I've liked Mark Bittman's cookbooks for years, felt that his style and his voice reflect the way I like to cook. If you read me on the usenet, you know I'm always talking about him. He has a New York Times column I enjoy (whose recipes feed into some of his books).
Lately I've discovered Mark Bittman on video at the Times. (update - see if this link gets you there - they don't make it easy) It's hugely entertaining. He is such a character, with the amused, humorous attitude of the lifelong New Yorker. He's a big ham and he plays well with other New York hams - his segment with the baker Jim Leahy was completely endearing.
I haven't totally figured out where you go to find his video archive links. When the video goes by on the main page, I click on it, and then his past videos come up for browsing. I just looked at his piece from nine months ago on chicken with green olives. The Times thought they would be clever and edit the recipe out, so you'd have to buy it from the archive. Hah! I used my graduate student privileges at the library online to find it in Lexis/Nexis. But I'm not going to reprint it because the Times lawyers are very clever and very dogged and they'll come after me.
Note that his recipes are not foolproof. I don't think he tests them enough - at least not the ones in "How to Cook Everything." Some work well, some fall flat. Other people have complained of this. You have to be wary, and if you think "that doesn't look like it will turn out right," trust your instincts.
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