Rating: 
Summary: Minimal effort - Maximum benefit
Review: "The Minimalist Cooks at Home" is a great collection of recipes that call for minimal ingredients and effort, but yield maximum results. And better yet, these are intriguing and interesting recipes, much influenced by various ethnic cuisines from the world over.The book starts with a delicious recipe for a "toasted bread salad" (great for using leftovers). Also notable are the "pasta and potatoes", and "chicken under a brick". There are plenty of insights into kitchen technique and helpful hints to vary the results. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Bittman's The Bomb! This Book Rocks!
Review: A direct quote from my 9 year old daughter which was repeated with each new dish I prepared from this wonderful book. When I first received the book, I was disappointed in it's size (small/thin) and the enormous amount of words and lack of beautiful colored photos. (The included photos show method and are in black and white, part of the minimalist theme). It just didn't "look" like a cookbook. My opinion quickly changed as I picked up the book and started reading. I was amazed at how simple (easy & fast) all of the dishes were. I bookmarked those I was interested in and soon my book was fat with markers of dishes I wanted to try! That's the best thing about this book, Bittman has simplified each recipe to the point where you want to try it. The short ingredient list and simple cooking methods make each recipe do-able and not daunting. I've tried 8 dishes so far and every one was a hit with my family... Emma's Cod and Potatoes, Paella Fast and Easy and Chicken with Reisling are our favorites so far. Bittman's introduction provides guidance, suggestions, hints and the "whys" of the dish, invaluable information. The suggested variations at the end of each dish make each recipe even more valuable and teach "rigid" cooks that subsitution with good results is indeed possible and in fact encouraged. Bittman gives you the freedom & knowledge to substitue ingredients properly. The works if you'd like a variation or if you just don't have or don't like some ingredients. The recipe for Paella for example calls for chicken broth, but you can substitue shrimp shell stock (he tells you how to make it) or even plain water. The Paella calls for shrimp, but you can substitute most any meat... chicken, beef, pork. A fully stocked pantry/refrigerator is definitely NOT required for this book. I have SHELVES of cookbooks, but this is the one that stays on my counter. I love the simplicity, I love the taste and I love his creative ideas for dishes. The only people I would not recommend this book for are the cooks who believe that more time, ingredients and/or fancy techniques are required to create a good meal. A wonderful addition to any "busy" cooks library. This is a cookbook that you can use to cook with on a daily basis, not just weekends and most amazing of all, you'll still have energy after cooking to enjoy the meal! You go Bittman!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty decent...
Review: Bittman is an excellent chef, and generally has fantastic ideas in the kitchen. His works usually provide for (almost) immediate accessability, and relative ease. However, I don't follow what brought him to the "less is more" camp on this one. I wouldn't expect this approach for Bittman, and one can sense that he is venturing somewhat outside his normal/typical mode. Whereas this book does not necessarily provide for difficult recipes, it does provide for slightly esoteric ones. Often, the recipes call for items not typically kept in the house. Of course, I'm speaking "typically" in the "rank-and-file" sense of most people out there. I guess what that means is that if you are a devout follower/worshipper of Martha Stewart or only subscribe to the Crisco way of cooking, this book isn't for you. I do immensely enjoy this one, and find it to be a valuable inclusion to my cooking texts. The recipes are almost always delicious and take (at most) mid-level effort. Worth having, but don't over-expect.
Rating:
Summary: Minimal work, maximal flavor
Review: Bittman's "minimal" recipes yield great food, as anyone who follows his NY Times column will know by now. Here he lists optional enhancements to each recipe that add just a little extra work but that create what sometimes amount to new dishes. A lovely book to look at and to handle, also.
Rating:
Summary: Fast, easy & delicious
Review: For any 9 to 5 person, how can you beat a cookbook with easy, fast, minimal easy ingredients? I collect these kind of recipes and am delighted to find a collection in a cookbook by a well respected author.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to find a better cookbook
Review: for someone like me whose eyes glaze over when there are more than 4 ingredients. The recipes in this book are simple but elegant. I want to try nearly all of them and I hate to cook! The key is flavorful food without tedium. There are lots of alternatives to try with each recipe. I'm off to find his other books!
Rating: 
Summary: Not anxious to own another Mark Bittman book...
Review: Frankly, I'd hesitate to order any new book by Mark Bittman after owning "How to Cook Everything." "How...Everything" should be titled, "How To Cook Everything If You Already Know How To Cook Everything." I am classically trained and a professional pastry chef. I can't name a recipe from this book that worked without major tweaking. After the first two recipe failures, I began to look at each subsequent recipe I considered with a trained eye and if it didn't make sense to me, I abandoned it. The inexperienced home cook would not be able to recognize these inconsistencies. I'd go with "The Joy Of Cooking" especially if experience is limited. It covers everything, has a wealth of additional cooking information, and the recipe yields are manageable.
Rating: 
Summary: Minimalistic or Animalistic?
Review: Great for those who juggle work with housework and have a hectic social life. Not for those who enjoy the art of cooking as much as they do the act of eating!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, as cookbooks go...
Review: I am a cookbook enthusiast. I love cookbooks, love to cook. Plus I work and have a 2 year old. I have no TIME to cook - therefore making this book a fairly good pick for me.
Bittman presents fairly simply but flavorful recipies that can be easily produced in short order. Many recipies include ingredients that are easily kept on hand or found quickly at the store. My favorite aspect of the book is the variations that can be quickly and easily selected to vary the recipie. For example, Linguine with Garlic and Oil; variations: with chickpeas... with chiles... with parsely... with olives... with fresh herbs...
Not every recipie is everyday (Lobster? for my 2 year old?) - but there is opportunity for company entertaining there.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! A definite buy.
Review: I am just learning to cook and am already an avid fan of Mark Bittman. His two other books - "How to cook everything" and "Simple to spectacular" are the only books that have a permanent place in our spatially-challenged kitchen (we have about 50 other cookbooks). Now, I have to find room for this book. I read "the mini" in the NY Times every week and have attempted a few of his recipes, which have always produced fantastic results. The recipes in this book are fast, simple to follow, and require ingredients that are very easy to get. Along with each simple recipe, Bittman also includes a "With Minimal Effort" section that lets you elevate the dish from minimalist to spectacular. The technique and ingredients in this section are just as simple as in the main recipe. Buy it. You will definitely enjoy it.
| 
