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.
Rating:
Summary: A Mentor in the Kitchen
Review: I began flipping through this book when it first arrived and found myself driven to read it cover-to-cover. Mark Bittman's approach is like having a food mentor in my very own kitchen. Providing the right amount of information about the ingredients and the process PLUS ideas for modifying the recipes to suit the contents of your refrigerator is incredibly helpful. His practical, down-to-earth method is more like great coaching--informative and inspiring! The Lemongrass-Ginger Soup on page 16 pleased everyone in my soup loving family (which includes two teenage boys). Mark's section called "With Minimal Effort" includes multiple ways to enhance/modify every recipe. And did I mention the Pasta & Potatoes recipe, page 59? Seasoned chefs may shudder but I have to say, it's a slice of heaven if heaven serves comfort food. Mark Bittman, I'm grateful for your practical yet food loving approach to getting tasty dinners on the table quickly. We're having a Lemongrass-Ginger Soup variation tonight!
Rating:
Summary: What a Fabulous Book!
Review: I bought this book because anybody that writes or has written for Cooks Illustrated is worthy of my attention. Believe me, I was not disappointed. I regularly make the roasted turkey breast. It is so easy and it turns out juicy every time, and that's a big deal if you've ever had dried out turkey at your mother-in-law's over the holidays. I also made the gravy, which is wonderful with the shallots. Then we have leftover turkey for a few days with the gravy warmed up, and you have a quick dinner that's delicious. I also tried the beens with lemon. I just love this recipe. It really makes the beans taste so special with the zest and juice added to the beans. What a great combination. And, again, it's so simple. Why would you want to cook more complicated recipes when you can have such good food with so little work? Remember, any cookbook from someone who is now or has ever been with Cooks Illustrated is worth you time.
Rating: 
Summary: Get "How To Cook Everything" Instead
Review: I can't say enough good things about "How To Cook Everything," which is my cooking bible. However, "The Minimalist" seems to offer little new in terms of technique or reference, and has only a small fraction of the number of recipes in HTCE - many of which are identical or very simalar to ones in HTCE. If you have HCTE, this book is redundant. If you don't have HCTE, get it instead - it's 5 times the book at essentially the same price. I have both books, and always find myself reaching for the dog-eared and food-stained copy of "How To Cook Everything".
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not essential. Not even third-tier, really
Review: I give it two stars even though it is well written, and Bittman definitely knows what he's talking about. The problem is that the receipes in it are available in so many other cookbooks that reading it feels like a final-semester review of the highlights of my other cookbooks. It's not overly original, and surprisingly does not contain a lot of recipes - just lots of text. And definitely a low supply of pictures (that is, there aren't *any*). One would hope, that if it doesn't have pictures, and not many recipes, but still manages to come in at a couple hundred pages long that it must, therefore, be heavy on cooking theory and helpful suggestions/ideas. Well, alas, it doesn't have that, either. Lastly, the whole idea for the book was to present recipes that can be made in a short time with a minimum of nigredients. It definitely succeeds at that goal, and I do give credit for managing to offer quickly prepared foods, etc. The only catch to this is that many of the ingredients he comes up with are fine if you live in NYC, but are either impossible to find or impossbile to afford if you are in a small town. That's a minor point, however. The minimalist cook offeres a minimal amount of recipes (and nothing new in them), minimal cooking help, with a minimal amount of description of the foods, and no pictures. I minimally recommend this cookbook. You can find so many better ones - Julia Childs' "How to Cook" and "The French Chef", "How to Cook Everything", and a few others. Don't be ..... into it just because "minimalism" has become so trendy.
Rating:
Summary: Just a Fabulous Book!!!
