Ben Cooks Everything

Pearl couscous–I always see it labeled as Israeli couscous, it’s the same thing–cooks really fast (ten minutes or less) and makes a really nice, substantial side that if you add enough veggies and some protein, it can be dinner in and of itself.  Here, you sautee some onions and the couscous until toasted, then add garlic, reconstituted dried tomatoes, and olives and cover with stock, then cook until it’s all done. It’s really good this way, and even better with a bit of diced apricot thrown in.   (more…)

Raw beets don’t get enough credit. Beets are great, if polarizing, but they’re almost always being steamed or roasted before you eat them. But really, you can use them just like carrots: peel and give them a whirl through your food processor’s grater blade (or grate by hand, if you’ve got the time and a tarp to protect your kitchen from splattered beet juice). Dress it with a simple yet strong vinaigrette of olive oil, sherry vinegar and plenty of mustard and top with some bucheron or blue cheese (bucheron here, which worked nicely) and toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts or whatever nut you like, really, and you’ve got a delicious and good looking salad. (more…)

Roast chicken. Just perfect for Sunday dinner–simple, delicious, endlessly variable, experimental but almost always so solid, easily one of the best things you can make. I make it all the time–whole, in parts, split, whatever. But I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe for roasted chicken for over a year now. Last month, I ate the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had, at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. Using a pared down version of the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I made it at home along with the bread salad, and it was delicious (Paupered Chef has a version of the recipe as well). Crispy skin, tender meat, plenty of flavor and a delicious bread salad–kind of a stuffing–that was remarkably similar to what I had at Zuni, if a bit less striking in presentation. Read on for more on the method. (more…)

So, who’s been keeping up with Mark Bittman’s new opinion blog? Tackling the intersection of food and politics, I think it’s solid, and seems to be getting better each week–the discussion it sparked over McDonald’s oatmeal offering seemed insightful and informed, with Bittman himself being taken to task and responding in kind.

For those looking for something more like the old Minimalist column, check out the debut of the Times’ Sunday Magazine’s new food section. In this week’s column, Bittman lays the groundwork with a dozen non-recipes for soup. Work your way through them, Bittman says, and you’ll never need another vegetable soup recipe again. A great plan for setting readers up to think on their feet and create their own recipes. Can’t wait to see what more is to come from Bittman in the Sunday Magazine.

On Food [nytimes opinion blog]
Creamy, Brothy, Earthy, Hearty [nytimes sunday magazine]

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Endive: it’s pretty, but I don’t love it raw. This recipe braises the endive, which mellows its bitterness without removing it completely. Plenty of prosciutto makes it palatable for those who might be on the fence. (more…)

This recipe on Food52 is a real winner. If you’ve never tried raw brussels sprouts, give this a go; they’re sweet and crunchy, and they hold up very well in the fridge if you have leftovers. It takes well to variations–you’ll notice in the picture that I added some crispy chopped bacon and used shallots in place of the red onion. The recipe suggests slicing the sprouts by hand, but if you have a food processor with a slicing disk, use that instead. (more…)

Can you believe that it’s been over two years since the start of this little blog? I’m still slogging away at the list, still with thousands more recipes to go, but I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. I’ve gained confidence in the kitchen, I’ve made things I wouldn’t have otherwise, and I’m writing more than ever, here and over at Serious Eats: New York.

So, the project continues. But I’m afraid that you, dear reader, may be getting a little bored of “I wanted to make that, so I did this, then this, then a third thing, to make that. It was good that, maybe not the best that I’ve ever tasted, but satisfactory and a good starting point, and easy!” Am I projecting? Maybe I am the only one who is bored. I mean, Bittman’s recipes are dependable almost to a fault, if that’s possible. In any case, starting this week I’m going to try something new. The cooking posts will be shorter, and a lot more of them will be from sources other than How to Cook Everything. Also, I’ll be varying the types of content I share with you. What will that look like? Well, I’m not really sure. Expect more links from around the internet (have you been following the new Bittman Opinion blog on the Times’ website? It’s great!) and more posts about traveling and eating out. There will be other things, too, but I’m not sure what they are yet! But don’t worry, I was never sure what this thing would look like, and I’m pretty happy with it so far. (more…)

Well, this is it folks. Today marks the end of thirteen years of The Minimalist column in the Times’ dining section. I found it hard not to get a little sentimental today, reading Bittman’s last ever filing as the Minimalist. It’s not all bad news, though; Bittman will be contributing to the Times’ opinion pages, writing a new blog for the paper, and also contributing recipes to the Sunday Magazine. So, onward and upward for Mr. Bittman. I’ll miss the weekly column–it brought us these crackers, this incredible raw tomato sauce, the revolutionary bread, an ode to the Cuisinart, home ground burgers, epic lists, my favorite weekday breakfast of oatmeal with scallions, soy and sesame oil, and a whole lot more–but I’m really looking forward to all this new stuff. Thanks for all the recipes, Mark!

Check out the final farewell over at the times; they’ve also got a link to the hundreds of Minimalist columns and recipes and 25 that Bittman picked as his greatest hits on the Diner’s Journal blog (if you’re looking for a hard copy of those recipes, this book has all of them up to about 2007 collected in one volume). Oh, and Bittman was on the Today Show this morning making some Minimalist classics for Matt Lauer.

The Minimalist Takes His Exit [nyt]
The Minimalist Chooses 25 of His Favorites [nyt/diners journal]
The Minimalist Archives [nyt]
Try 3 All-Time Favorite Recipes from Mark Bittman [today]

“In short, put some vegetables–just about any will work–in a dish, add a topping, then brown the topping. That’s a gratin.” -Mark Bittman in How to Cook Everything. (more…)

The first time I make a recipe, I try to keep it simple. This way I can get a handle on the basics. That’s the idea, anyway. It doesn’t always work, like when I found myself making Bittman’s Simple Risotto this week and adding shiitake mushrooms, chunks of broiled chicken breasts and a whole bunch of chives. It turned out pretty good–the rice wasn’t perfect, but it was far from a failure. The combination of creamy rice, homemade stock, wine, cheese, good olive oil, chicken, mushrooms and chives is hard to mess up, and it’s a nice hearty dinner. (more…)