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. ( )

Great idea for dinners for the family!! ( )

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. ( )

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 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. ( )

Review of Kitchen Express at The Book Studio.