title: How to Cook Everything Fast
author: Mark Bittman
publication date: October 7, 2014
publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Life may have become more complicated, but cooking can become simpler. The fact is that you do have time to cook: You just need better recipes.
— Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything Fast)
It’s rare for me to ever get excited about a cookbook without any photos. Not a single photo. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It’s just black and white text (with some blue text thrown in for fun), a few step-by-step illustrations and weighs just enough to make me say “Oooof” every time I pick it up.
So, why did I pick up Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Fast for a review? And why was I excited about it? Because it is USEFUL.
First off, I should tell you that Mark’s How to Cook Everything was one of the first books I purchased when my cookbook obsession started several years ago. It seemed like the perfect book to teach me (newbie)…um, well, how to cook everything.
So, now that my days are filled with a full-time job, family, friends, this blog and any number of other projects and crazy situations, How to Cook Everything Fast seemed like just what I needed in my kitchen (even if it didn’t have any photos)
the first nibble:
This book is big. Really big. And like I said – no photos. The sheer size is a little daunting, but eveything is laid out very clearly and concisely and there is A LOT of information contained within these pages.
The book starts off with a chapter called “The Fast Kitchen” and goes through info like how to stop, store and use kitchen staples to speed up your kitchen, some “fast strategies” and even how to use the book (which is probably handy since it’s so big). I love all the info in this first section – such useful things like “interchangeable ingredients” and illustrations for “Prep shortcuts”. Even a 2-page picture of how to set up your kitchen for speed.
On my first pass through the book (HA!), five recipes that jumped out as ‘must try’:
- Srirachs Shrimp Salad Roll, pg. 160
- Three-Stir Mushroom Risotto, pg. 370
- Tuna Poke with Daikon and Peanuts, pg. 544
- Seared Duck Breast with Fruit Sauce, p.g 668
- Beef Stew, pg. 746
the nitty-gritty:
number of recipes (as stated by book): “2,000 streamlined dishes, appetizers, sides and desserts”
recipe list? Yes, at the start of each chapter, there’s a list of recipes contained in that chapter
table of contents: The Table of Contents is misleadingly short and sparse – everything is broken down into a short list of simple categories.
photography: none (there are a few step-by-step illustrations)
photo to recipe ratio: Normally, I include a manual count of photos versus recipes, but considering there were no photographs and the book jacket listed “2,000” recipes, I decided to skip the manual count and I’m sure everyone will be okay with that.
recipes:
– separate ingredient list? yes
– serving info given? yes
– prep/cook time given? yes (more info below)
– recipe format: numbered steps
One of the most simple layouts of any cookbook, the recipes are incredibly easy and simple to follow. The ingredients are listed on the side, and the recipe steps are colour coded – blue for ‘prep’ steps and black for ‘cook’ steps. Since you often can prep while you’re cooking, some of the steps take place simultaneously.
Extras for some recipes include variation suggestions, notes (more shortcuts or less, depending on your time limitations) and even suggested side dishes (with page numbers so you can easily find that recipe as well).
the last bite:
Let’s be honest. As much as we all would love to spend hours in the kitchen cooking and baking… What? No? Just me?… Anyhow, realistically, most of us just don’t have the time to spend cooking all those delicious meals we want to show off. This book not only helps you cook some fantastic recipes, but it teaches you lots of tricks to become more efficient in the kitchen.
With 2,000 recipes, there’s something for everyone (I have to be honest, I’m still discovering new dishes and I’ve been going through this book for weeks). There are classic dishes (“BBQ Baby Back Ribs”), creative new dishes (“Jalapeno-Scallion Johnnycakes”) and dishes that leave no doubt that you’re in a hurry (“Cold Peanut Noodles with Whatever You Have”)
One tiny feature that I love is that the prep/cook time is given (kind of) for each recipe. In the top left-corner of every recipe, a small clock icon is given. Each recipe is grouped into one of three ‘time groups’ to let you know how long it will take to prepare – 0 to 15 minutes, 16 to 30 minutes and 31 to 45 minutes – which implies that NONE of the 2,000 recipes in the book take more than 45 minutes. Fast indeed.
Click here to purchase How to Cook Everything Fast from The Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) or Amazon
Disclosure: I received a copy of How to Cook Everything Fast from the publisher for review purposes. I did not receive any financial compensation for writing this post and the post was not reviewed by the publisher prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own. Please read my disclosure policy for more information.
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