus for every occasion make How to Cook Everything more valuable and indispensable than everthe one cookbook you need for fast and flavorful home-cooked food every day of the year.

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ebook, Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition, 1056 pages

Published October 3rd 2008 by John Wiley & Sons (first published January 1st 1998)

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May 08, 2012 Martin Earl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This could go on my "reading" shelf because I'm ALWAYS reading it. It is my standard starting point for any recipe search that I do. It is true that I don't always find everything I want (yes, we all know the title is hyperbole), but what I find is just great.

This book is the "Joy of Cooking" for a new generation. It has supplanted that venerable old institution, and presents the world of cooking in a way that can both engage the neophyte and interest the adept. And the fact that the recipes an...more This could go on my "reading" shelf because I'm ALWAYS reading it. It is my standard starting point for any recipe search that I do. It is true that I don't always find everything I want (yes, we all know the title is hyperbole), but what I find is just great.

This book is the "Joy of Cooking" for a new generation. It has supplanted that venerable old institution, and presents the world of cooking in a way that can both engage the neophyte and interest the adept. And the fact that the recipes and ideas contained within it are simple food makes it all the better. As the Minimalist, Bittman has practice making good food simply. If you want to make it more extravagant, you can; but these recipes act as a guide on the route to culinary self sufficiency.

Part of what I like so much is the pedagogic stance Bittman takes. Say I've avoided...oh, maybe...beans for years, but now want to cook them myself; he doesn't just throw a bunch of recipes at me, he talks about how to work with beans in general, noting specific exceptions and sticking points. He tells me about different types of beans and their flavors and "behaviors." This makes it an indispensable reference tool.

Another part of what I like is what has driven many people away form this book: its lack of glossy color pictures. Well done, I say! Though I love my Williams-Sonoma New American Cooking, with its close-up pictures of well presented delectibles, I find the photos can be distracting. So many cookbooks now are becoming photographic show ponies rather than culinary work horses. Where Bittman presents a technique that is hard to visualize, there are small, well drawn and useful illustrations. I think that's how it should be. If there are going to be photos, let them really show what's going on, like in Time-Life's The Good Cook series, or (if I remember correctly)the Culinary Institue of America's Garde Manger . Heck, even Cook's Illustrated only uses one postage stamp size color picture for each dish.
I guess what I mean to say is that I not only don't mind, but rather like the lack of pictures in this cookbook.

I love this book and will always keep it. Even though I am certainly no longer a novice in the kitchen, it still comes through for me all the time.(less)

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Jul 10, 2007 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: butter lovers, people who need a general reference cookbook

I first saw this cookbook in the kitchen of one of my favorite families, the Gambells, in New Haven, and the pages were falling out of the binding from extensive use - a pretty good recommendation. The reviews that say, "hm, these recipes are simple... almost minimalist" are funny... what did they expect from the author of "The Minimalist" column in the New York Times? Many friends of mine have complained about this, that the book doesn't go far enough beyond three-ingredient recipes. But from m...more

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Jun 18, 2007 Missy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, cookbooks

Okay, so, October is National Book Month, and there's a meme going around: what book do you want everyone to read, fiction and non-fiction. And why. So, this was my non-fiction book.

Why I want you to read this:

I know so many people who tell me they can't cook, they don't know how, it's too hard, and it's not. If I could teach all the people I know and love how easy it is to have real, good, actual food, I'd be a very happy woman. Since I can't come into your kitchens and show you how few steps i...more Okay, so, October is National Book Month, and there's a meme going around: what book do you want everyone to read, fiction and non-fiction. And why. So, this was my non-fiction book.

Why I want you to read this:

I know so many people who tell me they can't cook, they don't know how, it's too hard, and it's not. If I could teach all the people I know and love how easy it is to have real, good, actual food, I'd be a very happy woman. Since I can't come into your kitchens and show you how few steps it takes to make something that tastes fifteen times better than takeout and is so much better for you and costs half as much, I'll point you to Mark Bittman, who wrote the Minimalist column for the New York Times.

One of the good things about Bittman is that he doesn't cook the way your mother cooked. (If your mother *did* cook this way? Contact me immediately; I'm not too old for adoption.) He's clear and easy to read and he explains things and he generally makes me way less crazy than the Joy of Cooking (I own four copies of three different editions of that one, because people keep buying it for me, and I never use it. I don't even pick it up and read it. Yes. I read cookbooks for fun, but that's an entirely different post.)

