Book Review: How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

I had heard a lot about this cookbook. Apparently, the author is known for a food column by the name, The Minimalist, because he goes for simple, easy recipes with few ingredients. So I got this one from the library to see what I thought.

At first, I was most impressed by the size. It's huge! But don't be fooled by the title. It won't really tell you how to cook everything. It does, however, teach basic cooking principles which would help you create your own recipes or analyze someone else's.

But after trying several recipes from the book, I am not sure it's worth it. The first one I tried, Kale and Potato Soup, was good, but not great. I put that down to the fact that I used canned broth instead of homemade. The next one, Easy Tomato Sauce, was too bland. It was easy, but it wasn't as good as the stuff from a jar. I also made the Bruschetta, and that was good. Then I tried the Bitter Chocolate Sorbet. It sounded so easy - just cocoa powder, sugar, and water. Well, it tasted and smelled great, but it melted right away and the texture was a little odd. It wasn't worth it, I thought. Tonight is the final test - I'm making Chicken Teriyaki with chicken tenderloins. It sure smells good.

Bottom line: borrow this one before you buy it. Some people will love it, but I think I already have cookbooks just as good as this one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Texas Sheet Cake

Image
Texas Sheet Cake 2 c. flour 2 c. sugar 1/2 ts. salt 2 sticks butter 1 c. water 3 Tb. cocoa 2 eggs, beaten 1 ts. soda 1/2 c. buttermilk (or use 1 1/2 Tb. vinegar plus milk to equal 1/2 c, let sit for 5 minutes before adding to recipe) 1 t. vanilla 1 t. cinnamon Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. In a saucepan, heat butter, water and cocoa to boiling. Pour over dry ingredients. In another bowl combine eggs, soda, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to batter and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured jelly roll pan (15x10x1 - must have an edge). Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Start the icing the last 10 minutes while cake is baking. Icing: 1 stick butter 3 Tb. cocoa 1/2 c. milk about 2 c. powdered sugar (the recipe calls for "1 box confectioners' sugar", so I always have to guess) 1 ts. vanilla 1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional) Mix butter, cocoa, and milk in saucepan. (I always reuse the saucepan I used for the cake.) Heat just until butter melts. Remove from heat and add po...
Read more

The Secret Marquise

I got this one from the cookbook, Cookwise by Shirley Corrihor. Not everything in here was helpful, but this one sounded super yummy. So I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon, and then post again. The Secret Marquise 7 or 8 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate or 3 - 2.6 oz. Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars, broken into 1 inch pieces. 4 oz. milk chocolate, also broken into 1 inch pieces 5 egg yolks 1/3 c. heavy cream 5 Tb. butter 1 c. heavy or whipping cream 2 Tb. sugar Combine semisweet and milk chocolates and blend in food processor until finely chopped. Set aside. Heat egg yolks and 1/3 c. cream in 7-8 inch skillet over low heat, stirring constantly with fork or spatula flat against the bottom of the pan. As soon as it thickens, remove from skillet from heat and keep stirring. Add the butter and stir in well. Add the chocolate and stir constantly until chocolate just melts. Continue to stir for 1 minute.  Remove bottom from springform pan. Place the ring onto a pla...
Read more

Mormon Mommy Blogs

If you haven't taken a look at this website yet, it is a fun place to find other LDS folks, moms and otherwise, who have similar interests and similar blogs. I can't wait to take a look at all the yummy recipes out there. I always need new things that my kids will eat, especially now as we are trying to cut the carbs and still enjoy the food. Check it out at: http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com .
Read more