a bare simmer

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>A recipe for a dish I made this evening asked me to "cook [the
>chicken] at a bare simmer". Well, I knew what was meant* but it
>seemed odd to me. On the other hand, Google gives me 1800 hits for
>the phrase!
>
>Is there anyone familiar with this use?
>
>* I suspect it is from something like "barely a simmer" or "barely
>simmering". The adjectival use of _bare_ meaning 'mere' is not in the
>OED.

Seems OK to me.

I don't know about the OED, but AHD4 and MW3 and RHUD show "bare" = "mere"
... as in "the bare necessities", I guess.

-- Doug Wilson