Author Mark Bittman has a new book out, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, sort of a sequel ot his hit How To Cook Everything (or, more accurately, the next book in the series), and in this interview with Publisher's Weekly, he says that even though he eats meat, he finds himself eating less these days, and thinks more and more people will eat this way.

A lot of our food traditions and habits we learn from our parents at an early age. Take pasta sauce. I come from a large Italian family, so we had spaghetti every single week when I was growing up. My mom made her sauce (my dad's recipe, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it was award-winning) and when we put it on the pasta, we put a lot. Not enough so it gets all watery and the pasta is swimming, but certainly enough to cover the pasta out to the edge (more than the photo above).

Now here comes Mark Bittman at The New York Times who agrees with this approach. While most cookbooks will tell you to make a lot of pasta and just add a couple of ladels of sauce in the middle of the plate, Bittman suggests you turn the amounts around and make twice as much sauce as pasta. Mario Batali, in a video from Serious Eats after the jump, disagrees.

How do you sauce your pasta?

• Some restaurants will be headed by star chefs, others are opening elsewhere, but originated in NY, and really, there are just too many to count.
• The new vibe in restaurants is casual and cool
• Why does it take so long (and so much heartache) to get a restaurant to open?
• Critic Frank Bruni takes a dive into fish-heavy Soto
• Go! Go! Curry keeps it real with Japanese comfort food
• But it's not all just about restaurants. For the home kitchen, Mark Bittman does a paella and Harold McGee explains gelatin filtration

The best cocktail city in the world right now is London, according to Audrey Saunders, the owner of New York's Pegu Club. The drinks are fantastic and innovative and the bartenders making them can be more of a draw than the chefs in the restaurant's kitchen. The hottest London bartender is Dick Bradsell, owner of Dick's Bar and MatchBar, as well as several other cocktail spots, none of which will put style over substance, preferring to up the ante in both departments.

Anyone who grew up on a farm that raised chickens has probably come across unlaid eggs inside a older hen when it was slaughtered. Chef Dan Barber, of Blue Hill, has recently started harvesting such eggs and adding them to his menu. Naming them "immature," as opposed to "embryonic" on the menus has helped sales, but the strong flavor isn't for everyone.

The curious cook tried to make his own homemade rice wines, trying to avoid the off "mousy" flavor that can sometimes arise.

Get in on a staff party for the employees of the Spotted Pig.

Frank Bruni eats at Kobe Club and gives it zero stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes mackerel.

The silicone cookware industry is growing every year and the NY Times goes to great lengths test out the properties of silicone bakeware, which make up 7% of the bakeware market overall. Their conclusions? It is not nonstick, but stick resistant. It is not good for everything. High quality silicone products are expensive, while others may contain fillers that compromise their heat resistance. The final list of the products included potholders and a few other things on the "recommended" list, while cake pans and measuring cups made the "not recommended" list.

Until recently, the food was always secondary to the coffee at Starbucks, but now that the company is trying to compete with McDonalds and other quick-service breakfast places, they are quickly trying to make up lost ground.

Kidfresh is a children's food store, meaning that everything except the food has been scaled down.

Frank Bruni dines are Eleven Madison Park and gives it 3 stars. The Bar Room and the Modern also gets 3 stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, talks about granola.

Despite their inborn Southern love for the artisanal, aged country ham, the Lee Brothers have to admit that city ham, the shortcut that is brined, cured and smoked in as little as two weeks (as opposed to the 1-2 year aging of country ham), can be quite delicious. They tasted their way through the city to find all the top spots to get your ham.

In the basement of the Broadway Presbyterian Church, everyone can find a four star, multi-course meal. This isn't a restaurant, however. It's a soup kitchen. Michael Ennes, the chef, insists on using homemade stocks, avoids trans fats and tries to use organic and local products and produce whenever he can. The meals he serves include roasted turkey with a mango-ginger glaze and tropical fruit stuffing and Andalusian oxtail and lentil stew. "At one time, Mr. Ennes dreamed of being a starred chef" and although he has to rely on donated ingredients much of the time, he couldn't be happier with his work. Broadway Presbyterian is a place where everyone is served and everyone's opinion is valued. "They're still customers, whether they're paying $100 a plate or nothing."

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, introduces people to pancakes: Polenta Pancakes, Baked Pancakes, Light, Fluffy and Rich Pancakes, Recipe: Everyday Pancakes.

Can you identify the origin of a maple syrup by tasting it? The answer is yes. Not all maple syrups are the same and the differences between the varieties are surprising.

A few last minute suggestions for stocking stuffers.

Frank Bruni dines at The Russian Tea Room and gives it 1 star.

Sonoma Foie Gras, a California company, is going on the offensive by threatening Whole Foods with legal action for pressuring some if it's suppliers to discontinue their sale of foie gras. Whole Foods has a written policy against cruelty and does not carry the delicacy. The chain would prefer to do business with companies who do not support the industry.

Give the tradition of lambic beers, which are naturally fermented with airborne yeast, a try instead of relying the antiseptic modern brews. They have a unique dry, tart flavor that develops into fruityness as the beers mature and are blended together. They pair well with strawberry rhubarb tart.

American Italian food remembers its roots with dishes like fried calamari and fettuccini alfredo, offering diners something refreshingly familiar: big servings, thick and delicious tomato sauces and lots of atmosphere. Frank Bruni picks his favorites.

Sometimes the development of a 3-star dessert starts with something old - like a recipe from Catherine de Medici - but in the hands of a master chef, sweet and savory still make new and wonderful combinations.

The Minimalist, Mark Bittman, prepares fried fish with fried ginger.

Frank Bruni dines at Buddakan, with a two star review.

With the opening of an exhibition about the tools used for eating at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Julia Moskin asks are we really afraid of flatware? (Of course not. We’re just saving it for a special occasion!)

The message to eat local, organic and avoid processed foods is at the core of a Berkeley nutrition professor's book What to Eat, which tells you how to shop for groceries and select the most nutritious foods.

An oyster zealot shares his passion along with the history and flavors of the oyster in the Northwest.

Foraging for wild plants in the woods is what really gets some chefs heated up in spring, though the seasonal ramps, ferns and bitter greens are not always the easiest sell to diners.

The minimalist, Mark Bittman, does a video preparation of grilled lamb with miso-chili sauce at the NY Times website.

Frank Bruni dines at August and gives it two stars.

[Image NYT]