Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix: More Than 700 Simple Recipes and Techniques to Mix and Match for Endless Possibilities: A Cookbook

by Mark Bittman

Overview

Bestselling author Mark Bittman anthologizes his popular Matrix series in a boldly graphic new cookbook featuring 400 recipes that emphasize creativity, improvisation, and simplicity as the keys to varied cooking.

For years, Mark Bittman has shared his formulas, recipes, and kitchen improvisations in his popular New York Times Eat column, in which an ingredient or essential technique is presented in different variations in a bold matrix. Accompanied by striking photographs and brief, straightforward instructions, these thematic matrices show how simple changes in preparation and ingredient swaps in a master recipe can yield dishes that are each completely different from the original, and equally delicious.

In Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix, Mark’s matrices come together to create a collection of over 400 flexible recipes covering vegetables, fruits, meats and chicken, and even desserts. Whether you're cooking up soup (creamy, brothy, earthy, or hearty), freezing ice pops (in fruity, savory, creamy, or boozy varieties), or preparing asparagus (steamed, roasted, stir-fried, or grilled), following Mark’s approach to culinary improvisation will deliver stand-out results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804188012
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	378,614
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mark Bittman has had a uniquely successful career in cookbooks and food journalism. He’s written more than a dozen books, including the now-classic How to Cook Everything and the bestselling VB6 (Vegan Before 6), which defined a new style of American eating. His 13-year New York Times column “The Minimalist” was among the most popular in the paper, and he just completed a five-year run on the OpEd pages of the Times, where he was the first (and most influential) weekly columnist tackling food issues for a major media outlet.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

For years I’ve said, “If you can cook 10 recipes, you can cook 10,000,” and while I’ve always felt it was true, I’ve never believed it more strongly than I do right now. Writing this book has convinced me all over again that from simple recipes spring nearly endless possibilities. 

Real home cooking, to borrow an old but apt cliché, is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s something you do day to day, week to week, season to season, year to year, forever. Most of us who cook on a regular basis don’t constantly come up with brilliant and innovative dishes— I’d probably be out of ideas in a month—nor do we slavishly follow recipes to the letter; I’d be bored in a week. Instead, we stake out a sweet spot somewhere in the middle; we learn how to cook a handful of basic dishes—salad and vinaigrette, tomato sauce, or soup, for instance—and what to do with everyday ingredients, like chicken breasts, shrimp, or potatoes. As soon as we’re comfortable with core recipes and techniques we begin to improvise, swapping cilantro for parsley, say, or braising in coconut milk instead of wine, or grilling instead of broiling. We embrace the small but meaningful variations that can transform the identity of a dish, make an old favorite taste like a new creation, and turn a modest repertoire of recipes into a lifetime of wonderful meals.

This book showcases and encourages the kind of creativity and flexibility that make daily cooking not just doable but also pleasurable. And it takes little more than a glance at the chapters here— “Apples, 12 Ways,” “Slaw, 8 Ways,” “Leg of Lamb, 3 Ways”—you get the idea: to figure out my fundamental approach, pick an ingredient or a dish and see just how many things you can do with it. The result is a collection that looks quite different from anything I’ve done before, and thanks to the stunning photography, more beautiful. The recipes come in multiple guises: some are conventional with ingredient lists and steps; others are more radical with directions scarcely longer than a tweet. Many are meant to facilitate improvisation in the kitchen, catering to all sorts of cooking styles and preferences. 

Whether you like to stick to the script or cook off the cuff, undertake all-day projects or bang out fast weeknight meals, plan a detailed menu or shop first and ask questions later, there is something here for you. With this combination of recipes, art, and text I hope to depict as richly and inventively as I can just how infinitely gratifying cooking can be. 

GROUND RULES
1. All recipes serve four unless otherwise noted.
2. Salt and pepper is assumed for every recipe (except desserts) where it’s not mentioned explicitly. Use your judgment, but do use salt.
3. When neutral oil is specified you can use grapeseed or corn oil (safflower and sunflower are fine too).
4. Olive oil means extra-virgin.
5. All lemon and lime juice should be fresh.
6. All butter is unsalted.
7. All cream is heavy (whipping) cream.
8. Flour is all-purpose unless otherwise specified.
9. For scallions, use both white and green parts unless specified.
10. For ingredients that don’t have specific quantities listed, use your judgment and taste, taste, taste.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/21/2015
Bittman (VB6, How to Cook Everything, etc.) continues his winning approach to simplifying recipes for the average home cook in this terrific collection of more than 400 customizable recipes. Beginning with a basic ingredient (beets, soft-shell crab, pork ribs) or concept (gnocchi, spring rolls, slow cooker recipes), Bittman extrapolates on each entry’s inherent appeal and qualities, showing readers how to fight palate fatigue with just a few shifts of preparation or seasoning. It’s a terrific approach, particularly for readers who find themselves with a bounty of zucchini (zucchini carpaccio, curried zucchini soup, sautéed zucchini with sausage and pasta), corn (a cold salad with seafood and tarragon; corn and crab cakes), scallops (Bittman suggests a tartare), or chicken (try grilling it tandoori style or sautéing it with asparagus). While the book’s many riffs and recipes are certainly inventive, not all can be whipped up in minutes. Spicy Big Tray Chicken, an adaptation of one of Bittman’s favorite dishes from a local Chinese restaurant, and Smoked and Roasted Spare Ribs are sure to deliver, but require some patience and planning. That said, readers tired of the same old, same old will find this book to be a godsend, and cooks in search of new ideas are sure to find a few new culinary avenues to explore. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"From the man who tried to teach you How to Cook Everything comes this, a book on how to improvise in the kitchen. Kitchen Matrix is a somewhat genius concept: take an ingredient or dish (tomatoes), offer a few base recipes (salad, soup, stuffed, sauce), and some basic variations on those recipes (a BLT salad, or a tomato eggplant caponata sauce). The goal is to get people comfortable going off book with their own cooking, and it's presented in a fun and engaging way. If you like the variations in the How to Cook Everything books—and there are people who think those variations are the best part—here's an entire book of them." —Epicurious

“Mark Bittman is the master of uncomplicated cooking, and fans will no doubt be familiar with the concept behind his latest cookbook: Learn a handful of basic recipes and with a little creativity, you can prepare a lifetime of satisfying meals.” —Tasting Table

"Bittman continues his winning approach to simplifying recipes for the average home cook in this terrific collection of more than 400 customizable recipes…Readers tired of the same old, same old will find this book to be a godsend, and cooks in search of new ideas are sure to find a few new culinary avenues to explore. " —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Beautifully photographed and designed…[Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix] embraces a bold, fresh way to share recipes.” —Associated Press

“[Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix] is an immersive visual guide of his trademark dishes: basic recipes paired with inventive variations.  The striking images remind us that prepping herbs and veggies is rewarding for the eyes – and the nose, too.  The resulting meals are vivid and delicious.” —House Beautiful

From the Publisher

09/15/2015
Best-selling author Bittman (The VB6 Cookbook) coaxes readers toward a more improvisational style of cooking in this illustrated collection of 400-plus dishes grouped by shared commonalities. Sections such as "cocktails 12 ways" and "vegetable soup 12 ways" arrange recipes and thumbnail photographs in a grid layout that makes it easy to visualize how slight changes in preparation can yield drastically different results. Many of these recipes lend themselves to improvisation—a basic cookie dough, for instance, can be flavored, shaped, filled, and frosted in pretty much any way imaginable. VERDICT This unconventional cookbook can help proficient cooks develop ideas for creating their own recipe variations.

Library Journal