"HowToCookEverything" news and stories

'How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition)'
Recipes by Mark Bittman
Wiley -- 2008
Buy It on Amazon

The Minimalist's take on cooking has pretty much become the last decade's go-to wedding present for young couples who haven't yet discovered their culinary chops. In his now Beard-award-winning update, Mark Bittman adds lexicons, reorganizes recipes and focuses on home cooking, "leaving most of that [restaurant food] behind."

In the 10 years since the debut of "How to Cook Everything," Bittman's own fame has grown exponentially as evidenced by his recent PBS roadtrip to Spain with A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow (with Mario Batali along for the ride). Maybe that's why some recipes get a bump up in stature. In 1998, his spicy shrimp recipe was titled "Shrimp, My Way"; in the new edition it's "The Simplest and Best Shrimp Dish."

But when you've essentially created a generation's "Joy of Cooking," you can afford to brag ... even if it's only about your shrimp.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Pity my poor kids. Forced to eat the slop I make for them. No doubt they'll grow up with horror stories to tell their friends. Like the time their mom made them Rice with chicken crap. Or any one of a dozen other examples. Home cooking may be an expression of love, but in my case, perhaps I'd better content myself with buying them more Nintendo chips.

Then I got to thinking: What could one get the mom who can't cook -- but is forever trying?

The basics: I'd start with a nice new copy of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. It's the Joy of Cooking for our generation, a large yellow tome featuring the basics of roast chicken and chocolate chip cookies. Foodies might sneer at its simple level, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? And if Mom is starting late, gently help her along in her cooking adventures with a book that will hold her hand down the road. The recipes are simple, and more likely to turn out than not.

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