When less is more

REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT

It's hard to believe that Mark Bittman, a.k.a. "The Minimalist," author of a hugely popular, eponymous weekly cooking column in The New York Times and six cookbooks, ever had a qualm, let alone an hysterical moment, when preparing a dinner party. He openly admits that he did, but he also admits that he has learned to calm his qualms and now calms ours in his newest cookbook The Minimalist Entertains. Follow his basic admonition (one I have violated all too many times)—do not succumb to an excess of ambition, keep your expectations reasonable—and you'll find that you can serve a meal with special appeal, keep your cool and actually have a good time. Simple sophistication underlies the 40 menus offered here—10 for each season—each garnished with advice on upping the ante with an added dish, finding the best ingredients and alternatives, casual wine suggestions and a reassuring, realistic timetable. There's an easy elegance to Bittman's cooking and to the way he puts these menus together, and there's hardly a menu here I couldn't wait to try. The spring dinners alone—perfect right now—are well worth the price of admission. Who could resist Pan-roasted Asparagus Soup, Salmon with Beurre Noisette and Pan-Crisped Potatoes followed by fresh ricotta topped with toasted walnuts and honey? All the others are just as tempting and just as effortless. Minimal cooking, maximal pleasure.


More Mark on the mark

I mentioned above that Mark Bittman is the author of six other cookbooks. What I didn't mention is that How To Cook Everything is one of them. It was published five years ago, won big-time awards and quickly and deservedly became a kitchen essential. For me, that means Bittman shares a special space on my overloaded cookbook shelves with Julia Child and Craig Claiborne. He's the new boy on the block (the others have been there since the '60s) but he's the one I'd take with me if I were marooned on a desert island. Bittman believes that anyone can cook, that "there are no 'secrets' to cooking—only good guidance combined with experience." But beginners might be put off by the book's bulk—at least a couple of pounds, 1,500 recipes and well over 900 pages—and the possibility of too much good guidance. So, with his signature simplicity and straightforward approach, the master minimalist has carved a smaller book out of the original. How to Cook Everything: The Basics has 100 simple recipes especially selected for the new cook and the essential low-down on time, ingredients, equipment and technique. Even the never-set-a-foot-in-the-kitchen contingent will be making leafy salad and linguine, steamed mussels and stuffed turkey, rice pilaf and roast pork, pound cake and pancakes and lots more. This bit of Bittman is just what beginners need.


Feeding the child within

Many of you may be familiar with Marion Burros and some or all of her dozen excellent cookbooks. She's an expert on putting together quick-cooking, great-tasting recipes suited to our chronically time-challenged lives. But, after September 11th, she didn't want fast or fancy; she, and a multitude of Americans, craved food that held the nostalgia of childhood—homey, soul-satisfying dishes cooked with love. Or, to put it simply, comfort food. Ms. Burros' timely culinary cure for an unsure world is contained in the aptly titled Cooking for Comfort. Much of the food here comes from Ms. Burros' family heritage, often from three-by-five cards in her mother's own handwriting. Given all her experience, she couldn't help "streamlining" the calorie count just a tad, but never so it destroys a recipe's integrity. What is or isn't comfort food is a personal matter, but I can't imagine anyone quibbling with these perennial classics. Consider Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup and a slow-cooked, crusty Toasted Cheese Sandwich, Chili served with JalapeŇo Corn Bread Pudding or Garlic Cheese Grits, Chicken Pot Pie with a flaky phyllo crust and Chocolate Bread Pudding. I think you'll agree that herein lies the sumptuous solace for the child within and the adult without.


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