My fave!
I love this cookbook and I've used it at least weekly since I got it, about 10 years ago. Just tonight, I made the recipe for potato pancakes (to go with his sweet-and-sour brisket recipe from NYT). And, yes, it was a pretty simple recipe: grated potatoes and onion, eggs, matzoh meal, salt and pepper. But that is exactly why I love this cookbook -- most of the recipes are simple! And Bittman always gives you enough info on technique -- like medium heat, 1/8 inch oil, 5 min. on a side for the pancakes. And they were pefect -- a friend for dinner said so! That said, there are a few stinkers in the book, such as pork chops with orange and fennel. However, they are SO many more winners, and I do appreciate Bittman's general cooking philosophy, ... Read More
Best as a reference for technique
Since Mark Bittman emphasizes 'simple,' recipes often turn out bland or ho-hum. It seems that recipes were not always thoroughly tested, as cook times are frequently off, especially in regards to baked goods. Sometimes, Bittman's tone is condescending. He dismisses canned chicken broth over "water and a few vegetables" and insists that cream should be consumed unpasteurized and curry powder ground at home. While such observations may be true, they are not always realistic for the average cook without time to make absolutely everything from scratch.
Where How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food does shine, however, is in the amount of information it provides on techniques, tools, and ingredients. I purchased How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food when I first married and had little experience cooking. ... Read More
Excellent Basic Cookbook for the Home Cook
Every home cooking library needs at least one basic cook book and this is the one that I always recommend. I have been happily using this cookbook for 10 years. I love to cook but I work long hours and Bittman is amazing at producing simple delicious recipes that make it easier, more healthy and better tasting to create your own dinner from scratch than to eat out or pick up frozen dinners or prepared food. Even my extremely reluctant home cook friends - i.e., those who feel they should cook for their families but would really rather not - love this cookbook and in some cases it has modified their attitudes towards cooking. For me, in addition to being a great basic resource for quick and easy every day cooking, this cookbook has forever modified the way ... Read More
Wonderful book, badly constructed
We're on our third copy of How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. After the first two hardcover copies fell apart, we bought the paperback. Now that shows 1) that How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food has become indispensable in our kitchen, but also 2) that the hardcover version is shoddily made. We sent a note to the publisher but got no response. The publisher is not serving the great MB well.
The Minimalist writes a minimalist cookbook.
This is an excellent cookbook for a starting cook, and it is the first one I turn to when I have a pile of one type of vegetable. The recipes are very easy to follow, and it has clear and useful techniques.
That being said, quite a few recipes (especially baking) are very bland. Oatmeal cookies turn out with excellent color and texture, but almost no taste. I've had this experience multiple times for this cookbook, and neither my wife or I have any desire to bake from it again.
