Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less

Mark Bittman's unusual book practices some of the decade's cutting edge preaching about eating healthy by providing a year's worth of great--not good mind you, but great--recipes.

A few things make this book unusual. First, it is written for busy people who don't have a lot of time to cook. Most recipes take twenty minutes or less. Second, it is organized by season, which encourages cooking fresh food. Winter dishes are more likely to include root vegetables and summer meals incorporate plentiful tomatoes. Third, Bittman's recipes are stripped down to their bare essentials and exceedingly simple to make. He advises a bit of this and pinch of that, using precise measurements only when absolutely needed. Most recipes are a paragraph. The show more mimimalist approach here is classic Bittman.

Kitchen Express compares very favorably to cookbooks that make lowfat and other health claims. Most recipes rely on flavor rather than fat and salt to please the palate. Although Bittman does not give calorie and fat content in his recipes, I'd be willing to bet that they are healthier on average than Cooking Light's.

Finally, the dozens of Kitchen Express recipes I've tried are absolutely delicious. The flavor combinations and textures all work. If there is any weakness in the book, it is presentation. Dishes are not beautiful but then Bittman is not Martha Stewart. He is after flavor and he gets it.

My family includes professional cooks and we are a pretty tough lot when it comes to cookbooks. We love this one for its ease and the number of brilliant cooking ideas Bittman offers. I'd recommend it to rank amateurs and professionals alike. show less

I own all of Mark Bittman's cookbooks and this is a very good one. I used it many times to get ideas for what to eat when I'm in a hurry. Most recipes I already know how to make but the cookbook reminded me to make that when I was feeling uninspired, like most egg-based dishes, I tried the following:
Mark's Famous Spicy Shrimp
Chicken with green olives
Chocolate panini
Eggplant rolls
and more.

I almost never follow the instructions precisely, as most of them are very flexible. It contains no photos whatsoever, so if you're the type that NEEDS photos in order to make something, skip this one.

In his Kitchen Express, Mark Bittman does what he does best: create delectable but simplified meals for everyday families. Here, all of the recipes are ones you can prepare on a weekday evening in 30 minutes or less. The best weekday cookbook since Marian Burros’ still-unsurpassed Twenty-Minute Menus. Highly, highly recommended.

Recipes distilled to their essence: this is good to eat; here's how to make it. I am the biggest Mark Bittman fanboy, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Great idea for dinners for the family!!

Review of Kitchen Express at The Book Studio.