Rating: 
Summary: The Joy of Cooking
Review: Before I had a baby 19 months ago, I was interested in recipes with maximum ingredients and complicated preparations. There was usually a 50/50 chance that it would taste good enough to cook again. After the baby, I stopped cooking altogether. I have started again with this book. The recipes are uncomplicated, and the results are sublime. I am eternally grateful to Mark Bittman for bringing joy back to my cooking.
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Summary: Kitchen Romance
Review: Everything's changing! Nothing stays the same. Old patterns dissolve and new ones appear. I could never leave my old Fannie Farmer, though I've flirted often with some more current titles. Now it looks like I'm going to be making major life changes in terms of Who Hold My Attention in the Kitchen. Forget that he kind of looks like me... that just makes it wierd. But this guy has a great approach to easily whipping up great meals without angst and with very modest effort. And he's holding my attention in the midst of a life that's changing faster than Imelda swapped shoes, or ZsaZsa changed husbands. After cooking a lot of family meals in more or less the same fashion for more than a decade, I feel a little like a traitor to someone somewhere because this guy has my total focus at mealtimes. And my husband, Wolf, who tends to be something of a discriminating diner, as well as a competitor in the kitchen arts, has nothing but praise. Buy this book! Try all the recipes. I'm only partway down the path, but I'm not looking back.
Rating: 
Summary: Regrettable
Review: His recipes do look scrumptious, and I'm sure he's an expert cook.........but I can't bring myself to make stock using a whole chicken or the breasts, and then discard the bird as he suggests, especially when I consider how often I use stock. This would be a very expensive venture. He claims wings and backs just don't impart the intensity of flavor that can be produced using more choice pieces. No doubt, he's right. Perhaps filet mignon would make a better beef broth, but can you imagine such a device? Writing an unflattering review makes me uncomfortable. No one likes a negative review and as can be seen by others here, most are affirming. Nevertheless, perusing it, I found many of his recipes to be costly or wasteful. The wasteful part, in particular, goes against my nature.
Rating:
Summary: Not much work, sophisticated results
Review: I have three of Bittman's cookbooks: This one, The Minimalist Cooks at Home, and How to Cook Everything. The two Minimalist books are GREAT. (How to Cook Everything is good, especially if you don't have a basic cookbook.) I have professional culinary training and cook a lot, but even beginners can use Bittman's recipes because they are simple, and he gives very good instructions. Plus, each recipe has an introduction where the author often gives tips, such as why the dish calls for chicken thighs instead of breasts. And at the end, he gives easy suggestions on how to vary the recipe -- like using different flavorings, or substituting shrimp for chicken. I love the recipes because they pare things to their essentials without making them boring -- even though all the recipes are quick and easy, they include hints of Thailand, India, China, Italy, etc. I had not made much Thai food before because it seemed to require so many unusual ingredients, but a Minimalist recipe demonstrated that only a few key items are needed to create "Thai-type" flavors. With that foundation, I can now explore Thai food on my own. One review of The Minimalist Cooks at Home complained that the recipes require things you can only buy in NYC. That's not literally true, but Bittman does use ingredients like fish sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sesame oil (not in the same recipe!). If you've never used such things before, the Minimalist recipes show you how without spending hours on a complicated dish. The difference between this book and Minimalist at Home? at Home focuses mostly on entrees, with a few vegetable and dessert recipes. Cooks Dinner also focuses on entrees, but then has a back section of starters and side dishes. For each Cooks Dinner entree, Bittman suggests which side dishes would go well with it and recommends a wine. The recipes in the two books don't overlap.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick, Easy Cooking
Review: Life can get hectic, and like most young singles, I rarely find time to cook for myself. When I do try new recipes, I often find them good, but too time-consuming for cooking for one. This cookbook changed my way of thinking. I can cook quick and healthy meals that taste great in less than 40 minutes. Each of Bittman's recipes includes suggestions for saving time, complimentary wines, and side dishes to serve. This makes me seem an excellent hostess when I try his suggestions!
Rating:
Summary: excellent collection
Review: Like the companion volume, "The Minimalist Cooks at Home", this is an excellent collection of recipes. His hints on techniques are very helpful, and his recipes use good ingredients and result in clear, strong, delicious flavors. If you're a vegetarian, this isn't a great choice, but otherwise, this is one of my two favorite cookbooks. We have 50 or so cookbooks, but this and "The Minimalist Cooks at Home" are the two I use the most. His recipes make sense, and they don't waste your time or effort.
Rating:
Summary: excellent collection
Review: Like the companion volume, "The Minimalist Cooks at Home", this is an excellent collection of recipes. His hints on techniques are very helpful, and his recipes use good ingredients and result in clear, strong, delicious flavors. If you're a vegetarian, this isn't a great choice, but otherwise, this is one of my two favorite cookbooks. We have 50 or so cookbooks, but this and "The Minimalist Cooks at Home" are the two I use the most. His recipes make sense, and they don't waste your time or effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Vegetarians Beware!
Review: Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" is a treasure trove of vegeterian recipes, including tons of recipes for cooking legumes, grains, and vegetables. Unfortunately, those sections are all missing from "The Minimalist Cooks Dinner," which is essentially about cooking meat, poultry, and fish. Vegeterian Bittman fans would be better off sticking with "How to Cook Everything" and/or trying out "The Minimalist Cooks Vegetarian."
Rating:
Summary: Vegetarians Beware!
Review: Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" is a treasure trove of vegeterian recipes, including tons of recipes for cooking legumes, grains, and vegetables. Unfortunately, those sections are all missing from "The Minimalist Cooks Dinner," which is essentially about cooking meat, poultry, and fish. Vegeterian Bittman fans would be better off sticking with "How to Cook Everything" and/or trying out "The Minimalist Cooks Vegetarian."
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Summary: This book changed the way I cook
Review: My usual routine was to open a can of sauce and throw it over spaghetti weeknights, and then make something fantastic (and complicated) on weekends. Not anymore. Although the recipes in this book are delicious, easy and quick, the real value for me was in the technique lessons he sneaks into every recipe (like searing and steaming chicken breasts) and the encouragement to create your own variations of the recipes. I also liked his flavor combinations- he includes some that I've never tried before as well as the classics, but they've all been very tasty.
I can't recommend this book enough. I also liked "The minimalist cooks at home".
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