Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix

Starred review from September 21, 2015
Bittman (VB6, How to Cook Everything, etc.) continues his winning approach to simplifying recipes for the average home cook in this terrific collection of more than 400 customizable recipes. Beginning with a basic ingredient (beets, soft-shell crab, pork ribs) or concept (gnocchi, spring rolls, slow cooker recipes), Bittman extrapolates on each entry’s inherent appeal and qualities, showing readers how to fight palate fatigue with just a few shifts of preparation or seasoning. It’s a terrific approach, particularly for readers who find themselves with a bounty of zucchini (zucchini carpaccio, curried zucchini soup, sautéed zucchini with sausage and pasta), corn (a cold salad with seafood and tarragon; corn and crab cakes), scallops (Bittman suggests a tartare), or chicken (try grilling it tandoori style or sautéing it with asparagus). While the book’s many riffs and recipes are certainly inventive, not all can be whipped up in minutes. Spicy Big Tray Chicken, an adaptation of one of Bittman’s favorite dishes from a local Chinese restaurant, and Smoked and Roasted Spare Ribs are sure to deliver, but require some patience and planning. That said, readers tired of the same old, same old will find this book to be a godsend, and cooks in search of new ideas are sure to find a few new culinary avenues to explore.

September 15, 2015

Best-selling author Bittman (The VB6 Cookbook) coaxes readers toward a more improvisational style of cooking in this illustrated collection of 400-plus dishes grouped by shared commonalities. Sections such as "cocktails 12 ways" and "vegetable soup 12 ways" arrange recipes and thumbnail photographs in a grid layout that makes it easy to visualize how slight changes in preparation can yield drastically different results. Many of these recipes lend themselves to improvisation--a basic cookie dough, for instance, can be flavored, shaped, filled, and frosted in pretty much any way imaginable. VERDICT This unconventional cookbook can help proficient cooks develop ideas for creating their own recipe variations.

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