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Summary: A Modern Cook who Respects the Classics
Review: Yes, Bittman covers everything, with concise instruction using a minimum of ingredients. This is the first book I reach for, before Beard, Child, Claiborne, or the Palates. He has done my homework. From this, branch out into a star or regional book, or (easiest) do your own frills. His research is impeccable in the Beard tradition, he has a dry wit and he loves to cook. What more could you want?
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Summary: fun to have
Review: this book is descreptive and easy to understand (i'm not very good at cooking and any help is appreciated)however since i don't have a computer in my kichen and don't have a printer the cd still hasn't helped me out in improveing my skill.
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Summary: A Staple For Any Kitchen
Review: This is a terrific book! It's fun to read and VERY comprehensive. This is excellent instruction for the beginning cook, but has plenty of information for more experienced buyers also. So many of today's cookbooks are more specialized than the average cook wants. Or, they will use ingredients unavailable in regular markets. This book will demonstrate how to make delicious dishes using readily-available ingredients, able to be created by the less-experienced cook. Along with Cunningham's Fannie Farmer books, this should be a keystone to a cook's collection.
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Summary: A Kitchen Essential!
Review: This is a wonderful all-around cookbook, much easier to follow than the "Joy of Cooking". Cooking has always been my passion, but my creations were always fairly complex, adventurous dishes ... I never really learned how to make simple, every day meals. This book really helped me out with that! This would be a perfect gift for someone who has recently moved out on their own or for the single guy who needs a break from frozen pizzas! Even if most of the book were useless (which it is not), it would be a worthwhile purchase simply for the section entitled "28 Meals You Can Prepare in the Time it Takes to Boil Pasta" ... the recipes in this section are all simple, require usually less than 5 ingredients and can be prepared in just a few minutes. There are wonderfully detailed explanations in the books about simple, time-saving cooking techniques, as well as the reasons why certain things are prepared the way they are, so that the cook will have a better understanding of what they are doing. I would recommend this cookbook to everyone!
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Summary: How to Cook Everything
Review: This is the best cookbook to come along in years. It belongs on every kitchen book shelf along with James Beard, Fanny Farmer, Marion Cunningham and Julia Child. No home cooking library should be with out it.
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Summary: A must have!
Review: I have always been interested in cooking, but always exhausted when I tried recipes from other cookbooks. It seemed that I would need to spend 1/2 hour in the grocery store searching out ingredients that I had never heard of. This cookbook was a breath of fresh air. I made a fritate and cornbread with all of the ingredients I already had at home. Mr. Bittman is teaching me how to cook and how to improvise. And he takes nothing for granted. Being a literal person, I like the description broken down to the smallest unit of understanding, and Mr. Bittman is able to achieve this. I would recommend this book for every kitchen.
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Summary: Perfect for the timid cook!
Review: When I first moved away from home, I had a hard time preparing food because of a lack of skill and knowledge. When my husband bought me this book for our first anniversary, I was tickled pink! It taught me how to prepare and make just about everything I ever wanted to, and in turn, sent me on my way to culinary school. This book has also given me quite a base of knowledge, not to mention the confidence, to make it possible to do even more. Perfect for the new cook in your home!
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Summary: A Great Book for First Time Cooks
Review: I just graduated from college and this book is the one I refer to all the time-- Mark Bittman gives great advice on everything from how to choose knives to what kinds of oils are best used for what dishes. His advice is economical, in terms of both money and time. I highly recomend this book to anyone who is just starting out or wants access to a vast amount of recipies that can be made under 30/40 minutes using household staples.
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Summary: SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR THE JOY OF COOKING
Review: If you are serious about cooking, this is not the book for you. Top restaurant chefs and good amateur cooks know that excellence in cooking is the result of ingredients, technique, and presentation. The recipes in this book are over-simplified, there are very few illustrations, and very little about technique and presentation. Several of my favorite (and common) recipes were not in this book (but were found later in my "Joy of Cooking"). If you know how to cook, this book provides little of value. If you don't know how to cook, the "Joy of Cooking", and several other well-known cookbooks, will be of far greater value that this pretentiously titled tome. If you want to learn professional techniques try the cookbooks of Le Cordon Bleu school of France.
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Summary: Just buy it. You will refer to this book everytime you cook
Review: Simply amazing. Outstanding cookbook. Although I am extremely passionate about food, I am, at best, a novice when it comes to cooking. This book elevates my cooking skills everytime. Simple dishes, great introduction and basic info, simple instructions, but phenomenal results.
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