How to Cook Everything: The Basics: Simple Recipes Anyone Can Cook

August: Y'all, I bought a cookbook. I can bake sweets that will make you cry mercy and beg for just one more hit. But actual cooking?Yeah, not so much.November: So I've had this cookbook roughly three months. Am I a 5 star chef yet?Well. No, not exactly. I still have a deep affection for take out pizza. I don't use fresh herbs. I screwed up a dip recipe by making it so spicy literally no one was able to eat it. Sometimes what I make tastes good, but it looks a bit like it was dropped from a grea [...]

I love this book! I was searching for a cookbook for a friend who was lamenting that she wants to learn to cook but felt uncertain of even the basics, so when I saw this at the library, I snapped it up to see if it lived up to its title. Indeed, it does!I consider myself a moderately experienced, self-taught cook, and what I loved about this book was that it didn't take anything for granted. For example, not sure what the difference is between a "rolling boil" and a "gentle boil?" No worries, Bi [...]

This is by far the most helpful cookbook I've ever read. I've owned How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for several years now, but even as an intermediate cook have been intimidated by the size alone of it. After giving this cookbook as a Christmas present and hearing race reviews, I checked it out of the library. Two chapters in, I purchased my own copy. This cookbook is ideal for all levels of home cooks-the pictures make it ideal for beginners but the tips make it helpful for those with some ex [...]

Ordinarily the reader should exercise a great degree of scepticism when faced with a book that describes itself with superlatives. How to cook everything? All you need? Yet, this time, such caution might be a tad unnecessary.This is a book that could be one of those truly great first cookbooks for a younger person, perhaps someone off to college or someone moving out from the hotel of mother and father. Yet probably nobody except top chefs should feel a embarrassed by this book as you might thin [...]

Cookbook club title. A great resource for new cooks; much more accessible than the Joy of Cooking. A few techniques I want to try.

Whether you are a kitchen novice, or a seasoned chef in need of a restart, you will be delighted by Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything-The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food"! Both enlightening and elegant in its simplicity, this book does not overwhelm with too much "stuff". Instead, it lets the innate natural goodness of food ingredients combine with useful, useable utensils and soothingly successful cooking techniques. The results: brand new basics that are a blend of the familiar an [...]

This is my go-to cookbook for basically everything. I had to teach myself to cook and after a lot of trial and error this was the one that met all my needs. Most cookbooks, even beginner cookbooks, assume the reader has knowledge of certain things like knife handling, differences between cuts of meat, the difference between braising and broiling, etc. none of which I knew. This book has it all. Most helpful are the pictures that accompany every recipe. As a beginning cook, I really needed the vi [...]

I love this book! We got it from the library and liked it so much we had to get our own. Get this: It even inspiresmeto cook!

This would make a great wedding shower gift for a beginning cook.

Great intro book that would be a wonderful gift for one newly living on their own or getting married.

You'll probably notice that I don't review many cookbooks. Well, the simple reason is that I'm rather hopeless in the kitchen! I have chronic health issues that make it hard for me to do simple tasks. I also seem to have a knack for burning things, and cutting fingers instead of vegetables. So I wanted a cookbook that started at the beginning. This does do that, yes, but it almost goes into overkill with detail.I'm not ready to revamp my pantry, spice cabinet, or supply of pots and pans or gadge [...]

I was looking for basic recipes so I got this book out from the Library. I enjoy cooking, but prefer not to use complicated recipes as I am often a last minute cook. This book provides fairly simple recipes, there are a few "chill for an hour" recipes. There are suggestions for prep and variations for cooking or changing the recipes. I flagged and copied many recipes to use in the future.

Excelente libro, no le doy 5 estrellas por qué en mi imaginario, el libro era mucho mejor. Sin embargo para gente que está empezando en este mundo ( como yo) es excelente. Lo mejor del libro son sus ilustraciones

100 recipes from the author's "How to Cook Everything" that he thinks are basic, plus some that are "good to know".

It is one of the worst comments made about someone who is a rotten cook: “They don’t even know how to boil water!” Well, if you have never done it, or if you have never seen what it looks like--boiling water--then one of the most basic techniques in food preparation can produce a bad, if not inedible, meal. And, if the inexperienced cook mistakes simmering water for boiling, and puts in pasta or rice, the end product will be a globby mess of starch.For over twenty years Mark Bittman has be [...]

How to Cook Everything: The Basics is an essential first cookbook. Give it to college students facing their first time cooking for themselves, or to new home owners who can no longer afford nightly take-out.(On second thought, don’t give it to anyone. Ever. Cookbooks are terrible gifts unless the recipient specifically points one out for you. My mother’s incessant habit of buying me diet cookbooks in my overweight teenage years (her idea of subtlety) hardly helped our turbulent relationship [...]

