There is a proliferation of cooking blogs, even plenty of cooking blogs for men... hell, they made a movie about a blogger blogging food... so art imitates life.
And then there is Alton Brown, who is my Julia Child if you will. His mix of practical kitchen science knowledge, humor, and history is not only tasty, it is interesting. I am a science geek, so it is no accident that the one book I own of his I purchased at the San Francisco Exploratorium, the original and best "learn by doing" science museum.
And then there is Alton Brown, who is my Julia Child if you will. His mix of practical kitchen science knowledge, humor, and history is not only tasty, it is interesting. I am a science geek, so it is no accident that the one book I own of his I purchased at the San Francisco Exploratorium, the original and best "learn by doing" science museum.
The second book in my arsnel, and really the one I go to first, is The Professional Chef, it is a wealth of information and practical recipes that will have you reaching for it too.
So why bother?
Well, both books are in the Too Long, Didn't Read category. What you want is a targeted answer... like "She is coming over for dinner.. what do I do now?".
And because if you are lucky, she is not just any she, but the she in "She might be the one" she. So we don't wanna screw it up, yeah?
And two, you don't want to have to spend an entire day making it, because life is busy. Same with ingredients, you are not going to find clarified yak butter at the corner mart. Now maybe you need some special ingredients or spices that can be acquired ahead of time, but let's be reasonable, not all of us live next to Dean & Deluca.
(If you do, just buy it from them and heat it up. You will both be happier.)
And let's not forget, a lot of guys have a frying pan, can opener, and a knife that is unclear exactly where you got it from.. and is really a knife like object, not a real knife.
So I will cover some basic tools needed to do the job at hand, rotating between recipes/techniques and tools... or toys as the case may be.
So the basic criteria is:
I can get it within 15 miles providing I live near a reasonably large town or city.
If I can't, I can order it from Amazon and keep it until I need it, like spices.
It is not a specialized tool for just one job. Alton's rule of a fire extinguish being the only single task tool in the kitchen.
I can prepare it as part of a 4 course meal, appetizer/Hors d'oeuvre, salad or soup, starch and vegetable with the main course, and a dessert with less than 6 hrs prep for the whole deal. Cooking time is extra and may vary.
Showcase a technique or an ingredient that can be reused.
That last one is important, because cooking is really a combination of techniques and keystone ingredients that make up a recipe. If you understand when and why, you can be creative and improvise as you go along.
Well, I will get started on the first tool article, and I trust this will be fun for both of us.
So why bother?
Well, both books are in the Too Long, Didn't Read category. What you want is a targeted answer... like "She is coming over for dinner.. what do I do now?".
And because if you are lucky, she is not just any she, but the she in "She might be the one" she. So we don't wanna screw it up, yeah?
And two, you don't want to have to spend an entire day making it, because life is busy. Same with ingredients, you are not going to find clarified yak butter at the corner mart. Now maybe you need some special ingredients or spices that can be acquired ahead of time, but let's be reasonable, not all of us live next to Dean & Deluca.
(If you do, just buy it from them and heat it up. You will both be happier.)
And let's not forget, a lot of guys have a frying pan, can opener, and a knife that is unclear exactly where you got it from.. and is really a knife like object, not a real knife.
So I will cover some basic tools needed to do the job at hand, rotating between recipes/techniques and tools... or toys as the case may be.
So the basic criteria is:
I can get it within 15 miles providing I live near a reasonably large town or city.
If I can't, I can order it from Amazon and keep it until I need it, like spices.
It is not a specialized tool for just one job. Alton's rule of a fire extinguish being the only single task tool in the kitchen.
I can prepare it as part of a 4 course meal, appetizer/Hors d'oeuvre, salad or soup, starch and vegetable with the main course, and a dessert with less than 6 hrs prep for the whole deal. Cooking time is extra and may vary.
Showcase a technique or an ingredient that can be reused.
That last one is important, because cooking is really a combination of techniques and keystone ingredients that make up a recipe. If you understand when and why, you can be creative and improvise as you go along.
Well, I will get started on the first tool article, and I trust this will be fun for both of us.
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