How to Cook Everything
Late this summer I purchased Mark
Bittman’s How
To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great
Food
Bittman first gives one a tour of the various cooking techniques (e.g. roasting, frying, boiling &c.) and details how they affect food; he covers essential equipment (there’s really not that much); he covers the basic theory of cooking meats & vegetables. That done, he proceeds to give lots and lots of recipes, many with a number of variations.
His recipe for fruit jam is simplicity itself, but it works wonderfully. His recipe for pheasant braised with apricots and prunes is delicious. His procedure for pre-cooking grains is simple yet tasty.
This could very well be the only cookbook you’ll ever need. If you don’t have a copy, get one. If you know someone who’s just started living on his own, get him a copy. It’s a good book.
