"To me the question was not, 'Would I cook this as a native would?' but rather, 'How would a native cook this if he had my ingredients, my kitchen, my background?' It’s obviously a different dish. But as Jacques Pépin once said to me, you never cook a recipe the same way twice, even if you try. I never maintained that my way of cooking was the 'best' way to cook, only that it’s a practical way to cook. (I’m lazy, I’m rushed, and I’m not all that skillful, and many people share those qualities.)" —Mark Bittman retires his recipe column, The Minimalist today, after thirteen years in [...]