In case you're on the lookout for an exceedingly practical gift, you could do a lot worse than to pick up a copy of Mark Bittman's superlative cookbook How To Cook Everything.
Yeah, it's a big book. But it's awesome. I've looked at a lot of cookbooks, and I usually find at least one or two things I can use, but this is the first book that has been so consistently useful for so many types of recipes. Lately I've been trying to use new ingredients and do more cooking from scratch, and Bittman never fails me when I turn to his book for some inspiration (his chapter on cooking and using beans is particularly good). The best thing about many of these recipes is how simple they are--most include only a few ingredients and can be made with a minimum of fuss.
I've started to use this book so often that his name is steadily sneaking into our kitchen lexicon. His appetizer-ish meatballs are known as Bittman Balls around our house. Likewise with his yogurt biscuits: Bittman Biscuits. And, wonder of wonders, I even found an easy recipe for kale and pasta in his book a few weeks back and have moved it into steady rotation. Don't know what to call that one yet; maybe Bittman Noodles. Or Bittman Finally Found a Way to Use Kale, but that's probably too long.
In any case, if you or anyone you know needs a great basic but still very comprehensive cookbook, this is the one to try.
I love that book and I love Mark Bittman. He doesn't make you feel inadequate for not having rare spices or ingredients. He just tells you what to sub or to skip.
It's flu season here in my lungs, so lucidity is not on the agenda today. If I were feeling more coherent I would recall which recipes from that book are favorites. Maybe tomorrow!
Posted by: lesbrarian | 18 December 2012 at 08:12 AM
Oh lesbrarian,
On top of everything else, you needed the flu? Lousy. I hope it passes soon and you feel better.
LOVE Bittman. Not only his recipes but I have a crush on him and his little tiny kitchen:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/mark-bittmans-bad-kitchen/
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 18 December 2012 at 02:22 PM
I loved his tiny kitchen and his "vegan before 6pm" philosophy. I have the original, yellow jacket edition of this cookbook and the app for iPod Touch (got it for free from Starbucks long before I had the Touch). I much prefer this book to (ugh) Cook's illustrated.
Posted by: Kerry | 19 December 2012 at 01:39 PM
Kerry,
I don't know his "vegan" theory--I'll have to look it up!
Yeah, it's a great book. I like Cook's Illustrated too, but I much prefer watching the American Test Kitchen. Bittman's recipes seem a bit easier than theirs, which I appreciate.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 19 December 2012 at 03:04 PM
I love this cookbook too. I have the original yellow one and I loved it so much that I bought the vegetarian one as well. There's almost no overlap between the two, BTW.
The thing that I love is that he really seems to understand what a typical home cook is going to be able and willing to do. And he offers enough helpful advice on variations and tweaks that I'm confident in making adjustments as needed. Also there are no photographs to make me feel inferior when my recipes don't look beautiful. A recipe can be as delicious as all get out, but if there's a full-color photo of perfectly posed and lit version of it for me to compare mine to, I'll feel I'm doing it wrong.
Posted by: Teresa | 19 December 2012 at 06:47 PM