Review: I had never heard of Mark Bittman but apparently read about him somewhere so got this book from the library, and I absolutly LOVE this cookbook! It is not a homey, comfort-food deal, with recipes needing 20 ingredients. There are no cute illustrations or large glossy food-porn photos of the finished product. These are sophisticated recipes calling for a few good ingredients. They can be changed around quite a bit according to suggestions at the end of the recipe. Now, don't think the ingredients called for are hard to find and/or exotic. If you live out in the boonies, maybe you'll have a problem finding lemongrass or cilantro, but I live in a dying mid-size northeastern city and every supermarket bigger than a 7-11 has everything you can imagine. The zucchini pancakes with Asian flavorings are easy to make and just out of this world, and you can use other vegetables also. Never in my life did I think I would eat cilantro, much less make pilgramages to the farmers market to actually buy it! This cookbook contains recipes for good stuff not too hard to make, but be aware there is no Old-Fashioned meatloaf, no Susie's apple pie, or Grandma's marshmallow fudge. If you've moved beyond that cuisine, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: An Essential for Cookbook-Addicts (Seasoned or Amateur)
Review: I have constantly butted heads with any whisper of authoritarian tone, especially in regards to the kitchen. Since I don't work in the sizzling madness of a four-star restaurant under an iron gaze, I prefer a more relaxed ambience in my kitchen. The fabulous thing about this book is that it dissects the fundamentals of good cooking - no matter what the cuisine. Ingredients that are in their prime and of the highest quality, a basic understanding of what's staring at you from the kitchen counter or refrigerator, and the willingness to experiment and trust your innate (yes, we all have to a certain degree) gastronomic intuition. Cookbook authors are most often restaurant professionals whose idiosynchratic personalities make them interesting points in the culinary universe, but all too often intimidate the average cook with a heavy-handed emphasis on tradition/precision and mind-boggling lexicon. Bittman's casual approach and culinary flexibility put the reader at ease enough to enjoy the actual process and the significant results from their modest efforts. For the seasoned cook in purusit of a new perspective or for the willing amateur, approach the recipes without the obligatory pre-recipe tension. Bittman will effortlessly guide you along the way with useful insight on his triumphs and errors and how to make do with several options, even if it seems like you can't.
Rating:
Summary: I use this book more often
Review: I like to decide what to have for dinner and then look through this for those things, and then change my mind because he has a better idea ... the pan-fried duck and the devilled chicken for instance. Everything I've tried has been too simple to be proud of, and yet they make everyone else so happy. It's really one of those basic books where you can make the same thing over and over without getting tired of it. None of the recipes are unusual to someone who knows food, which makes it kind of blase, yet they are perfect as they are. He doesn't pull any star punches here, no long lists of ingredients, no technique. Just simply good food.
Rating:
Summary: Just the best!
Review: I really love Mark Bittman's approach to cooking, in general, and to cooking a quick and delicious dinner, specifically. My copy of this book looks much older than it is, thanks to the wine and broth stains on its pages, the notes to myself ("this was superb!! serve it with fresh cantaloupe and a green salad"), and the dog-eared pages. Everyone who cooks just for him- or herself needs to have it on the cookbook shelf, and it is a great resource for families too--whether you are a working family who needs to get something wonderful on the table very quickly, or whether you have the luxury of someone staying at home. I've satisfied my family with weeks of dinners out of this cookbook, and impressed a friend with a gourmet dinner made from these recipes. I think I've tried all the recipes in this book and loved them all, with one exception. The spaghetti cooked in red wine just looked like earthworms.....sorry, Mark. I guess you can only nail it 99.999999% of the time. What a great cookbook. Nearly all these recipes can also be found in his big yellow book "How to Cook Everything," but it's worth buying this one for itself. There are extra notes on dressing up the recipes in dozens of ways, and some recipes can only be found here and not in the yellow book. With Bittman on your shelf, dinner will be wonderful, fast, and healthy. Guaranteed.
Rating:
Summary: A little disappointed...
Review: I'm a big fan of Bittman's column in the NY Times food section and once I found out this book was out, I grabbed it. After making a few recipes, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Although all the recipes are simple (if not a bit exotic), healthy, and relatively easy to prepare, I found a few of them surprisingly bland (chicken w/rice, some of the stir fries). Of course, there are suggestions for expanding each dish, but I was hoping for more flavorful food right from the straight recipes. This surprises me because I've found his minimalist approach to work really well in the recipes I've used from his columns. Less is more right? Well, somehow, the recipes I tried from the book just tasted like less. On the whole, this is a good cookbook and Bittman challenges you to think beyond traditional ingredients.
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