Thread: What's the Next Step?

"BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]..
>I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
> makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
> techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
> I bought it.
>
> I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
> figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
> amazing as the author says they're supposed to be. I also need to
> "tweak" a lot to get carb counts down, and I'm figuring this will help
> me do that a lot more efficiently.
>
> My question is -- what's the next step after this book -- one that
> *does* address "advanced techniques and fine points?"
>
> Thanks!


Julia Child - The Way to Cook

Dimitri

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:52:41 -0800, "Dimitri" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>"BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news[email protected]..
>>I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
>> makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
>> techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
>> I bought it.
>>
>> I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
>> figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
>> amazing as the author says they're supposed to be. I also need to
>> "tweak" a lot to get carb counts down, and I'm figuring this will help
>> me do that a lot more efficiently.
>>
>> My question is -- what's the next step after this book -- one that
>> *does* address "advanced techniques and fine points?"
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>
>Julia Child - The Way to Cook
>
>Dimitri

Awesome -- thank you very much!

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:52:41 -0800, "Dimitri" <[email protected]>
wrote:

> "BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]..
> >I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
> > makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
> > techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
> > I bought it.
> >
> > I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
> > figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
> > amazing as the author says they're supposed to be. I also need to
> > "tweak" a lot to get carb counts down, and I'm figuring this will help
> > me do that a lot more efficiently.
> >
> > My question is -- what's the next step after this book -- one that
> > *does* address "advanced techniques and fine points?"
> >
> > Thanks!
>
>
> Julia Child - The Way to Cook
>
Jacques Pepin - La Methode and La Technique

or maybe “Boston School Kitchen Text-Book, Lessons in Cooking,”
printed in 1914 from http://books.google.com/books?id=iAAqAAAAYAAJ
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:19:45 -0800, sf <[email protected]> wrote:

>Jacques Pepin - La Methode and La Technique

There are several well known chefs who really got going with these
books, and think they are some of the best books around. If one
learns all these techniques, then you have a great basis for going
forward. Jacques Pepin and Tom Colichio both say that technique is
the basis for good cooking..they are the building blocks.

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com

"BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]..
> I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
> makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
> techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
> I bought it.
>
> I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
> figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
> amazing as the author says they're supposed to be.
(snippage)
>
> My question is -- what's the next step after this book
>

The next step is PRACTICE. Not every recipe is going to turn out exactly as
you hope - or expect - it might. That's just a fact. Get used to it.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

>
> "BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]..
>
>> I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
>> makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
>> techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
>> I bought it.
>>
>> I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
>> figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
>> amazing as the author says they're supposed to be.
>
> (snippage)
>
>>
>> My question is -- what's the next step after this book
>>
>
> The next step is PRACTICE. Not every recipe is going to turn out
> exactly as you hope - or expect - it might. That's just a fact. Get
> used to it.
>
> Jill


*Chuckle* theory & practice

But even the best, most highly skilled chef is going to turn out
something bad. Its an almost certainty, the odd or so in favour of it.

As a hobbyist, i can recall 3 distinct "failures" one was a stupid
mistake i made another was in the choice of wine i used and the third a
lack of familiarity with an exotic seafood stew.

Oh make that 4 and one of the reasons i quite drinking while cooking
(aside from the knife wounds was when i poured in to the hot glass
baking dish the cold water i forgot to add to the roasting chicken.
Fortunately i had my chicken on a rack and it wasn't effected by the
shattered glass dish
--
JL

"M. JL Esq." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:jcj2mm$vku$[email protected]..
> jmcquown wrote:
>
>>
>> "BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news[email protected]..
>>
>>> I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
>>> makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
>>> techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
>>> I bought it.
>>>
>>> I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
>>> figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
>>> amazing as the author says they're supposed to be.
>>
>> (snippage)
>>
>>>
>>> My question is -- what's the next step after this book
>>>
>>
>> The next step is PRACTICE. Not every recipe is going to turn out exactly
>> as you hope - or expect - it might. That's just a fact. Get used to it.
>>
>> Jill
>
>
> *Chuckle* theory & practice
>
> But even the best, most highly skilled chef is going to turn out something
> bad. Its an almost certainty, the odd or so in favour of it.
>
(snippage)

Wasn't there a rumour about Julia Child dropping a chicken or turkey on the
floor? Then just picking it up and continuing. If there isn't a great chef
who made a mistake I don't know who it is.

Jill

On 17-Dec-2011, "jmcquown" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "BlueBrooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]..
> > I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
> > makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
> > techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
> > I bought it.
> >
> > I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
> > figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
> > amazing as the author says they're supposed to be.
> (snippage)
> >
> > My question is -- what's the next step after this book
> >
>
> The next step is PRACTICE. Not every recipe is going to turn out exactly
> as
> you hope - or expect - it might. That's just a fact. Get used to it.
>
> Jill

In addition to Jill's advice, I'd suggest buying a copy of Shirley
Corriher's CookWise. It's not a cookbook, it's a cooking sciences book. It
explains why ingredients do what that do and which to choose for various
results. For example, a regular cookbook might call for 2 eggs; Shirley
will tell you how a 2 day old egg will behave differently than a week old
egg . Or a recipe which calls for all-purpose flour might work with the
brand you use, but would work better with another brand; it has to do with
the amount of protein which can vary between 10-12% among brands. Or you
might think all-purpose means you can use it when a recipe calls for cake
flour; all-purpose really means "for some purposes" not all. Shirley's
book covers a lot of ground and can be read for generaly learning or it can
be referenced before or after deviating from a recipe to learn what
might/has happen(ed).

If you are into baking, I'd also recommend her other book - BakeWise.
--

Change Cujo to Juno in email address.

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:04:31 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
> Wasn't there a rumour about Julia Child dropping a chicken or turkey on the
> floor? Then just picking it up and continuing. If there isn't a great chef
> who made a mistake I don't know who it is.
>
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/juliachild.asp

--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

BlueBroke wrote:

> My question is -- what's the next step after this book -- one that
> *does* address "advanced techniques and fine points?"

Amazon recommended this book to me:

http://www.amazon.com/Ruhlmans-Twent.../dp/0811876438

Bob

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:54:13 -0600, BlueBrooke
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I recently picked up Harold McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking." The intro
>makes it clear that the book "covers cooking basics, not advanced
>techniques or fine points" -- which is great 'cause that's exactly why
>I bought it.
>
>I have plenty of "recipe books" but I wanted this one to help me
>figure out why sometimes my results might not be as wonderful and
>amazing as the author says they're supposed to be. I also need to
>"tweak" a lot to get carb counts down, and I'm figuring this will help
>me do that a lot more efficiently.
>
>My question is -- what's the next step after this book -- one that
>*does* address "advanced techniques and fine points?"
>
>Thanks!

Thank you for all the great book suggestions. They're greatly
appreciated, and gave me some ideas for gifts for friends, too.
Thanks!