Pick something that sounds too delicious, just one thing, and make it. And then pick something else. Put a post-it note on the ones that actually do turn out to be yummy. Write in the margins. Leave yourself notes that you really can't stand capers but everything else in this recipe rocked. Don't worry if the butter splatters on the page or the tomatoes drip. Brush it off, let it dry and see how many more pages you can get dirty.

Do I still eat take-out? Oh, hell, yes. But it's usually something I love but that the rest of the family is ambivalent about--curry or sushi or pesto (THERE'S GREEN STUFF ON YOUR SPAGHETTI, MOM, WOW THAT'S NASTY.) And most of the time, when I'm dead-tired from work, it's still faster to make soup and muffins than it is to call out for delivery, or stop somewhere and get something.

And yeah, I subscribe to the Food Is Love way of life, but not in that psychotic, OMG, if you don't eat 5 helpings of everything she's slaved in the kitchen to make, you hate your mother/grandmother/crazy Aunt Sally way. It's love in the way that you're important and valuable enough to deserve something that tastes fabulous and nourishes you.

/rant
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Apr 02, 2013 Jonathan Peto rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookbooks

I've had this for a few years (Thanks Santa) and have done more reading than cooking, my fault, probably a crime. I've renamed it How to Cook Nothing, but now that my wife is returning to work soon I'll be trying out many more recipes. I expect success. I already know the little food essays that dot the pages and open the chapters are excellent, because the writing is clear, learned, and vivid. Like familiar ingredients that combine to create something scrumptious or surprising, the simple chapt...more

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Apr 02, 2008 Louis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who do not have much experience cooking but want to learn and dreams of becoming good.

There are many different types of cookbooks. The most basic type is a collection of recipes, presumably built around some theme. Another type is the picture book, filled with pages of pictures of beautiful gourmet dishes. Then there are the celebrity chefs, with books that promise something akin to what you can get from their restaurants, or results like their TV shows. I have one cookbook that is basically a travelogue, beckoning the reader to distant exotic lands. But the one that every househ...more There are many different types of cookbooks. The most basic type is a collection of recipes, presumably built around some theme. Another type is the picture book, filled with pages of pictures of beautiful gourmet dishes. Then there are the celebrity chefs, with books that promise something akin to what you can get from their restaurants, or results like their TV shows. I have one cookbook that is basically a travelogue, beckoning the reader to distant exotic lands. But the one that every household is supposed to have, is the big, basic cookbook. The one that has a general range and, more importantly, general instructions on cooking technique and everything that has to do with a kitchen, without assuming that the reader has learned everything at her grandmother's knee (especially the readers that are not a 'her'). This latter type includes classics like The Joy of Cooking and the Betty Crocker's Cookbook. And Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (HTCE): Simple Recipes for Great Food.

Mark Bittman opens the book with a general statement of philosophy which identifies his audience. In this case, his audience are precisely those who are starting from nothing, new households of people who did not grow up learning from their mothers and grandmothers on how to cook. Second, it is aimed at those who desire to cook, not necessarily gourmet, but food that is good, and not complicated. And because his readers are assumed to be starting from no base, Bittman takes on the role of teacher, not just a publisher. And as a professor (lit. one who professes) he has opinions that he shares, based on his philosophy that cooking can be done, and there is no value in making things harder, more complicated, more fancy, then necessary. The assumption is that people who want something like this, will also know how to find it elsewhere. The first section is basically a tour through the kitchen, equipment, basic ingredients, and basic techniques. All this with advice on what was necessary, and what was optional. No doubt there is room for disagreement. But for someone starting from nothing, the opinions given are useful. And once people learn more and gain more skills, they can form their own opinions starting from what he gives.

So, how are the recipes? There are many cookbooks that I avoid because their too complicated, many due to the shear number of ingredients required. HTCE does not have this problem. It does not go as far as a 5 ingredient list, but the ingredients are constrained to a number that someone without a full spice rack could conceivably have. Throughout the book, there are tips on how to work with various ingredients. In addition, there would be a small essay for major meat and vegetables.

So far, I've probably done a couple dozen recipes over the past couple years. Some for myself, some just me and my fiancee, some for a group. I have found the recipes to be complex enough to be interesting and worthy of something nice, but easy enough so I can gauge difficulty and effort from reading alone, (I only have limited background in cooking). In contrast, I find most cookbooks on the market to be way to simple (and just a list of recipes) or overly complicated and impractical (especially for someone who lives alone and would end up throwing out most of the purchased ingredients as they spoiled.)

