Synopsis
Today's Favorite Kitchen Companion--Revised and Better Than Ever
Mark Bittman's award-winning How to Cook Everything has helped countless home cooks discover the rewards of simple cooking. Now the ultimate cookbook has been revised and expanded (almost half the material is new), making it absolutely indispensable for anyone who cooks---or wants to. With Bittman's straightforward instructions and advice, you'll make crowd-pleasing food using fresh, natural ingredients; simple techniques; and basic equipment. Even better, you'll discover how to relax and enjoy yourself in the kitchen as you prepare delicious meals for every occasion.
Ten years after the first edition, here is the second edition of How to Cook Everything, completely revised with over 50ew recipes and other material, fully updated in keeping with how we eat now, and presented in a navigable, even-more-user-friendly layout.
What's new? More opinionated writing: Mark's advice, which has helped millions of readers cook with confidence, is even more present in HTCE 2e in countless sidebars and tips (like "Is Brining Worth the Effort?" and "What to Expect from Whole Wheat Pasta"). Most importantly, he begins each chapter with Essential Recipes--recipes Mark thinks you should know because they're building blocks or that you'll want in your repertoire because they're so easy or popular. Recipes like Roast Chicken Parts in Olive Oil or Butter are disarmingly simple and endlessly variable. You'll also find:
• Nearly 400 drawings of how-to techniques (many new), from how to chop an onion to how to use a pastry bag.
• All-new recipes, like Chicken Pot Pie, Warm Spicy Greens with Bacon and Eggs, and Jim Lahey's No-Work Bread.
• Loads of helpful sidebars, such as "18 Variations on Vinaigrette."
• Icons flagging Fast, Make-Ahead, Vegetarian, and Essential recipes, plus listings in the back for each.
• New charts help you customize recipes with a variety of flavors and ingredients, such as "6 Ways to Flavor Grilled or Broiled Shrimp," or "Improvising Hot Sandwiches."
• Chapter-At-a-Glance listings that x-ref all the mains sections of the chapter ("Appetizers" haslistings for Essential Recipes, Finger and Toothpick Food, Dips and Spreads, Crispy Starters, Wrapped Finger Foods, and More Formal Appetizers).
• A comprehensive index that makes finding what you need a snap.
Publishers Weekly
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. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.