How to Cook Everything Fast: A Better Way to Cook Great Food

New York Times food writer Bittman returns with his How to Cook series, this time focusing on recipes that consider preparation time. Bittman believes we all have time to cook, we just need better recipes—and he does an excellent job of providing these dishes. Fast cooking according to Bittman means strategy, not compromise, and he delivers on his promise of “delicious food prepared from real ingredients—and quickly.” Recipes that seem complex are broken down and reconstructed in Bittman’s signature style, rendered easier and simpler, without losing flavor. The theme of faster, better, extends to ingredients, equipment and techniques, as well as to the recipes. Salads include asparagus and kale caesar salad, and a crab and celery root remoulade. Classic sandwiches like an eggplant parmesan sub, and a chicken salad, embellished with grapes and rosemary, are featured, as are reworked favorites like linguine with clams; sesame chicken with snow peas; and a skillet meat loaf. At over a thousand pages, Bittman has delivered another brilliant, comprehensive reference. (Oct.)