I can never decide if I like Bittman's approach or not. On the positive side, why cook something in a complicated fashion when you can get as good a result with a simpler method? Well, you shouldn't. We all have better things to do. More flavor with fewer ingredients, though? I'm dubious. Fewer ingredients are pretty much guaranteed to give you lighter, less nuanced flavor--they can't help it, there are fewer of them to help out. If you want a dish that's simple and straightforward, then it's a great approach. But if you're hoping from complex flavors from four ingredients, you're likely to be disappointed. (This isn't always true, of course. Some single ingredients are sufficiently nuanced on their own to need little embellishments, or can by themselves provide a great boost in flavor. Raspberries and coffee come to mind. Who could want to add more than a touch of cream and sugar to either? But a simple raspberry syrup reveals depths in chocolate, and a pinch of espresso powder in beef sauces is a wonder.) Less time? Grand idea, but I'm not sure that Bittman always meets his goal here. Quite a few of these recipes require 40 to 60 minutes to prep. Not cook, merely prepare. I don't know about you, but an hour and a half seems entirely too long to wait on a weekday night for Chicken in Vinegar. Or perhaps, not quite long enough.
Here's the recipe that really appealed to me: Chicken Curry in a Hurry. My husband loves curries and vindaloos, and while I like them, the multi-hour cooking time sometimes dims my enthusiasm. This dish seemed just the thing--thirty minutes total from putting the pan on the stove and opening the refrigerator door to sitting down to eat. As with most things, high quality is an absolute essential here--the best chicken breast you can find, coupled with the best prepared curry powder (I am in complete agreement with his recommendation of Penzy's Vindaloo Powder), and the best sour cream. And when you're done, you'll have a very passable dish. Is it as tongue teasing and complex as the kind that requires much grinding of your own spices and endless stirring and a bandanna to wipe away the sweat? Well, no. Is it good? Yes, but it's not curry.
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