How to Cook Everything

Starred review from February 6, 2012
Food writer Bittman’s latest installment in his award-winning How to Cook Everything series gets back to basics. Once again, Bittman keeps it straightforward, providing another indispensable reference. He explains that in cooking “your basic skills provide the foundation. As you improve and gain confidence, you’ll become more creative.” His goal is to get everyone into the kitchen; this latest work inspires confidence and optimism in the kitchen, and novices especially will believe they can successfully make each and every dish. Instructive pictures accompany each technique and recipe, illustrating everything from peeling vegetables to searing meat or correctly mashing potatoes. Bittman begins by providing a list of essential ingredients for your cupboard and refrigerator, as well as a list of equipment needed to make every recipe in the book. Sections show how to hold a knife, how to chop and mince, and they also carefully explain roasting, broiling, and baking. Chapters include breakfast (scrambled, poached, and fried eggs); soups and stews (tomato, miso, and lentil); and meat, poultry, and seafood dishes such as perfect roast beef and chicken and rice. A wonderful book of perfectly simple recipes that every neophyte and experienced cook should have in their kitchen.

March 1, 2012
Bittman's gifts for focusing on a recipe's essence and for expressing expected outcomes become even more apparent in this latest addition to his list of cookbooks. He targets an audience of tyro cooks who may have no idea where to start in their quest to put good food on the table for themselves, family, or friends. Bittman provides a basic pantry inventory covering staples that cooks ought to have on hand. Assuming virtually no experience on his readers' part, he instructs in frequently disregarded methods of ingredient preparation as basic as rinsing. Photographed techniques illustrate true fundamentals, such as identifying a chicken's parts or demonstrating effects of different cooking methods on an asparagus stalk. Recipes extend widely from easy cooking for one through dinner-party fare, from elementary egg cooking up to fairly complex paella. As one would expect from Bittman, virtually every recipe comes with variations to inspire creative cooks to use their imaginations. To have what appear to be important appendixes in the final book, but unseen at this time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

March 14, 2005
The cheeky title on the latest from high-profile Bittman explains it all. Thirteen chefs—from four-starred Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud to the lesser known Kerry Simon of Las Vegas and James Boyce of Laguna Beach—present their recipes and then Bittman concocts simpler versions that use fewer ingredients and take less effort and time. The results vary. Michel Richard (of Citronelle in Washington, D.C.) offers a complex Layered Vitello Tonnato, and Bittman comes up with inspired Turkey (Tonnato) Sandwiches, which call for a tonnato-type sauce on turkey slices from the local deli. On the other hand, Anna Klinger (of Al Di La in New York City) presents Beet Ravioli with Butter and Poppy Seeds, and Bittman counters with Pasta with Savoy Cabbage, which has nothing in common with Klinger's dish except that it includes pasta. Thus the concept is a gimmick that at times compares apples and oranges. Nevertheless, with the continuing public adoration of trendy chefs and the more practical wish to prepare chef-worthy meals at home, this book will attract Bittman's legion of fans, who will be tuning in to this spring's PBS series upon which the book is based.

Starred review from December 29, 1997
There's a millennial ring to the title of Bittman's massive opus of more than 1000 basic recipes and variations as the widely known food writer ("The Minimalist" is a weekly column in the New York Times) and author (Fish) contributes to the list of recently published authoritative, encyclopedic cookbooks. He concedes that most accomplished cooks will find little new here, and indeed the recipes can be as simple as how to pop corn. His voice is a comfortable one, however, so the tone is less tutorial than, say, that of the newly revised Joy of Cooking. While much of the ground covered is familiar, Bittman offers inventive fare (Kale Soup with Soy and Lime) and reclaims formerly abandoned territory--his Creamy Vinaigrette calls for heavy cream. Pastas range from Spaghetti and Meatballs to Pad Thai. Similarly, sandwiches include both old favorites and fresh combinations, e.g., Curried Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Chutney and Arugula. Bittman's friends, he says, praise his Chicken Adobo as the best chicken dish in the world. He doesn't linger too long with beef because Americans are eating less of it; he remarks that a well-done hamburger is not worth eating. Vegetables are comprehensively addressed from Artichokes to Yuca, with attention paid to buying, storing and cooking methods well suited to each. Desserts are mostly homey, like Apple Brown Betty and Peaches with Fresh Blueberry Sauce, but there is also a Death-by-Chocolate Torte. The enormous breadth of recipes, the unusually modest price and Bittman's engaging, straightforward prose will appeal to many cooks looking for reliable help with--or reference to--kitchen fundamentals. Illustrations not seen by PW. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; simultaneous CD-ROM; 15-city author tour.

Starred review from September 1, 2008
Ten years have brought many changes to the U.S. culinary landscape, and Bittman's new edition of his contemporary classic reflects that, with hundreds of recipes added, out-of-date ones banished and few lines from the holdovers left untouched. The opening chapter offers invaluable new tips on basic kitchen equipment and techniques, and in the wake of the recent vegetarian version of the book, produce and legumes are now featured earlier and with more inspired meatless recipes. Overall, Bittman's globe-trotting palate shows even better than it did in the already quite international first edition, with intriguing recipes from every corner of the world. Considering these expansions, the most important change has been to the book's user-friendliness: a proliferation of charts, lists and boxes makes much more information immediately available—hardly a page goes by without an eye-catching sidebar about technique, a handy table organizing the basics of an ingredient or dish or the myriad suggestions of variations and new ways to think about a recipe that make it the best-value all-in-one volume available. At-a-glance coding to indicate what is fast to make, what can be made ahead and what is vegetarian, plus highlighted recipes that Bittman considers essential, help ensure that even with more of everything to cook, this massive tome is navigable. Whether the first edition is on their shelves or not, home cooks of all skill levels will want to get this one.

August 18, 2003
"I do not believe in 'miracle' recipes based on canned or dried soups, artificial mayonnaise, or powdered desserts," award-winning author Bittman declares in this handy cookbook, which gathers simple recipes from his beloved tome, How to Cook Everything."Real cakes begin with flour and butter, and real whipped cream does not come from a can." But Bittman's dedication to fresh food doesn't mean that he wants readers to spend their days sweating in the kitchen. Widely-known as the New York Times's"Minimalist" food writer, Bittman has made his reputation by providing recipes for easy-to-prepare dishes, and it's mostly these kinds of treats that readers will find in this cookbook; few of the recipes take more than an hour to prepare. Some, like Home Fried Potatoes or Caesar Salad, give good instructions for reliable staples. Others, like Overnight Waffles, suggest improvements on traditional dishes. However, even the most complicated recipes--Chicken Adobo, for example, or Vanilla Cream Pie--are well within the reach of the average home chef. Many of the recipes come with suggestions for variations or substitutions, as well as cooking tips. To make planning Saturday night meals easier, Bittman also includes 20 suggested menus, such as the Weekend Dinner with Good Friends (Potato Soup with Leeks; Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes and Olives; Couscous; and Caramelized Apple Tart).