I think HTCE a very good baseline cookbook. For the starter, Bittman teaches without intimidation, the recipes are complex enough to impress (if that is the goal), but basic enough to be achievable. The advice and options given are enough that the reader can understand how to adapt and experiment, and thus learn how to cook to a level that should satisfy anyone, and a jumping off point to learn in the future.(less)

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Feb 18, 2012 Joey Comeau rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is exactly what it promises! It's a huge block of a book, and walks you through the very basics of almost everything. Which is exactly what I needed.

I've eaten out almost every single meal since 2006 or so, and this book made a daunting task seem manageable. Not only was I starting to cook again, but I also had to buy dishes, pots, measuring cups. This book was very clear about what a person needed and what they could do without at first.

There is also the "How to cook everything vegeta...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food

I went to the used book store the other day with some cast-off hard-backs to trade in. I shoved several lounging cats aside, and found all 944 pages of this tome. The shiny "Julia Child Cookbook Award" and "James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award Winner" stickers intrigued me. So did the Washington Post quote, "Think of it as a more hip Joy of Cooking"
Them's fightin' words. I'm a Joy devotee. But flipping through, I was intrigued. I like the illustrations, the larger print, the informative lists a...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Darren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cookery-food, gen-ebooks

This is another mammoth of a cookbook that seeks to be a complete reference source, featuring 2000 recipes and a wealth of information about cooking in practice.

Consideration has been given to everything it seems, even the differences between cooking at high and low altitudes and how this can affect the boiling point of water. That is, believe it or not, the very first piece of information that appears in this book (if you disregard the cover!).��

This is not the first version of this book, whi...more This is another mammoth of a cookbook that seeks to be a complete reference source, featuring 2000 recipes and a wealth of information about cooking in practice.

Consideration has been given to everything it seems, even the differences between cooking at high and low altitudes and how this can affect the boiling point of water. That is, believe it or not, the very first piece of information that appears in this book (if you disregard the cover!).��

This is not the first version of this book, which has previously been critically-acclaimed, but it has undergone a total, major revision in the process. With a book of this size that must be no mean feat. Despite being such a comprehensive book the overall style is a mixture of friendly/informative. The description given for the first chapter "Kitchen Basics" probably says it all. "What do you need to know - and own - to make great meals? Not much." After 20 pages of condensed, important information that gives you an intense primer about equipment, knives, ovenware, cutting meat and other knife skills and 11 essential cooking techniques you get to the recipes.

Even here you are not just thrown into the deep as you get to the chapters: sauces, condiments, herbs and spices; appetisers; soups; sandwiches and pizza; salads; vegetables and fruits; beans; grains; pasta, noodles and dumplings; fish and shellfish; poultry; meat; eggs, breakfast and dairy; bread and desserts. Each chapter is structured and features a lot of associated information to inform and educate as you go along.

The recipes appear simple to follow and are structured in a very pleasing manner. First you get a typical serving size, an approximation of time (prep and cook, hurrah!), a little overview, ingredients list, very detailed instructions and then even various customisation tips and suggestions as relevant.

The author even finds space to give suggested menus, a list of the author's 102 essential recipes, 100 top fast recipes, 100 top make-ahead recipes, 100 top vegetarian recipes, various further reading resources and an index that is bursting at the seems with its information. Probably all but the kitchen sink, or that is how it feels.

This is not one of those low cost, tightly-printed, 1000 recipes for five dollar-type books. It is a bulky, considerable resource that will probably last you a lifetime. You may consider it one of the foundation pillars of your kitchen or library. Whilst you could survive with just one cookbook (of this kind) it will probably inspire you to cook more and more, explore different ingredients and cuisine genres... and invariably buy more books along the way.

How to Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes for Great Food, written by Mark Bittman and published by John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780764578656, 1044 pages. Typical price: Varies. YYYYY

This is a RETROspective review of a previously-published book that, whilst not new on the market, is still available and the review has been made of the book as it stands today.

// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
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Oct 06, 2011 Merinda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is amazing. I borrowed it from the library, and after having it in my home for less than a week I decided we needed to own it.

Nearly everything I can think of to cook I can find here. Everything. And every recipe is simple and teaches basic concepts of cooking and variations that you can take and run with. Some of my favorites so far are fried rice with pork and shrimp, biscuits made with yogurt (better than our old family recipe), gazpacho and olive oil salt bread (so fast!). He does...more This book is amazing. I borrowed it from the library, and after having it in my home for less than a week I decided we needed to own it.

