How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food (Hardcover)

by Mark Bittman (Author), Alan Witschonke (Illustrator) "You can spend tens of thousands of dollars on kitchen equipment, or you can spend a couple of hundred bucks and be done with it..." (more)
Key Phrases: garnish with minced cilantro, will relax the dough, other neutral oil, All-Purpose Curry Powder, Basic Pesto, Broiled Chicken Cutlets (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Mark Bittman, award-winning author of such fundamental books as Fish and Leafy Greens and food columnist for the New York Times ("The Minimalist"), has turned in what has to be the weightiest tome of the year. There are more than 900 pages in this sucker--over 1,500 recipes! This isn't just the big top of cookbooks: it's the entire three-ring circus. This isn't just how to cook everything: it's how to cook everything you have ever wanted to have in your mouth. And then some.

Bittman starts with Roasted Buttered Nuts and Real Buttered Popcorn, and moves right along, section by section, from the likes of Black Bean Soup (eight different ways), to Beet and Fennel Salad, to Mussels (Portuguese-style over Pasta), to Cream Scones--and he hasn't even reached seafood, poultry, meat, or vegetables yet, let alone desserts. There are 23 sections in this cookbook (!) that reflect directly on the how-to of cooking, be that equipment, technique, or recipe.

Every inch of the way the reader finds Bittman's calm, helpful, encouraging voice. "Anyone can cook," he says at the beginning, "and most everyone should." More than a few college kids are going to head off to their first apartments with Bittman's book under arm. More than a few marriages will benefit with this book on the shelf. And anyone who loves cooking and the sound of a great food voice is going to enjoy letting this book fall open where it may. No matter what the page, it's bound to be a tasty and rewarding experience. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly
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.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028610105
• ISBN-13: 978-0028610108
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.2 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (386 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

262 of 265 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful and fun, December 3, 1999

By	Tim Himes (Gilbert, AZ) - See all my reviews

"How to Cook Everything" is one of the more useful cookbooks I've owned. Each type of food has a "Basics" section that includes lots of preparation tips. The recipes themselves are detailed enough for beginners, and not so esoteric that you have to make a trip to a specialty grocery store every time you want to cook something. Especially helpful are the suggestions for expanding on each dish. For example, after the basic Chicken Kebab recipe, there are four modifications, including Chicken Kebabs in Yogurt-Cumin Sauce.

I'm relearning the way I prepare even the most basic things, like sandwiches and scrambled eggs. Who would have thought scrambled eggs could be so good? And the Pan-Grilled steak has weaned me from the backyard grill forever. No other cookbook would warn you that "clouds of smoke will instantly appear; do not turn down the heat." That bit of fear that your fire alarm will go off at any second just adds spice to the whole cooking experience.

The breadth of this book is amazing. Besides having nearly every type of Western cooking you can imagine, it also has recipes from Japan, India, Thailand, and... you get the idea.

There is one drawback -- this book has no photos, just a few hand-drawn illustrations. However, the book is so big that if it did have photos, it would cost much more.

249 of 261 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag for clued - in chefs, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

I had a tough time deciding on a simple "star" rating for Mark Bittman's giant yellow cookbook. On the one hand, I haven't been consistently impressed with every single recipe I've tried. I've certainly had better luck with Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook or even with Joy of Cooking when I really want something to knock my socks off. The recipes alone get three or three and a half stars. All are good, few are spectacular.

On the other hand, some of the recipes really are quite excellent, and even though I'm a more experienced cook than many twenty-going-on-thirty-somethings, I find that the depth of reference information in How to Cook Everything is really outstanding. There are pages and pages on such topics as whether or not to presoak beans, how to shop for fish, and at least one nice basic way to prepare just about every vegetable under the sun. For depth of background and reference, Bittman deserves five stars.

All in all, I would actually say this is a good addition to most kitchens, even for those with more experience than those at which the book is obviously aimed, and if you comb through all the recipes carefully you'll probably find plenty that is worth cooking.

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners and Experts Alike!, March 27, 2000

By	Merrill Mattie - See all my reviews

As someone who is learning to cook only late in her life, I was apprehensive and embarrassed about asking simple basic questions of friends and family. Perceiving this, my parents gave me this cookbook, and voila! -- I can cook!

With step-by-step instructions on everything from cookware, ingredients, buying, preapring, cooking, and serving, there's nothing this book can't handle. It provides recipes to prepare foods in the simplest ways, all the way up to complex gourmet dishes. And it covers every imaginable food -- if it isn't in here, I can't imagine where you'd find it.

The language is straightforward and encouraging, with appropriate editorializing on the author's preferences, and the layout is clean and easy to read. I can't say enough good things about this cookbook -- it never leaves my kitchen counter.

(P.S. -- Try the spinach with tons of butter -- it's to die for!)