Posted by Blake Royer, April 30, 2009 at 4:30 PM
There are two rather different dishes known as migas—there's a version from Spain, the original, which is made with leftover bread, garlic, and sometimes a little meat such as chorizo or bacon. But there's also the Tex-Mex style which replaces leftover bread with tortillas and includes eggs, making a sort of breakfast scramble. I've made Texas migas already, but finding a Spanish recipe wasn't so easy. People use "migas" rather loosely, with pretty much the only common element being bread (sometimes in crumbs, sometimes in chunks soaked in water, sometimes even calling not for bread but flour).
Eventually I got sidetracked with this recipe from Bitten, which is not really authentic, but it does have bread in it. Butter-sauteed mushrooms give the dish all the meatiness it needs, then chunks of bread are crisped up in more butter and the leftover mushroom juices, bulking out a straightforward sauteed mushroom recipe into a light dinner. A sprinkling of parsley and a splash of lemon juice balance the flavors.
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Posted by Blake Royer, March 13, 2009 at 4:30 PM
My goal with this recipe was to try out the much-championed cold pan method for cooking pork chops, which involves starting with cold chops and a cold pan and cooking them slowly and gently. The advantage of the method is said to be incredibly juicy meat that's never dry, like pork chops so often are. For today's supermarket pork, which is conspicuously lacking in fat, it's supposed to make a difference.
The drawback to this method is that you really lose out on the caramelization of high heat. To combat this, I chose a Mark Bittman recipe from his New York Times article about 101 ways to cook dinner. It tosses in some chopped sage and drizzles the chops with good balsamic vinegar—a boost of complex sweetness that mimics caramelization. I also rubbed the chops with just a pinch of sugar before cooking to help promote browning. As advertised, these were incredibly juicy, and the woodsy sage added a wonderful dimension.
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 13, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I've never used semolina in a dessert, but Mark Bittman's take sounds just light and decadent enough to merit a try. Described as "somewhere between a cake and a pudding," that semolina is exactly where I want to be.
The recipe in Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating only calls for 1/2 stick of butter and 3/4 cup of sugar for a dessert that serves 9 to 12 people, so go ahead and have seconds. Don't tell Bittman!
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 12, 2009 at 2:00 PM
There are only two ounces of meat per person in this recipe, but don't worry—you won't miss a thing. A mix of spicy, sweet, and sour flavors make for a food party in your mouth. I love using flank or skirt steak because it's quick to cook, lower in fat, and is great cold. If you're a vegetarian, you can substitute tofu slices or add 2 cups of cooked edamame or other beans.
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 11, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Cooking pasta Bittman-style means upending the traditional ratio of pasta to sauce and creating a dish with half a pound of pasta for every two to four cups of sauce. You may be skeptical, but it's certainly worth a try; logic says that as long as your sauce is good, the dish should be good. It's a painless way to eat more vegetables and fewer refined carbohydrates.
Italian sausage and broccoli rabe are a classic combination with pasta, but some people don't like the vegetable's bitterness. Feel free to substitute cauliflower or broccoli in place of the broccoli rabe—or chickpeas for the sausage, if you don't eat meat.
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 11, 2009 at 12:00 PM
The following recipe is from the March 11th edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
I'm one of those people who is guilty of never eating breakfast—unless cold pizza counts. It's not that I don't like breakfast, because I do! Breakfast food is my friend. It's just that I'd rather spend that fifteen minutes spent making breakfast wrapped up in my toasty comforter instead. I'm just too dazed and bleary eyed in the morning to do anything but pull myself together and stumble out to catch the bus.
With these fruit and cereal bites from Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, you have a cheaper and infinitely more delicious alternative to the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich you pick up at the deli everyday. Plus, for lazybones like me, you can make a bunch in advance and eat them over a couple of days. With some coconut sprinkled on top, I could even see this as a light dessert.
