End Of The Minimalist Era

The New York Times has gone through more shakeups in the last few years than any other paper. There's talk of it going completely online, eliminating its'151 year old print format. Sections have been revamped and reduced. Now these changes have hit the Wednesday Dining section Mark Bittman's has written today's last The Minimalist column,

The Minimalist was a relatively new addition to The Times Dining section. there was always a food section every Wednesday. That was a norm for almost every US paper. At that time it was called Dining In/Dining Put and the section was not started by Bittman but by Rick Flaste. Mr. Bittman took it over a few years later. His goal was , in his own words to make home cooking more accessible. He did. His global audience learned a thing or two about cooking and how to throw together simple ingredients to form gourmet dishes.

Some of his favorites are memorable. I remember his chicken under a brick recipe. This was based on pollo al mattone recipe from Etruscan Italy . After deboning,spicing and buttering a chicken it is them spread out in a skillet and cooked under a heavy tile or brick. The end result is wonderfully flavored and tender meat. Another interesting recipe was his watermelon and tomato salad, combining both of summer's best flavors in one salad. Another one is a simple spaghetti with scrambled eggs and scrambled eggs with shrimp.

There;s no need to miss Mr. Bittman. He will be featured in the Sunday Times magazine food section taking over from the Dining section's editor Pete Wells. Mr. Bittman also wrote a cook book featuring these simple yet interesting recipes. As long as there's a Mark Bittman, there will always be a Minimalist.