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23519. Ms. No - 2/1/2008 8:29:32 PM iiibbb,
The cookbook that has been the most useful all around for me is still Joy of Cooking. It has everything basic although nothing exotic. It's pretty rooted in American and French, but it's great for sauces and basic things from which you can branch out. Tons of info on meats and vegetables and spices. How to store things, when to use fresh or dried herbs, how to raise and dry them yourself. How to butcher your own meat. Candy-making, pastry, canning, drying, salting.
It's a bit dated, but as an all-around, foundation cookbook I can't think of anything more useful. 23520. judithathome - 2/2/2008 2:06:46 AM So, why does he have to make himslf look all superior by bashing people like Rachel Ray? I means she's just trying to get on with what she does.
Well, face it, he is a chef and she is a cook. Maybe he's jealous that someone can gain such popularity using canned ingredients and packaged sauces when he has been traind in the freshest ingredients and sauces made from scratch.
I think Rachel Ray is entertaining but some of her food is absolutely dreadful. I would choose a meal done by Bourdain over her stuff any day of the week and twice on Sunday.;-) 23521. wonkers2 - 2/2/2008 2:46:55 AM The conversation about food reminds me of my late Aunt, Maggie Deeds Murphy. She had a TV show in NY in the fifties called, I believe, the Cooking Hour, before anybody had heard of Julia Childs (on TV at least). And she published about 15 cookbooks. For a while she was food editor for Women's Home Companion or Ladies Home Journal, I forget which. After she "retired" to Cape Cod she was food editor for the Boston Globe, and she wrote a column in the local Cape Cod rag. If that wasn't enough she was one of the earliest women pilots in the 1930s, (but no particular flying exploits). Her only downside was that she was a rabid Republican. In election years we had to keep her separated from my dad, her older brother. When I went off to college I stopped to see her and her husband in New York. Her husband sent me off with two pieces of advice: 1. Read Time Magazine every week (at the time it was edited or owned by Henry Luce and much more right wing than now--He famously printed a picture of a smiling Ike along side of a picture of Adlai Stevenson picking his nose!) and 2. Pay off your American Express card in full every month. I ignored 1., but have followed 2. fairly religiously. With no regrets on either count. 23522. anomie - 2/2/2008 2:57:33 AM But Judith, is that really the point? So he's a great chef...so what? Can he not also be gracious about people who do something different. RR is what she is and I don't see any reason to bash what she does. She's not competing with the likes of AD, except in the TV ratings market. In which case, let the best chef/cook win.
If you ask me, AD deals in sour grapes. 23523. resonance - 2/2/2008 3:18:02 AM Maybe, but Rachael Ray kinda sucks. I mean, there's a reason beyond arrogance for Bourdain to maybe think that Ray sucks. She's some kinda television creation.
Of course, you're free to get her back and stand up for her against the snobs of the world, but I don't know why you'd bother.
Anyway, as for me, what matters is how much technique I can pick up from 'em that's worth having. Like, I don't know if you've ever cooked professionally, anomie, but chefs can be a little acerbic. I don't go to 'em for lessons on how to influence people and win hearts, I want to know how to give my bearnaise a bit of pop. 23524. anomie - 2/2/2008 4:15:26 AM No, I'm not a cook. I can appreciate a chef's temperment, and I can admire the higher standards of a pro. I mean his recipes are his creations. His art. But really...it's TV. I don't compare Ray with a proper chef. I just think she stands alone and does what she does. She's a bit annoying if you're not in the mood for all that cheerfulness, but she's not as bad as the woman who redecorates her kitchen every week.
But back to the point. I would enjoy Bourdain more if he would just stop dissing other chefs and cooks, or for that matter dissing TV presenting in general. It's not necessary and he should rise above it. Afterall, he's a TV presenter himself now. 23525. arkymalarky - 2/2/2008 5:38:18 AM RES!! 23526. arkymalarky - 2/2/2008 5:40:49 AM Great story, Wonk. Your aunt sounds fascinating. 23527. Ms. No - 2/2/2008 5:57:19 AM Does he bash Nigella like he bashes RayRay? 23528. resonance - 2/2/2008 6:14:16 AM Hi, Arky. How's life? 23529. resonance - 2/2/2008 6:15:48 AM I hope he bashes Nigella; she makes me itch.
The Barefoot Contessa, on the other hand, rocks the house. 23530. arkymalarky - 2/2/2008 6:26:11 AM Goin' great, how 'bout you?
Not being a cook or a chef, I only measure the flavor to difficulty ratio of cooking shows or cookbooks. I used to think I'd start by trying some of the recipes in here. Maybe when I retire. 23531. anomie - 2/2/2008 6:26:33 AM I can watch Nigela for an hour and have no idea what she cooked. 23532. resonance - 2/2/2008 6:31:36 AM Life is amazing. Glad to hear you're doing well. Tell me more. 23533. arkymalarky - 2/2/2008 6:36:32 AM Why that's what's so great--there isn't much to tell! A common punishment for high school students is putting them in "ISS"--in-school suspension. I tell them it would be a great reward for me. Just give me a good book and peace and quiet for a few days and I'd be happy as a clam.
I finished a MSE in English as a Second Language last summer and I'm still working on rural education activism, but much less stressfully, and I'm loving being at home when I'm not at work.
Oh, and my daughter is teaching with me. In fact, we're team teaching a class.
What's making life amazing for you? 23534. resonance - 2/2/2008 6:41:14 AM I am just getting over being sick. The things ya take for granted until a sinus infection turns you into a pain-wracked quivering goob.
Everyday life is great too, having a lot of fun working for a gov't contractor here in the DC suburbs, steadily and happily married, generally enjoying life's rewards. 23535. David Ehrenstein - 2/2/2008 6:55:16 AM Latest FaBlog: My Romance 23536. arkymalarky - 2/2/2008 7:07:41 AM His partner is very good looking. 23537. iiibbb - 2/2/2008 6:04:17 PM Message # 23519
I have two editions of Joy of Cooking. I agree that it's a good one. And one that I can recommend to those who are less enthralled by cooking is the Better Homes New Cook Book which has a full range of recipes that are really simple to follow and hard to mess up. 23538. iiibbb - 2/2/2008 6:04:50 PM I don't use it so much anymore, but their apple bread recipe is really good.
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