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 10, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Making bread is always a fun and rewarding endeavor. I've heard those who regularly make and knead their own bread even develop some pretty muscular forearms in the process. While I'm all for getting toned while making bread, sometimes I just don't have the time to work on my physique.
Food Matters includes several bread recipes, all with words like no-work, quick, and easy, in the title. This hybrid quick bread takes about an hour of largely inactive time, so you'll have plenty of spare minutes to do some bicep curls—or not.
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Posted by Grace Kang, March 9, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Sweet potatoes and a bacon dressing add welcome warmth and depth to this spinach salad from Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating. The recipe only calls for two slices of bacon, so don't feel guilty about the porky treat. As Bittman says, "a little bacon goes a long way," and this salad is substantial enough to eat for lunch or a light supper.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, March 6, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Unless it's truly necessary, I don't usually mix cooking methods when grilling. When I want to grill something, I want to be grill-side, cooking it from start to finish. Since I'm doing more grilling indoors at the moment, I figured all bets were off and have opened up to combination methods. This recipe by Mark Bittman for twice-cooked mock tandoori chicken seemed particularly enticing.
The method ended up being better in theory than in practice. Chicken legs and thighs were first covered with an Indian-spiced yogurt mixture and braised in the oven for an hour and a half. After that, they were brought over high heat on the grill until browned and slightly dried-out.
Unfortunately, the braising softened the chicken so much, it just fell apart on the grill. Once the chicken was finished, I was mostly pulling off empty bones. Luckily, I was making this indoors, and all those pieces that fell off still made it to the plate. On a real grill, though, they would have surely been claimed by the coals. What did come off, however, was deliciously spiced and tender, although not quite as flavorful as the initial aromas of the braise led me to believe.
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, January 28, 2009 at 8:45 AM
Last week on NPR, Mark Bittman recommended savory oatmeal like it ain't no thang. "At lunch, you might have that same bowl of oatmeal, with perhaps um, oh I don't know, scallions and soy sauce on top, which would be very Asian, but still pretty good... Oh, my God, it's great."
Holy cats, savory oatmeal?! He can't just casually combine those two words and not expect an onslaught of gasps and hyperventilating. Of course, the Twittersphere was all atweet about it and suggested we try it. As senior oatmeal bureau chief, I was assigned the case.
Conclusion: Not gross. At all. In fact, it became more of a gooey sticky rice mass with crispy scallions folded inside. Not quite congee, the savory Asian rice porridge, but thinking about it in that possibly more familiar context could stop your head from hurting. For a soupier version, just add more water. Really, you'll forget it was ever oatmeal. The recipe, after the jump.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, January 23, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Before the holiday season, I noticed my growing cookbook collection was severely lacking any titles by Mark Bittman. I made it known to friends and family that filling this gap was a priority. Now with the holidays and my birthday behind me, my library is pretty Bittman-heavy. Rummaging through such a bounty of new recipes can be daunting, so I'm taking a methodical approach. My first course of action is to flip to the index of How to Cook Everything and see what grilling treasures lie within.
A recipe for grilled leeks perked my interest as an accompaniment to the Korean-style steaks on my menu. The Bittman recipe called for the leeks to be grilled over high heat until tender, then topped with a fairly standard vinaigrette, but to better fit my dinner, I replaced some of the vinaigrette's ingredients with Asian counterparts.
A mixture of shallots, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, Chinese spicy mustard, and olive oil topped my leeks after coming off the grill. Although the flavors fit rather seamlessly into my meal, I piled the vinaigrette on a little too heavily, which overpowered the delicate oniony flavor of the leeks. A mere drizzle, or a simple brush of soy sauce as recommended by Bittman, would have sufficed and made these leeks a perfect side.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 12, 2008 at 1:15 PM
For a while, Pravda, the Soviet-themed bar in New York's SoHo, was serving shots of horseradish vodka with a pickled mushroom "chaser." The sharp little mushroom was the perfect foil to the fiery liquor, and I was sad when they retired the pairing.
