Often it's difficult to tell how many steps a recipe really has because the steps are hidden.

My favorite bad example is Leslie Revsin's "The Simpler the Better: Sensational Home Cooking in 3 Easy Steps" (Wiley, 2004). Step-hiding starts right at the beginning, on page 2, with Creamy Avocado Soup. Step 1 is:

Coarsely chop onion. Seed and finely chop jalapeno.

That's not one step, lady. It's 2. Step 2 (with true step numbers added in square brackets) is:

[3] Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. [4] Add onion and cook, stirring, until edges are well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. [5] Add jalapeno and cook, stirring. [6] Add broth, reduce heat to low, and simmer soup base until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

And step 3 is:

[7] Cut avocado in half and discard pit. Using a large spoon, scoop out avocado, making sure you get all the dark green bits near the skin. [8] Puree avocado with 1 cup soup base in a blender until avocado is smooth, 15 to 30 seconds. Leave bits of onion and jalapeno; they add color and texture. [9] Stir avocado puree into remaining soup base in saucepan and reheat over low heat. [10] Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

The sad fact is that Revsin has many good ideas about food. Her red cabbage with Parmesan cheese (p. 134) is delicious, and so is her carrot and apple salad with tahini dressing (p. 174) despite having five steps hidden in three paragraphs.

I blame Wiley entirely for this fiasco. Revsin died of ovarian cancer on the 9th of August 2005. Wiley published the book on the 10th of September 2004.