New Cookbook: Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express

This week saw the release of MARK BITTMAN'S KITCHEN EXPRESS: 404 INSPIRED SEASONAL DISHES YOU CAN MAKE IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS.

Publisher's Weekly says the book is "simple and snappy." Lavender-thyme braised chicken sounds great to me. I'm going to take a look at this next time I'm in a bookstore.

Bittman's HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING: SIMPLE RECIPES FOR GREAT FOOD (which was recently updated) was one of the first books I purchased when I began seriously delving into cooking a few years ago. It's a great primer, along with JOY OF COOKING and THE AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN FAMILY COOKBOOK, on cooking basics. These are probably the three books I would suggest as "musts" for anyone just starting out to develop their cooking skills.

As a bonus, here's a recipe for Butter Cookies Bittman published in the New York Times last December -- the base recipe can be used for a number of variations.