In How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman offers a recipe for quick marinated mushrooms not unlike Pravda's. After a brief soak in lemon juice, the mushrooms are speared on toothpicks with shards of Parmesan cheese. The salty-tangy treat makes the perfect cocktail bite.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 11, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Skordalia is a thick spread of Greek origin. Its name may be a compound of Greek and Italian words meaning "garlic" and "garlicky"—any dish named "garlicky garlic" sounds pretty promising to me. Garlic aside, skordalia is a creamy, mayo-like dip that also happens to be vegan, deriving its texture from ground nuts and breadcrumbs instead of egg yolks.
Skordalia can be used as is, or, with the addition of a few ingredients, transformed into a whole range of different sauces. In How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman provides three variations: taramasalata, artichoke and olive dips.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 10, 2008 at 1:30 PM
"There are a couple of reasons to cook 'ceviche'," Mark Bittman explains in How to Cook Everything. First, it makes the fish more tender. Second, and perhaps more important, it's a good form of reassurance to those who worry about eating raw fish. (The larger the party and the longer the dish has to sit out, the greater the worry.)
In typical Bittman style, this recipe for mock ceviche of shrimp, scallops, and squid contains one optional instruction and four optional ingredients. Whether or not you include them, the result is still vibrantly flavored and perfect for a party. If you're feeling fancy, portion individual servings into lettuce cups, martini glasses, or ceramic Asian spoons.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 10, 2008 at 12:00 PM
The following recipe is from the December 10th edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
If a dish is a hit as a street food, chances are it will also work well as a cocktail nibble. In How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman takes a popular Indonesian snack and simplifies it for the Western kitchen. Dark-meat chicken and pork loin are marinated overnight in a spicy blend of peanut butter and fish sauce, before being grilled or broiled to charred, smoky perfection.
Don't forget to make a second batch of the marinade to use as a dipping sauce. Accompany, if desired, with slices of raw onion and cucumber.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 9, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Too many crudité platters leave me wondering where the buffalo wings are. Not that I'm knocking carrot and celery sticks, but there are other vegetables out there. Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything, has a few suggestions for branching out with veggies, steamed purple potatoes, Belgian endive and jicama sticks among them.
Here, they're paired with a savory miso dip, a lighter, vegetarian alternative to bagna cauda. In its citrus and herb variations, the dipping sauce is also great on steamed fish, pasta or Asian noodle salads.
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Posted by Michele Humes, December 8, 2008 at 2:15 PM
Today's Cook the Book recipe, excerpted from the revised, tenth anniversary edition of How to Cook Everything, is classic Bittman. A lesser writer might take five pages to give you the 14 deviled egg variations listed here; a more possessive one might insist that only his recipe is authoritative. Instead, in a couple of paragraphs, Mark Bittman not only provides enough variations for a two-week deviled egg cycle but eggs you ongives you the confidence to come up with a 15th and 16th on your own.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:25 PM
- Makes: At least 10 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
It’s almost a given that time and oven space are at a premium on Thanksgiving Day, and this method of roasting turkey, unorthodox as it is, addresses both. Split, flattened, and roasted at 450 degrees (lowering the heat if the bird browns too fast), a 10-pound bird will be done in about 40 minutes. Really. It will also be more evenly browned (all of the skin is exposed to the heat), more evenly cooked (the legs are more exposed; the wings shield the breasts), and moister than birds cooked conventionally. But it works only for relatively small turkeys.