Nearly everything I can think of to cook I can find here. Everything. And every recipe is simple and teaches basic concepts of cooking and variations that you can take and run with. Some of my favorites so far are fried rice with pork and shrimp, biscuits made with yogurt (better than our old family recipe), gazpacho and olive oil salt bread (so fast!). He does have a conspicuous lack of good Mexican recipes (the fajita recipe is just plain wrong!), but he more than makes up for it in a bounty of great Asian and Mediterranean recipes, breads, bean and salad recipes. He even tells you how to cook a duck simply!

When I got married 12 years ago, my husband brought "The Joy of Cooking" to the marriage and referred to it often. We recently got rid of that book because everything in it was so stuffy and complicated, so useless for a busy family. This book provides what we hoped "The Joy of Cooking" would provide us, showing us how joyful cooking can be when you keep it simple.

I think his mantra he writes about in the NY Times and elsewhere—the idea that our culture has gotten away from cooking simply because we complicate it—is spot on. In this book he practices what he preaches, giving every person the know-how to make pretty much everything they can think of, simply.

My favorite quotes from the introduction:

"Everyday cooking is not about striving for brilliance but about preparing good, wholesome, tasty, varied meals for the ones you love. This is a fundamentally satisfying pleasure. Your results need not be perfect to give you this gift, to which all humans are entitled."

"Convenience foods supposedly attest to how busy we are: 'I don't have time to cook.' My job, my quest, is to demonstrate the opposite: that you DO have time to cook and that the rewards are so great that you'll never regret the time spent doing it. Though we may gain marginal amounts of time by buying and eating prepared and take-out foods, we lose the delights of working in the kitchen, the wonders of creating, the pleasures of time spent in the honest pursuit of tradition and the nourishment of our bodies and those of our family."

Well done, Mr. Bittman. Here's to hoping your book will change our world.(less)

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Oct 31, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I got this book, it was being billed as the new Joy of Cooking (maybe it still is), a basic cookbook that covers everything from how to cook to what to cook. And, for the most part, it is. The directions are simple, Bittman clearly explains everything from the type of pots and pans you should have to the basics of cooking meat. At the same time, I find that I rarely use this book, unless I'm looking for a simple recipe for vegetables or salad dressing or something else that is to serve as a...more

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Aug 25, 2009 Steven Peterson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On page xi, Mark Bittman lays things out: "Anyone can cook, and most everyone should. It's a sorry sign that many people consider cooking 'from scratch' an unusual and even rare talent. In fact, cooking is a simple and rewarding craft, one that anyone can learn and even succeed at from the get-go."

There are the usual features in this cookbook (and welcome for all that): ingredients that ought to be in your kitchen (page xiii),equipment, techniques (such as grilling, broiling, roasting, sauteing...more On page xi, Mark Bittman lays things out: "Anyone can cook, and most everyone should. It's a sorry sign that many people consider cooking 'from scratch' an unusual and even rare talent. In fact, cooking is a simple and rewarding craft, one that anyone can learn and even succeed at from the get-go."

There are the usual features in this cookbook (and welcome for all that): ingredients that ought to be in your kitchen (page xiii),equipment, techniques (such as grilling, broiling, roasting, sauteing, etc.).

Then, to the recipes. . . . The first section here focuses (as one might guess) on appetizers. One of these is stuffed mushrooms, which provides a recipe close to that of my wife's family. I can say that the end result is delicious (the key: making sure that it does not get too dry when being cooked). Next, soups. The section starts out nicely with a description of how to make stock. You use bouillon cubes? Bittman says (page 44): "As for bouillon cubes, forget it. You're better off with water and a few extra vegetables." Late on, he addresses meats.

He begins by nicely identifying where the different cuts of beef and pork are, and the characteristics of each (with beef, from chuck to round, from brisket to loin). The recipes for beef are straightforward. This is not Emeril Lagasse or Martha Stewart (each of whom plays a useful role in providing information on cooking). The recipes are "everyday" stuff. For example, his "Grilled steak, American-style" could not be easier to make. Pork chops? On page 457 and after, he describes how to sautee pork chops eight different ways. With apples or with sherry and garlic or with dried fruit or. . . . He discusses stir frying and how to make it work.

