When I started to get more into cooking, I wanted to revamp my cookbook collection and bought numerous books, one of the first was the first edition of How to cook everything. I bought it at the same time as Joy of Cooking 75th anniversary edition and without any bias I found myself cooking with Bittman more and more and Joy was seldom used. When this edition came out, I wasnt sure how it could be better, but it is just incredible. It starts off with some of the key recipes that he marks with a star and what I love about this book is that it offers a ton of variations on the same recipe. Unlike most cookbooks where it has numerous recipes for the same thing, filling up different pages and taking up space, Bittman will have a master recipe and anywhere between 2-3, sometimes more variations of the main recipe. The thing I love about this book is that the confidence Bittman exudes with each recipe, he gives a great rundown on each recipe and it just gives you full confidence that the recipe will not screw up lol!
I am very much a scatter brain and the directions were simple to follow and it is very inspiring for the home cook like myself. At heart Bittman is a minimalist which basically means he will try to use the fewest ingredients possible and focusing on technique which i can appreciate, often times cookbooks will slather on the ingredients and i just feel overwhelmed and dont even want to cook anymore...
What made me appreciate this book more is that it was one of the top general cookbooks in the last 25 years according to cooking light magazine. I became curious and purchased some of the other books on that list such as Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie, Gourmet Today, Radically simple and also purchased a highly rated Cooks illustrated cookbook by America's test kitchen. While those do have their strengths and weaknesses I just feel that Bittman's book is more engaging, more versatile and will be my #1 gift for anyone who wants to cook or is mildly curious. When I talk about it being engaging and versatile, some examples are found on page 513, it has a list of 32 pasta dishes that can be made when you are boiling the pasta, page 516 has a list for "12 alternative pasta toppings", page 520, "27 vegetable and legume dishes to toss with pasta" and many more. Every few pages, he gives great ideas how recipes in one section blend with another recipe in another section in the book. Since I am scatter brained at times, to have a list of different options is an enormous help, I have yet to find this in any other cookbook. There are probably around 100 of these, it is really helpful when you find yourself in a culinary rut so to speak and are overwhelmed going through recipe after recipe, it's nice to know cause something may just jump out to you!
I'm trying to keep this short but I simply cannot say enough good things about this book, the only downside is that I dont think there are that many adventurous recipes. If there were I dont think I would try them that much as I simply dont have all day to cook so I just wanted to point that out as it seems most cookbooks now a days pride themselves on being "different" at the risk of having recipes that actually work.
The bottom line is that if you want to start a cookbook collection or if you like to cook or anything else in between, this will most likely become your #1 resource for years to come. As a younger guy (28) and recently married hoping to start a family one day, I hope to raise my kids with some of the great recipes in this book! I didnt grow up on recipes like some older people did with Joy and Fannie Farmer, but I am growing with this book!
Hope this helps!!
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About the author
Encyclopedic in nature, delicious, and adaptable
This book is truly encyclopedic in nature. Yeah, it’s in there. What I think makes this book special is that he gives the basic recipe for everything, and then he gives a ton of variations on it so that you’ll never grow tired of it. Since the base recipes are provided first, it’s a fast path to understanding, and it’s easy to find yourself inspired to experiment.The only potential negative I can see is that there are no photographs in the book. I don’t personally care about that. There are a handful of procedural illustrations.My thoughts and pics on the dishes we tried:1-2) Beef Daube – p 738. This was a new dish for us. It’s a classic beef braise with vegetables. It’s a fork-tender, slow braise that makes the whole house smell fantastic, and it’s cozy comfort food. What sets this one apart is a small amount of bacon in the background and gorgeous bright citrusy notes from a few strips of orange peel. Everyone loved it. As with so many recipes in this book, there are variation ideas.3-4) Chicken and Garlic Stew – p 652. Fantastic. This is different than other “40 garlic chicken” recipes that I’ve tried in that he adds a smidge of cinnamon and it’s a nice touch. After braising, the skin was a little soft, so I popped it under the broiler for a few minutes to recolor and crisp a bit. I squeezed all the garlic out of its skin into the braising liquid afterwards and mashed it with a potato masher to turn it into a garlicky sauce that was thickened up a bit. Great stuff!I’ll update this as I play in the book more!Some others I have flagged to try: Garlic Fideo Soup – p 141 * Red Onion Borscht – p 154 * Rosemary Focaccia – p 164 * Pizza Dough – p 178 * Pizza with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella – p 181 * Rice Salad with Dried Apricots – p 218 * Creamed Corn – p 290 * Garlic Braised in Olive Oil – p 303 * Caramelized Onions – p 325 * Anything Scented Peas – p 329 * Chile Cheese Gratin – p 332 * Sauteed Ripe Plantains – p 335 * Twice Baked Potatoes (16 variations) – p 338 * Mashed Potatoes – p 339 * Applesauce – p 383 * Baked Beans – p 416 * Real Refried Beans – p 418 * Beer-Glazed Black Beans – p 420 * Deep-Fried Tofu – p 446 * Tamales – p 488 * Baked Macaroni and Cheese – p 508 * Pad Thai – p 510 * Lasagna – p 533 * Baked Ziti – p 535 * Spaetzle – p 552 * Crawfish or Shrimp Boil, Louisiana Style – p 578 * Shrimp Burgers – p 633 * Salmon Croquettes – p 635 * Chicken in Red Wine Sauce (coq au vin) – p 649 * Arroz con Pollo – p 653 * Chicken Biryani – p 654 * Stir-Fried Chicken with Broccoli – p 674 * Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Wine Sauce – p 679 * Poached Chicken with Lemon Sauce – p 682 * Chicken Pot Pie – p 690 * Bacon Nut Stuffing – p 699 * Roast Duck – p 706 * Meatloaf – p 723 * Beef Stew, Eight Ways – p 724 * Steak au Poivre – p 730 * Real Beef Stroganoff – p 739 * Roast Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican Style – p 755 * Braised Pork with Milk – p 758 * Eggs Benedict, Unleashed – p 799 * Breakfast Burritos – p 801 * Spanish Tortilla – p 806 * Cheese Souffle – p 807 * Everyday Pancakes – p 811 * Everyday Buttermilk Waffles (with variations) – p 815 * Chocolate Mousse – p 951 * Lemon Mousse – p 952 * Lemon, Orange, or Grand Marnier Souffle – p 959 * Watermelon and Mint Soup – p 967
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2015
Top reviews from other countries
- T.RanaReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2018
Impressive..! Can't wait to try more and more recipes!