Ingredients
One 8- to 12-pound turkey
10 or more garlic cloves, lightly crushed
Several sprigs fresh tarragon or thyme or several pinches dried
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Procedure
1. Heat the oven to 450°F. Put the turkey on a stable cutting board, breast side down, and cut out the backbone. Turn the bird over and press on it to flatten. Put it breast side up in a roasting pan that will accommodate it (a slightly snug fit is okay). The wings should partially cover the breasts, and the legs should protrude a bit.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Thanksgiving Menu
Turkey Gravy
Favorite Bread Stuffing
Cranberry Relish with Orange and Ginger
Potato Gratin
Wheat Berries with Walnuts
Raw Beet Salad
Braised and Glazed Brussel Sprouts
2. Tuck the garlic and the herb under the bird and in the nooks of the wings and legs. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
3. Roast for 20 minutes, undisturbed. By this time the bird should be browning; remove it from the oven, baste with the pan juices, and return it to the oven. Reduce the heat to 400°F (or 350°F if it seems to be browning very quickly).
4. Begin to check the bird’s temperature about 15 minutes later (10 minutes if the bird is on the small side). It is done when the thigh meat measures 155–165°F on an instant-read meat thermometer; check it in a couple of places.
5. Let the bird rest for a few minutes before carving, then serve with the garlic cloves and pan juices. (Or make Turkey Gravy.) Or serve at room temperature.
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:20 PM
Makes: 5 to 6 cups (enough for 12 servings)
Time: 20 minutes, after roasting a turkey
"Gravy" is little more than thickened stock—essentially a reduction sauce—and when that stock comes out of a roasted turkey, it's pretty good stuff. It's no wonder people love it. Double or triple (or quadruple, if it comes to that) this recipe as needed.
Ingredients
6 cups stock, preferably turkey but chicken is fine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter (optional)
1/3 cup cornstarch (optional)
Procedure
1. Remove any giblets from the bottom of your roasting pan and pour or spoon off excess fat (that's a judgment call, but leave at least some fat in there). Leave as many of the solids and as much of the dark liquid behind as possible. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and turn the heat to high.
2. Add the stock and cook, stirring and scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by about one-quarter, 5 to 10 minutes. (If you're not using cornstarch and you want a thicker gravy, continue to reduce a little more.) Turn the heat down to medium and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, tasting and adjusting the seasoning. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, discarding the solids.
3. Over medium heat, stir in the butter if you’re using it and keep warm until ready to serve. If you're using cornstarch, mix it with 1/4 cup cold water, then add to the simmering gravy, stirring constantly. It should thicken almost immediately; serve hot.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Thanksgiving Menu
Forty-Five Minute Roast Turkey
Favorite Bread Stuffing
Cranberry Relish with Orange and Ginger
Potato Gratin
Wheat Berries with Walnuts
Raw Beet Salad
Braised and Glazed Brussel Sprouts
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:15 PM
- Makes: About 6 cups (enough for a 12-pound bird) -
Time: 20 minutes, plus time to bake
This classic dressing is based on a wonderful recipe by James Beard; it's amazing with butter, but check out the variations if you prefer olive oil. Also, feel free to use whole grain bread for more flavor.
Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
6 to 8 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried crumbled tarragon or sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Procedure
1. Put the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the breadcrumbs and the herb and toss to mix. Turn the heat down to low. Add the salt, pepper, and scallion. Toss again; taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the parsley and stir. Turn off the heat. (At this point, you may refrigerate the stuffing, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
3. Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting or just bake in an ovenproof glass or enameled baking dish for about 45 minutes at 350–400°F. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and just warm it up right before dinner.)
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:14 PM
Makes: About 4 cups
Time: 10 minutes
Quite tart and even better on turkey sandwiches. Stir in 1/2 cup of raisins and/or chopped walnuts or pecans at the end if you like.
Ingredients
1 large navel or other orange
4 cups fresh cranberries (about 1 pound), picked over and rinsed, or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger, or to taste
Procedure
1. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the entire zest of the orange; set aside. Remove and discard the thick white pith. Separate the orange into sections.
