Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less

by Mark Bittman

Overview

People who like to eat well without the fuss have always turned to Mark Bittman for his trademark pared-down elegance and contemporary style. In 404 Express, Bittman, author of the popular New York Times column "The Minimalist" and the bestselling How to Cook Everything series, offers readers a new level of ease with recipes that that are no more than a paragraph long.

The 404 seasonal recipes are sophisticated as they are simple: on a cold winter night, warm up with White Bean Stew served over crusty slices of oil-rubbed baguette. Welcome spring with Shrimp with Asparagus, Dill or Spice Poached Eggs and Truffled Arugula Prosciutto Salad. Make the most of summer produce with Scallop and Peach Ceviche or Apricot Cream Upside Down Pie, and try Salmon and Sweet Potato with Coconut Curry Sauce or Broiled Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts when the air starts to cool.

The beautiful, two color cookbook also includes Bittman's complete guide to stocking your pantry, menus for a variety of occasions, and recipe lists that span the seasons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416578987
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	07/07/2009
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	269 KB

About the Author

Mark Bittman is the author of Food Matters, How to Cook Everything and other cookbooks, and of the weekly New York Times column, The Minimalist. His work has appeared in countless newspapers and magazines, and he is a regular on the Today show. Mr. Bittman has hosted two public television series and has appeared in a third.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

The simple format of Kitchen Express belies all that it has to offer. Here are 101 incredibly fast and easy recipes for each season -- 404 in all. The experienced home cook can play with each to great advantage, yet at their core, they're recipes presented in the simplest form possible, understandable and readily executed by anyone who's done some cooking.

As a group, they are precisely imprecise. This is unusual for recipes, but it's long been my belief that the most specific recipes are the most limiting. Specificity is fine for baking, where the chemistry among the ingredients often determines success or failure. But in savory cooking, where amounts can vary wildly -- there's almost never a critical difference between one onion and two: A "head" of broccoli might weigh one or one-and-a-half pounds; a steak may be three-quarters to an inch and a half thick -- to try to force cooks to follow recipes demanding precision robs them of the ability to improvise, to relax, to substitute, to use their own judgment.

Jacques Pepin once remarked to me that the old adage about never stepping foot in the same river twice holds true for recipes also: You don't start with the same amount of ingredients, they're not at the same temperature, they're not the same age or from the same place, the ambient temperature and humidity are probably different, as are your equipment and mood. Everything is different, and the results will be too.

These little recipes acknowledge that up front. I don't really care how much garlic you use in most recipes, so "some" is as good as "a teaspoon." Similarly, garnishes are garnishes: You usemore, you use less, you leave them out -- it shouldn't matter. "A carrot" in a soup could certainly be a big one or a small one, and so on. So I rarely give exact measurements, unless proportions are critical.

This style of cooking is about three things: speed, flexibility, and relaxation. If you read one of these recipes, if it inspires you, and if you have the ingredients (or something approximating them) to throw it together -- then go into the kitchen, assemble what you need, and have at it. Twenty minutes later, max, you'll be eating something delicious. What's wrong with that?Copyright © 2009 by Mark Bittman

Editorial Reviews

New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman is a minimalist with an expansive vision. The author of the How to Cook Everything series doesn't believe that you need either a French Culinary Institute degree or advanced training in kitchen chemistry to satisfy the appetites of yourself and your guests. Instead, he counsels simplicity. Each of these 404 seasonal recipes is presented in just one paragraph, but the results can tempt the sternest gourmet: Shrimp with Asparagus; Dill or Spice Poached Eggs; Truffled Arugula Prosciutto Salad; Apricot Cream Upside Down Pie; Salmon and Sweet Potato with Coconut Curry Sauce. Earns a place in your kitchen cabinet.

Bittman here offers a sampling of 404 inspiring recipes. But don't expect another How to Cook Everything. This newest is of a different kind-simple and snappy, and rarely calls for measuring spoons. The no-sweat recipes are divided into four sections: summer, fall, winter and spring, capitalizing on the freshest ingredients of each season while whittling down the prep time of ordinarily elaborate dishes like coq au vin and ricotta cheesecake to 10 minutes or less. The book includes a drill-down of how best to stock your kitchen, and given the impromptu nature of the book, the substitution grid proves indispensable. While many dishes are sandwiches, dips or salads, Bittman offers a handful of innovative gems like figs in a blanket and pasta jambalaya, drawing from a diverse gastronomical panorama including Latin, Asian, Mediterranean and Creole flavors. And while quick, Bittman's recipes don't lack his signature creative punch. Lavender-thyme braised chicken, scallop and peach ceviche and a five-spice lobster sandwich will make most readers both salivate and appreciate the ease of his recipes. (June)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

New York Times columnist Bittman (How To Cook Everything) here offers more than 400 quick and easy recipes inspired by the seasons. Rather than standard recipe style, each one is only one paragraph, written in a conversational style, with a one-line headnote. Bittman describes the recipes as "precisely imprecise," and most are open to variations and improvisation. Sure to be popular. [See Prepub Alert, LJ2/15/09.]

—Judith Sutton

Library Journal