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What Do You Cook When You Don't Know What to Cook?

It's a (relatively) cold, rainy and slightly dreary day in Manhattan. It's a good day to cook and prepare meals for the week. I've got chicken, four different vegetables and I'm just about ready to prepare dinner. But I've come to the end of my cooking creativity. What do I do?

 

Thanks to my friends at Blogging for Books, I turn to Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix, and I am inspired. There are seven hundred recipes for every type of food. I can pick chicken recipes that include the ingredients and spices I have on hand and mix and match them. It's not an easy choice. Thanks to fabulous photos, each dish looks better than the last. I'm leaning to Chicken with Olives, Tomatoes and Parsley, but Chicken with Asparagus and Mustard is also calling my name. There's no asparagus in the kitchen, but it looks that a swap out for broccoli might work well, too. The sections for chicken include chicken breasts, chicken cutlets , chicken parts and for those days that I splurge, fried chicken. Mark Bittman, where have you been all my life?

Actually, I've been following Mark Bittman's columns in the New York Times for years, but the Kitchen Matrix makes me feel that Mark is in my kitchen and is answering my question, "What do I cook for dinner?" It's very readable, has great ideas, and did I mention that the pictures are among some of the best I've seen in cookbooks? I know I did, but it's worth repeating. I don't use a lot of my cookbooks, but I'm definitely going to use this one.

I'm making chicken tonight. What's for dinner at your house?

I got my miles in this morning, grocery shopped, met a friend for coffee and now it's time for blog visits. After my chicken dinner I'm planning a few uninterrupted hours with Aimee Leduc in Murder in the Sentier.

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful Sunday evening.

Please note: I received a copy of Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are all mine.

12 comments

Susie said...

Buttercup, I think when I have chicken and Mrs. Dash, I can make a delicious meal. :):) I am a basic type of cook. I do love stir fry meals without all the sauces...to much sodium. I hope your weather improves thru the week. We had dreary dark weather yesterday and sunshine today. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

shortybear said...

sounds good

TARYTERRE said...

Either dish sounds delicious. Preparing a meal can become a real chore. I say keep it simple.

Denise said...

With a mountain of cookbooks at home, over 4,000 recipes on my Pinterest Boards, and a customer of Blue Apron, I have endless choices of recipes. I am happy to make new dishes and get out of the rut of salads with add-ins.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

When I don't know what to cook, I usually start snacking...not good I know. Sometimes I really don't know what I'm hungry for.

Theresa said...

I am in a cooking valley:) I need some new recipes and ideas! Thanks for sharing this book! Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

The book looks very interesting. We grill most of our meats but we use a lot of different spices on them. And I'm off to look at this mystery series! Hugs!

Pondside said...

It was so hot last night that I couldn't bear to turn the oven on, so we went down to the beach and picked up halibut and chips. Yummy!

Linda said...

My husband friend chicken last night, so we will have leftovers. smiles

It is really nice here in Western NY a lovely breeze today.

Paula said...

This sounds like a great cookbook. I like recipes that use what I have in the kitchen. Sounds really yummy at your place!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Carol, Always a pleasure to visit here. This cookbook is one that I need to purchase. We eat a lot of chicken that I prepare in the crockpot. Most recently I just chopped it up VERY fine and added rice and broccoli with a little cheese, milk and cream of chkn soup because I was sharing the meal with our neighbor who just had the new baby and their 2 yr old eats what they eat! Coffee shared with a friend sounds delightful and I love mystery books. It is warm and humid in GA; we had thunderstorms over the weekend.

Mimi said...

So, I'm reading this a day late. Didn't cook at all yesterday, but right now there is pork tenderloin in the crockpot and chicken breasts baking in the oven. The pork is for tonight's supper and the chicken will be saved for later.

I am a Mark Bittman fan, but I don't have this book. Need to check it out.