2. Combine the orange flesh, zest, cranberries, and sugar in a food processor. Process until the mixture is chunky. Stir in the ginger and more sugar if needed. Serve right away, but it’s best if it sits for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. It keeps well, refrigerated, for a few days.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Thanksgiving Menu
Forty-Five Minute Roast Turkey
Turkey Gravy
Favorite Bread Stuffing
Potato Gratin
Wheat Berries with Walnuts
Raw Beet Salad
Braised and Glazed Brussel Sprouts
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:13 PM
- Makes: 4 servings-
Time: About 1 hour
Based on raw potatoes (or other vegetables), cream, and cheese, this can be assembled and even baked up to 2 days in advance and either baked or reheated before serving. A mandoline makes slicing a breeze and gives you slices of consistent thickness with little work, which is the key to even cooking.
Other cooked vegetables you can use: alone or in combination—sweet potatoes, parsnips, celery root, sunchokes, cauliflower, rutabagas, any winter squash, burdock, celery, celeriac, carrots, or horseradish, which will mellow while cooking.
Ingredients
2 to 3 cups heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or a combination
1 pound potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cups grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Procedure
1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the cream in a pot and heat until it’s hot.
2. Layer the potatoes and cheese (be sure to end with cheese) in a large gratin or similar ovenproof dish; sprinkle every potato layer with a bit of salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour in enough hot cream to come about three-quarters of the way up the potato layers.
3. Put in the oven and cook, undisturbed, until the potatoes are tender (a thin-bladed knife will pierce them with little or no resistance) and the top is nicely browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:12 PM
- Makes: 4 servings -
Time: 45 minutes
This starter recipe for wheat berries is open to variation and will work with about a dozen other grains. Even better, you can serve it at room temperature.
Other grains you can use (reduce the quantity to 1 cup): couscous, pearl couscous, bulgur, quinoa, buckwheat groats, cracked wheat, wild rice, farro, hulled barley, spelt, rye berries, kamut.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wheat berries
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
1 shallot or 1/2 medium onion, minced
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Procedure
1. Put the wheat berries in a pot with water to cover by at least an inch. Bring a boil and cook until the grains are tender, about 40 minutes. Check periodically to make sure the water hasn’t boiled off; add more water as needed.
2. Meanwhile, put the oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the shallot and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the walnuts and thyme if you’re using it and cook for another minute, stirring often. When the wheat berries are done, drain them and add to the skillet along with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:11 PM
- Makes 4 servings -
Time: 20 minutes
Beets, like carrots, can be eaten raw. And they're delicious that way, crunchy and sweet. So sweet, in fact, that they need a strongly acidic dressing like this one for balance.
Ingredients
1 to 11/2 pounds beets, preferably small
2 large shallots
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or other good strong vinegar
1 sprig fresh tarragon, minced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Procedure
1. Peel the beets and the shallot. Combine them in a food processor and pulse carefully until the beets are shredded; do not purée. (Or grate the beets by hand and mince the shallots; combine.) Scrape into a bowl.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the mustard, oil, and vinegar and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Toss in the herbs and serve.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 24, 2008 at 8:10 PM
- Makes: 4 servings -
Time: 30 minutes
Sometimes I like to brown Brussels sprouts a bit, which is why this braise-and-glaze technique is a little different and deserves a special recipe. Leave the Brussels sprouts whole—they'll look beautiful and be less likely to overcook.
Other vegetables you can use: shredded green or red cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/2 cup or more stock, white wine, or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Procedure
1. Combine the butter, Brussels sprouts, and stock in a deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers; cook until the sprouts are just tender, 5 to 10 minutes, checking once or twice and adding liquid as needed.
