Comments on: The New Best Recipe http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/ Finding the finer side of everyday kosher living Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:23:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Lawrence http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-969 Lawrence Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:05:50 +0000 http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-969 I have to wonder if part of their basic format is just there for marketing. Fixing a broken recipe is exciting. "Seared tuna is easy to make and usually quite good, but there's always room for improvement — we cooked 47 tuna steaks to figure out where that room lay" is a lot less exciting. And anyway, to convince a reader that nobody's ever made a decent apple pie is to convince a reader that he needs THIS apple pie. :) I have to wonder if part of their basic format is just there for marketing. Fixing a broken recipe is exciting. “Seared tuna is easy to make and usually quite good, but there’s always room for improvement — we cooked 47 tuna steaks to figure out where that room lay” is a lot less exciting.

And anyway, to convince a reader that nobody’s ever made a decent apple pie is to convince a reader that he needs THIS apple pie. :)

]]> By: jabbett http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-970 jabbett Sun, 13 Nov 2005 23:16:05 +0000 http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-970 I hear that. I often sit in wonderment over the vast collection of cookbooks they must own, each item in which has only terrible recipes in them! Every pre-recipe anecdote relates "cloyingly sweet" this, or "thick, gloppy" that from the traditional formulations they first attempt. Get some better sources! :) I hear that. I often sit in wonderment over the vast collection of cookbooks they must own, each item in which has only terrible recipes in them! Every pre-recipe anecdote relates “cloyingly sweet” this, or “thick, gloppy” that from the traditional formulations they first attempt. Get some better sources! :)

]]> By: Lawrence http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-971 Lawrence Sun, 13 Nov 2005 20:30:15 +0000 http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-971 Long as I'm talking . . . I'm generally a fan, but there are a few things about Cook's Illustrated that bug me in general. One is their tendency to "improve" recipes in such a way as to change their fundamental character. Their Southern Corn Bread contains sugar and yellow cornmeal, and their challah contains milk and butter. I have this mental image of them re-working cholent (not that they'd ever touch the stuff) to involve stir-frying followed by a 40-minute simmer to blend the flavors, then garnishing it with parsley. They also have a funny habit of "discovering" things that I thought everyone knew, possibly out of the need to have some shocking chuddish in each recipe. Their revolutionary advice for brisket is to cook it until the meat is fully done, then keep cooking it for an hour. I was honestly not aware that there was another way to braise brisket. What else did my mom teach me that they don't know yet? Long as I’m talking . . .

I’m generally a fan, but there are a few things about Cook’s Illustrated that bug me in general. One is their tendency to “improve” recipes in such a way as to change their fundamental character. Their Southern Corn Bread contains sugar and yellow cornmeal, and their challah contains milk and butter. I have this mental image of them re-working cholent (not that they’d ever touch the stuff) to involve stir-frying followed by a 40-minute simmer to blend the flavors, then garnishing it with parsley.

They also have a funny habit of “discovering” things that I thought everyone knew, possibly out of the need to have some shocking chuddish in each recipe. Their revolutionary advice for brisket is to cook it until the meat is fully done, then keep cooking it for an hour. I was honestly not aware that there was another way to braise brisket. What else did my mom teach me that they don’t know yet?

]]> By: Lawrence http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-972 Lawrence Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:59:11 +0000 http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-972 What we really need is a kosher cookbook that has some way -- maybe an icon on the corner of the page -- to indicate recipes that can be reheated. What we really need is a kosher cookbook that has some way — maybe an icon on the corner of the page — to indicate recipes that can be reheated.

]]> By: elf http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-973 elf Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:21:39 +0000 http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/10/27/the_new_best_recipe/#comment-973 The "serve immediately" instruction seems to be a problem with many cookbooks. I've found vegetable dishes to be the most problematic. These days, the only veggie dishes that I even consider for Shabbat are those meant to be served cold, mushy, or in kugel form. The “serve immediately” instruction seems to be a problem with many cookbooks. I’ve found vegetable dishes to be the most problematic. These days, the only veggie dishes that I even consider for Shabbat are those meant to be served cold, mushy, or in kugel form.

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