Scale back, eat right and eat in…marathon training food mantra

Scale back, eat right, and eat in…the mantras of our time. Inevitably, I turn to my copy of How to Cook Everything with its crinkly, smudged and sticky pages, the hallmark of an indispensable cookbook. It was written by Mark Bittman, urbane and curmudgeonly, the author of The Minimalist, a venerable (but hip) weekly column of the NY Times food section. How to Cook Everything is an old friend, trusty and reliable to come through for a quick bite or a nerve-racking dinner party.

The cookbook is clearly written, well tested and devoid of fussy and extraneous instructions. There are manageable amounts of ingredients and interesting variations on each theme. Classic comfort food mingles easily with ethnic fare. Bittman begins each section with “The Basics of–” The information is edifying and fun to read.

My family favorites; roast pork/ Puerto Rican style, macaroni and cheese, pizza dough, cornbread, peanut sauce and Hanoi noodle soup. Foodie friends and family rave about Bittman’s banana bread, asparagus with Parmesan, grilled leg of lamb, crème fraiche, couscous with mint and parsley and several variations of chicken cutlets.

We use it as our “go to” reference book; perusing How to Cook Everything to learn the “how to” of most any dish and then building upon it.

Yet one more reason for revere: it makes a terrific gift for friend, graduate or for that impossible (to buy for) family member.

Tagged as: how to cook Everything, marathon training, Mark Bittman