2. Uncover and raise the heat to boil off all the liquid so that the vegetables become glazed and eventually browned. Resist the urge to stir them frequently; just let them sizzle until golden and crisp, then shake the pan and loosen them to roll them over. It’s okay if some sides are more well done than others. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve hot or at room temperature.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Thanksgiving Menu
Forty-Five Minute Roast Turkey
Turkey Gravy
Favorite Bread Stuffing
Cranberry Relish with Orange and Ginger
Potato Gratin
Wheat Berries with Walnuts
Raw Beet Salad
Posted by Robin Bellinger, June 6, 2008 at 2:30 PM
In the past few months Mark Bittman’s shrimp “my way” has become one of my favorite emergency or late-in-the-week meals. This superfast dish is good with a vegetable, on top of rice, or over angel hair pasta. I think it tastes good the next day, too. Because I use frozen shrimp, they can be on the table in half an hour or less with no planning or trip to the store.
For anyone who eats fish, comfort with shrimp cookery is a great asset. They’re so fast and so versatile. Cookbooks warn about the dangers of overcooking the delicate creatures, but I’ve never had really disappointing results with a shrimp recipe (unlike some scallops and sautéed fish fillets I could mention).
As I said, I use frozen (and peeled and deveined, hooray) shrimp here. Fresh would definitely taste better, but at my grocery store the unfrozen shrimp are usually much more expensive, imported from Asia, and previously frozen anyway—three strikes. My frozen shrimp are wild-caught in the Gulf of Mexico, which, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, makes them “eco-OK” (not the best, not the worst). Although my more-greedy-than-discerning palate and I think frozen shrimp taste just fine (especially in a boldy-flavored preparation like this one), yesterday I was curled up with The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper, which pronounces frozen shrimp “close to tasteless.” Hmm.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, May 5, 2008 at 6:15 PM
I’ve heard about chicken wrapped in parchment paper, and even of chicken wrapped in foil. But the cooking of what is essentially chicken in a bag, had always (in my humble experience) taken place in the oven. I’ve never heard of chicken that’s sautéed in the foil bag on a skillet. It certainly was a weird feeling when I placed that foil package on top of a hot iron skillet and waited to see what would happen. Would it explode or catch on fire?
I actually wanted to do this recipe because of the foil balloon that Simple to Spectacular authors Mark Bittman and Jean Georges Vongerichten promised would happen. Because of the escaping steam, they said that the aluminum foil would puff up like a “Jiffy Pop”. But nothing much happened to mine. Perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t have the proper size of aluminum foil. They ask for the extra large 18-inch version; I only had the 12-inch kind. I ended up jamming in way too much chicken and perhaps didn’t seal the foil well enough. Either way, the loss of the spectacle was redeemed by extraordinary taste. The tomato gets flattened and kind of crispy, and all that Parmesan melts into a beautiful sauce that coats the rosemary-infused chicken.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, April 25, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Since the thought of another pile of paper to manage makes me cringe, I don’t keep a file of recipe clippings for the future. I can’t remember, then, what prompted me to pull this recipe from Mark Bittman’s column in the New York Times a few years ago, but some part of me must have known that his baked ziti would become my most popular dish.
Unsophisticated and absurdly easy to whip up, baked ziti presents difficulty only to those of us who have trouble managing our greed. Since the measurements are so round, I don’t even have to check the recipe before I go to the store: 1 pound sausage, 1 pound pasta, 1 pound cheese, 1 can tomatoes. It freezes beautifully, which makes it the nicest of emergency dinners for nights when you’re too busy to cook but want something nicer than a tangle of sad pad thai.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, April 7, 2008 at 2:15 PM
As a devoted user of How To Cook Everything
, I’m always interested in bloggers’ strong opinions about Mark Bittman. I haven’t run into any anti-Bittman animus in a while, but every once in a while someone really lets him have it. HTCE and the Minimalist have at times led me astray with recipes that were disappointingly bland or didn’t quite work, but successes have far outnumbered failures.
This week I tried his curried rice noodles in hopes that they would make a good sack lunch. I’m afraid, however, that this is the kind of recipe that makes people turn against Bittman. The noodles were completely bland because the curry powder never really got integrated, and now I have a pot completely encrusted with cooked-on noodles. I probably should have used a bigger (10 quart?) pot and gotten it hotter, but I’m not going to try again to find out; the one thing I demand of his recipes is that they be idiot proof. In the meantime, for your lunch I propose one of my old Bittman favorites, red beans and rice.