This is a review of the newest edition, which unlike previous editions is fully illustrated with tons of very detailed photographs.I've cooked basically everything in this book with the exception of most of the desserts. After working my way through it, I CAN honestly say that I'm way more confident in the kitchen than I was a couple of years ago or so when I picked it up.Some of the techniques in here are a little questionable (you really don't need to cook burgers under the broiler), and as wi [...]

Leafed through this cookbook and really enjoyed it. There is a lot of great information for any level of cook. I wish there was some way to transport this cookbook to my younger self,.oh the cooking mistakes I've made having been a self taught cook. Nowadays, I'm a decent from scratch cook, but I've never been able to gain any confidence in my cooking, especially in the baking department and I can concede that even after my many years of cooking, I still have a lot of interesting cooking related [...]

I'm trying to get back into cooking, and I really appreciate this book. Instead of thumbing through recipes with exotic ingredients and complex procedures, I think "hmmI want mashed potatoes." And there's a no-nonsense mashed potatoes recipe. He often offers a few simple variations, such as mashing tools that will produce creamy vs. chunky mashed potatoes, or alternate cheeses and mix-ins for a mac & cheese. Besides being good options in their own right, these variations help show how the ma [...]

The nice thing about Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: The Basics is that for a novice cook, everything is spelled out for you. It's a collection of good, basic recipes, but the emphasis in the book is on technique and defining terms that new cooks, and even some more experienced cooks, might not know. There are a lot of pictures that show step-by-step cooking, which is a real plus to me. I've been cooking for a while now and don't need a lot of the explanations, but I also found things in [...]

Very helpful in teaching and/or reviewing techniques with which I'd gotten a little lax, like remembering to brown the roast before slow-cooking, or shocking the veggies in ice water after steaming to prevent them from getting over cooked. The tone is sort of like watching the "Good Eats" host explain the physics (which my education has neglected) involved in carmelizing sugar, making gravy, and so on. It's educational, yet straightforward. The important thing is, if you use the proper technique [...]

The full-length How to Cook Everything is my go-to cookbook, but I really enjoyed browsing its shorter, illustrated sibling. Unlike the monster original, it would be possible (and very interesting) to cook through this version. Which I would love to do.Some of these are the same recipes as the other; some are a little different. Mr. Bittman still seems to think you can make barbeque sauce without a sweetener (nope, not gonna work).Great, illustrative photos. This would be a perfect learning-to-c [...]

Best cookbook for beginners I have ever read. I am an avid cook, and cookbook junkie, so that should speak volumes! Bittman makes cooking accessible for everyonen't know how to boil water? Don't fret! There are actually directions and a picture to help you. This book is also great for the seasoned cook for the 'upgrades' Bittman suggests for each dish. I will be buying a copy for myself as well as for all future housewarming/shower/graduation gifts.

Tailor-made for a dedicated non-cook (read: supremely insecure cook) like myself. Worth buying/borrowing from the library for the pictures alone, which are both spectacular and exhaustive. The text is easy to understand without being pandering and includes lists and tips for first setting up your kitchen to preparing your own Thanksgiving feast, and everything in between. Well done, Mark Bittman.

I have had this book for a couple of years and it has become a staple in the kitchen. it is a phenomenal book with great recipes. We cook meals from it on a weekly basis. I would consider myself not completely a beginner cook, somewhere closer to an intermediate cook. The recipes are very straightforward, extremely tasty and fairly healthy. It has a lot of tips and tricks and most recipes have several variations. Would recommend this book definitely to beginners and even experienced cooks.

I have had this edition for a while. It's been burned and battered. Some of the pages have obviously been left open while cooking but I still go to it time and again. It's like a good friend, reliable, easy to deal with and always available. I've taught my son to make biscuits and pancakes using these simple recipes. Sometimes I experiment but I can do that relying on the foundations that Mark Bittman put into his recipes. It's a great starter cookbook.

This book should have been added to my list a few years back. I'm adding it now because I made two delicious recipes which were easy to follow with simple ingredients over the weekend. I consult this book often and I enjoy seeing Mark Bittman on the Today Show when he's on there. This is definitely the one cookbook that I would purchase for a beginning cook. His step-by-step instructions are really great.

This book is very informative, and the steps are really easy to follow. Bittman shows you step by step how you can make delicious, homemade food for you and your family. I especially like the little tips at the beginning; how to boil an egg, proper knife cuts, and many more techniques. This is essential to beginners, and even chefs, who want to perfect their technique. A must-have for all foodies. ♥

By far the best cookbook I have ever read. The pictures are pleasing to the eyes. The instructions are simple and easy to follow. Background information are concise, things I always wanted to know but don't want to read about it in depth. Meal planning with this book is a breeze! Only complain is I wish it comes with multiple measurements for different serving size.

I think I was actually looking for another book that this author wrotet this one. The book I was looking for told you how to look everything and it had the most wonderful pictures. I remember it had a picture of how an asparagus spear looked grilled, steamed, fried, etc. Lots of pictures to show basic cooking steps. I think it was white w/ read lettering. (6/22/2012)