The Best Recipes in the World

July 11, 2005
Mark Bittman thinks big, as we saw in his Great Wall of Recipes, How to Cook Everything
. That doorstop of a title sold big, too; there are now more than 1.7 million copies in print. This volume, in the same I-can't-believe-I-wrote-the-whole-thing vein, collects recipes from 44 countries. Bittman successfully avoids the usual suspects, drawing as heavily from places like North Africa (home of Harira, a satisfying soup traditionally used to end Ramadan fasting) and India (Marinated Lamb "Popsicles" with Fenugreek Cream) as he does from easy targets like Italy and France. The recipes are terrific in both their variety and execution. Bittman, who writes the New York Times
's "Minimalist" column, has a steady authorial voice and a knack for offering clear instructions, and he smoothly makes the exotic seem easy, or at least familiar (e.g., he compares Moroccan Chicken B'stilla to chicken pot pie). The everything-in-one-place format works differently here than it did in his earlier book, which was, ultimately, about technique, not individual recipes, so while there are more than 1,000 recipes here, the reader doesn't acquire quite the same "take-away." Still, for one-stop-shopping on the world's cuisine, it'd be tough to find a better book. Agent, Angela Miller
.

Starred review from August 15, 2005
Bittman ("How To Cook Everything") spent six years traveling the world to collect this book's impressive array of recipes, which come from more than 40 different countries. (Note, though, that here "international" means beyond the United States.) While French and Italian classics are included, Bittman aims to make Asian and other perhaps less-familiar cuisines accessible to home cooks. The shrimp recipes, for example, include Portuguese Shrimp in Green Sauce, Chinese Drunken Shrimp, Indian Blazing Hot Shrimp Curry, and Mexican Chile-Fried Shrimp; the sauce chapter is an abridged encyclopedia of international sauces, salsas, and condiments. Bittman notes that his versions are not necessarily authentic -he wanted to offer recipes that are practical and approachable for busy home cooks, so he streamlined or updated several dishes. Many of the recipes are quick to prepare, and timing is given for each one, with icons indicating which take less than 30 minutes, as well as those that can be made ahead and/or served at room temperature or chilled. There are numerous boxes on ingredients and techniques throughout, and a selection of menu suggestions concludes the book. Highly recommended.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2005
This comprehensive collection brings together in a single volume recipes from astoundingly different traditions, wildly varying cultures, and totally separate inspirations. Nevertheless, the book coheres and avoids becoming a jumble by being focused through a unique intelligence that finds foods' commonalities and that renders all the diverse, competing languages of recipes' prescriptive commands into a clear and cogent voice guiding the thoughtful cook from ingredient lists to successful reproduction of tasty, attractive dishes. On facing pages one finds Korean braised short ribs with ginger, garlic, rice wine, and chiles fronting Spanish oxtails with white wine, bacon, carrots, celery, and thyme. Both recipes contain beef, both follow a basic braising technique, yet one can hardly mistake their very opposite effects at the table. Bittman lets the reader come upon dozens of such juxtapositions and reflect on just what makes recipes attractive and practical. From appetizers through desserts, directions are clear, and graphic devices steer the cook to those recipes that fit the presenting occasion. Useful for all library cookbook collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)