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Posted by Blake Royer, December 27, 2007 at 4:00 PM
The way I see it, sautéed mushrooms should be as simple as possible. With only olive oil, heat, and the most pedestrian white mushrooms one of the more intriguing kitchen alchemies occurs, and the kitchen is filled with glorious smells: savory, meaty, rounded, earthy. Apparently, mushrooms are great carriers of the fifth taste, umami, which is often described with those very words. Perhaps the only greater sauté smell is bacon—which, actually, you could probably use by rendering some to replace the oil, perhaps removing the cooked bacon to chop and add in later. But this recipe goes with a simpler preparation, true to Mark Bittman’s minimalist style in How To Cook Everything, and all the ingredients end up tasting of themselves—one of the higher compliments you can give a recipe.
When the mushrooms are tender, the recipe adds a splash of white wine to complement the earthy flavor with sweetness and acidity, then finishes with a bit of chopped garlic and parsley, cooking only for a minute so that the garlic is just softened enough to lose its bite, but still distinct, and the parsley remains bright. He recommends letting the mushrooms sit for an hour or so to cool and let the flavors develop; even though I ate most of them long before this apparent flavor development stage, the ones that were actually left were indeed delicious.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 2, 2007 at 1:15 PM
And so we're at the end of the line with our featured recipes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
. This one I picked as much for myself as for you. When I want a simple, meatless stir-fry, I'm often at a loss for what to make. Pathetic, huh? Well, with this one, Mr. Bittman gives us the basic and then some variations—the one that calls for peas looks especially appealing to me right now. (I love me some peas.)
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 1, 2007 at 1:30 PM
For some, making stuffed pasta from scratch is rich, rewarding work. It's also labor-intensive and takes hours. With this ravioli nudi recipe, Mark Bittman cuts out the most time-consuming part—making and stuffing the shells. Here, the ravioli filling is tossed "naked" into a pot of water to boil, creating dumplings you can eat on their own as a starter or, as Bittman suggests, with some pasta and a light dressing of tomato sauce.
The recipe comes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 31, 2007 at 1:30 PM
When we paged through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian earlier in the week, we knew we had to save this recipe for today. If you selected a pumpkin with eating in mind rather than carving, you should be good to go.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 30, 2007 at 1:00 PM
The omission of meat—rather than the inclusion of vegetables—is primarily what makes this recipe vegetarian. But who's going to object when it comes to mac and cheese?
The instructions below come from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and include a basic version as well as some variations to fancy it up a bit. And there's at least one with some vegetable matter in it.
And, as always, you can throw your hat in the ring to win a copy of this book. Details here.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 29, 2007 at 2:15 PM
And, as promised, here's your first recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It's for a mushroom pâté that would be wonderful at your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.
Serve it on crackers or toast or in canapés. You could also use it as a sandwich filling.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, July 30, 2007 at 3:55 PM
I’ve only had mussels, oh, a few dozen times in the past year, but for some reason I had always thought that the key to success was a better liquid for them to cook in. Chorizo and champagne worked well, as did a simple onion, celery, butter, and vermouth mixture. So imagine my surprise when I found this recipe from Mark Bittman, who wants absolutely nothing at all.
This takes the emphasis off the ingredients and places it on the technique. Bittman suggests cooking the mussels in a cast iron skillet over really, really high heat. Add a few cracks of pepper and a pinch of salt—and that’s it. No butter, no onions, and no wine. He explains that the high heat gives the mussels a distinctly smoky aroma, almost like what you’d expect if they had been cooked over a wood. I’d have to agree. It’s weird, illogical, and a slight bit mysterious. But it works unbelievably well.
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