Kitchen Matrix

Kitchen Matrix

by Mark Bittman


There are recipe cooks and there are by-the-seat-of-your-pants cooks. If you’re the latter, then you’ll no doubt appreciate Bittman’s latest book. Part periodic table of the elements, part visual dictionary, Kitchen Matrix is a cookbook like you’ve never seen.

Each section begins with an ingredient, dish, or culinary technique (mushrooms, say, or kebabs) and includes 3–5 (or more) recipes. Recipe Generators give a universal outline and multiple iterations for a dish like paella or grain salads. Got some chicken cutlets in the fridge? Kitchen Matrix will tell you what to do with them, 10 different ways.

Bryn’s long career in publishing took a left turn sometime around 2010, when she discovered the joy of food writing. Since then, she’s found professional nirvana as the editor of Edible Ohio Valley, author of The Findlay Market Cookbook, and occasional instructor at The Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s. Find her seasonal recipes at writes4food.com.