Vegetables? He describes the different ways of cooking them and then provides recipes. I have come to really enjoy veggies, after spending my first two decades resisting eating them. There are a series of nice recipes for, to illustrate, asparagus, which is one of my favorites.

All in all, then, a nice cookbook for people who want to cook for themselves and may not be interested in more complicated recipes and cooking. (less)

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Apr 17, 2013 Dana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: absolutely everyone with a kitchen

Shelves: non-fic

This is my favorite cookbook of all time. And I have a lot of cookbooks. I ordered myself a copy of this book when I was newly married, living in a house with the biggest kitchen I had ever had, but still completely overwhelmed by the thought of cooking dinner every. single. night. And it was a lifesaver. I actually read it when it arrived, because the beginning of it, as well as the beginning of each section, provides incredibly valuable advice. For example, he lists essential kitchen equipment...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Rebecca Dale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: she-cooks

My copy has gotten so much mileage, the binding is cracked and bedraggled papers fly out of it every time I pick it up. Must remember to replace. This is the book you grab when you think, "Now how do you make _________?" Mark Bittman gets to the point and presents reliable instructions for basic recipes that American cooks need on a regular basis and he includes numerous ingredient additions/variations. He taught me how easy it is to make Frittate, that spaghetti sauce with ground meat is better...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Catherine Woodman added it · review of another edition

When a section of our first edition of this book kept falling out (and I noticed the same section falls out at a couple of my friends houses--the edition was perhaps not well crafted), my first and only thought was to get another copy--and the new edition was out, and this one is if possible even better than the first one--this is the new Joy of Cooking for us--the cookbook that we turn to when we want to make anything that we don't know how to make, as well as the source of all basic recipes--t...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Jean rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Simple breakdowns of classics with very interesting twists. We did the "Adult's Birthday Dinner." Here's the breakdown of the recipes I've eaten and the cookbook club cooks who cooked them.

Molly - Spicy Lentil Soup: Definitely one to recreate on a chilly Sunday. I love hearty vegetarian fare.

Molly - Sicilian Onion Pizza: Great crust, better than I expected toppings Surprisingly mellow considering the volume of onions involved.

Sheela - Catfish with Brown Butter: (was supposed to be Skate but Sk...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Tiffany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Best all around cookbook ever! This is my go to book when I need information and a recipe for a new ingredient, or a recipe for an old classic, or to find something to make with what I have on hand. This would be the perfect gift for someone just setting up their own place. Bittman's clear, concise writing and simple approach to good food make it easy for the novice cook to read and use.

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Feb 21, 2013 Smoke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: novice cooks

Shelves: reference-often, food

it's not often you take out a cookbook and read it for pleasure. yep, it's that good. i read somewhere that it, along with the joy of cooking, is on some "must have" list of most of the chefs i'd heard of, so i thought i'd check both of those books out. had i known how comprehensive this one is, i wouldn't have bothered to get "joy." it assumes no prior knowledge, and focuses on techniques for improvising your own meals, rather than following recipes. however, there are tons recipes in there too...more

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Jan 17, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This (and it's companion, HTCE Vegetarian) quickly became two of my go-to cookbooks last year and helped me explore outside my usual cooking realms. I'd set HTCE (and HTCEV) aside and fallen back into a cooking rut. Last weekend I pulled HTCE back out, and was reminded again how great it is. I love the format of the basic recipe followed by adaptations that can be made to the basic one - for me, those get me thinking about other variations that might be excellent as well. Plus, HTCE *finally* he...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Dianna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dianna by: Julia S

Truly simple recipes. Julia turned me on to this guy, and this book is full of the kind of recipes you can read once and remember without having to keep referring back. I have a shelf full of cookbooks (really the only type of book I still buy), but in two weeks I've cooked more things out of this one book than all the rest combined.

I cooked brussel sprouts for the first time in my life: loved them! Bittman suggests that brussel sprouts were made for bacon... I have to agree. He gives a chart (...more

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Aug 29, 2007 Jill rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: just-can-t-read-it-anymore

I actually ended up returning this. But you must understand that I don't cook. I just couldn't get into a cookbook where there were no pictures to show me what I'm doing wrong. Even Lean Cuisine has a picture on the box, so I know if my meal is too freezer burned to be edible.

