When I first started poking through How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman I got a bit frustrated. All of the recipes seemed so basic and I immediately felt superior for getting the book from the library instead of purchasing it.
Of course after further inspection I realized that it was probably the definitive kitchen reference for those people not blessed with a yellowing copy of The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook copyright 1959 such as I am (though dang, it is worth that kind of money?).
How to Cook Everything would be a great gift, particularly when someone gets their first apartment. I actually bought my brother the vegetarian version for his birthday and he says he uses it all the time.
After reading through my borrowed copy I realized that I didn't need to own it (my cookbook and cooking magazine collection is already quite large) but did photocopy (SHHH) one recipe which I now maintain is the best pizza dough/calzone recipe I have come across.
You can find a pretty close version to the book version here. In my infinite wisdom I only photocopied part of the recipe and neglected to include the cooking time so I used this one to fill it in. You could alternatively buy the book or get you buns to a local library.
I have made the dough a few times now, though when I do it I let the dough rise in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours. Each time it is a hit, so get mixing.