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Dec 04, 2012 Cynthia Brooks rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cookbooks

Mark Bittman's are the first and only cookbooks I have had where I felt like I was learning how to cook and not just follow a recipe. I love how he gives the basic recipe and then variations, e.g. here's chicken soup, now change a couple of ingredients and it's Asian chicken soup, or substitute this for that and it's Mexican chicken soup. So you start to understand what the fundamental elements of a dish are, and what can you play with. As someone who needs structure and is somewhat fearful of e...more

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Feb 11, 2010 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: what-s-cookin-hot-stuff

Does NOT tell you how to cook EVERYTHING

Shoes? Monkey wang? No recipes for those.

Still, a very good reference book and the recipes are pretty easy.

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Aug 08, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the three cookbooks everyone should own (the others are The Joy of Cooking and Fannie Farmer). I almost always use this cookbook to plan my weekly grocery list. The beans and pasta sections have helped me survive the past few years on a grad student budget while still eating well. His suggestions for modifying recipes are a plus for budget cooks, since he almost always suggests a relatively cheap ingredient or two (can't afford to make penne with tomato-shrimp sauce this week? maybe penne...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Adam Lubin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: theoretically-still-reading

Mr Bittman is undoubtedly one of my true heroes. Where my tiny kitchen and I would be without him, I know not.

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Aug 05, 2012 Bethany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cookbooks

I love to cook and I love to collect recipes. But I only have a few handfuls of cookbooks, and this is one of my favorites. While he may not include everything, it's Pretty Damn Close. Confident cooks can wing it from many of his recipes, and non-confident cooks can learn to be more so.
Love the index, love the menu planning sections. Love the intro to each chapter telling you how to select/handle/identify some of the ingredients in that chapter. Never heard of quinoa or chayote? This book will...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Michelle Gerry

Shelves: cookbook, own, favorite

Everyone should own a goto reference cookbook. For a long time this was my betty crocker cookbook i got when i got married. but that book has died from over use (was once even used as a trivet). This book is my new goto cookbook. Bittman has lots of opinions and sound advice on everything. I don't always agree with everything, but it's a terrific starting place.

One item of note for those of us at higher altitude, beware the chocolate chip cookie recipes need adjustment. (I've finally just wrote...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: oft-recommended

There is nothing that, together, The Bittman and I can't cook together. Ice cream, black beans, beets, quiche, chickpea dishes of all sorts, roast chicken... it's easy enough for someone still learning her way around the kitchen to understand, but the flavors and concepts and flexibility of the recipes lend themselves well to someone with more skill. And he covers, really, EVERYTHING. It's great! I can buy random stuff at the grocery store and not worry in the slightest, because MB and I will ta...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is by far my favorite cookbook. My mom gave it to me several years ago when I was just starting to cook and it has taught me everything. It is still my number one reference when trying out something new. The writing is very fluid and entertaining; I've found Sam reading through it several times while I had it out for a recipe. I'd highly recommend it to anyone learning to cook and to more experienced cooks looking for a good background reference. The recipes are all very straightforward wit...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Arlette rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can Thomas Keller the hell out when I feel like it, but when I'm trying to figure out what to do with a jar of egg whites, a pint of homemade mayo, some leeks and the whole fish I bought at the market on impulse; or when I'm brain-dead after work or in one of those odd depressive fits that occasionally move through my brainscape like a storm front, when just remembering to feed myself feels like a small victory; this reminds me how to turn stuff into food, reliably and with minimal fuss. Since...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Caitlin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am a person who gives books as presents. It's fortunate that my son loves reading as much as everyone else in my family because he's gotten many books as presents over the years. When he was here to see me this summer he expressed an interest in some cookbooks. He's living in a dorm that is set up like an apartment so cooking is a new necessity. I gave me the copy of The Joy of Cooking that my father gave me (this was probably the second or third copy - for awhile there I tended to walk away f...more

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About Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman is an American food journalist and author. He writes a weekly column for The New York Times dining section called The Minimalist.

In 2009 Bittman published Food Matters discussing the topics of environmental challenges, lifestyle diseases, and the overproduction and over consumption of meat, simple carbohydrates, and junk food.

Bittman is married to New York Times graphic designer and a...more

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Books by Mark Bittman

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes

The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living

Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less

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“[C]onvenience is one of the two dirty words of American cooking, reflecting the part of our national character that is easily bored; the other is 'gourmet.' Convenience foods demonstrate our supposed disdain for the routine and the mundane: 'I don't have time to cook.' The gourmet phase, which peaked in the eighties, when food was seen as art, showed our ability to obsess about aspects of daily life that most other cultures take for granted. You might only cook once a week, but wow, what a meal.” — 3 people liked it

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