Pedant in the Kitchen
Registered by 
eponine38
of Winchester, Massachusetts USA on 4/17/2012
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
eponine38 of Winchester, Massachusetts USA on 4/17/2012 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Reserved for another BCer.
Given to GoryDetails at our Stone Zoo meetup.
Thanks so much for the wishlist books, including this one, which sounded like a delightfully quirky food-and-cooking memoir. (I love the autumn-tree bookplate label too!)
Later: I really enjoyed this collection of essays, from the "late-onset cook" chapter through discussions of the divide between great cooks and great cookery writers. In fact, much of the book touches on the differences between those who feel compelled to follow directions - the more detailed the better - and those who are more comfortable winging it, with the author pointing out that both styles can have good points as well as bad.
The author, a self-described pedant, waxes lyrical on things like how to distinguish a medium-sized onion when they seem to come in a huge array of sizes - "obviously, since medium is a comparative term, you have to compare across the whole spectrum of onions you possess". And the chapter on cookbooks opens with "how many do you have", going on to describe his own array (a mix of "modest" and "obscenely large", which sounds about like my estimate of my entire library!), with explanations of culling techniques and hints on how to buy - and not to buy - cookbooks ("Never buy a juice book if you haven't a juicer."). A chapter on dishes to cook vs. those to save for restaurant dining, lots of comments on different cookbooks from celebrity-written to practical, more make-vs-buy (including a delightful note about pre-made pasta vs. fresh, which concludes with "the pasta machine went into the Drawer of Spurned Machinery")... I loved the author's style, and he makes some valid points as well!
Later: I really enjoyed this collection of essays, from the "late-onset cook" chapter through discussions of the divide between great cooks and great cookery writers. In fact, much of the book touches on the differences between those who feel compelled to follow directions - the more detailed the better - and those who are more comfortable winging it, with the author pointing out that both styles can have good points as well as bad.
The author, a self-described pedant, waxes lyrical on things like how to distinguish a medium-sized onion when they seem to come in a huge array of sizes - "obviously, since medium is a comparative term, you have to compare across the whole spectrum of onions you possess". And the chapter on cookbooks opens with "how many do you have", going on to describe his own array (a mix of "modest" and "obscenely large", which sounds about like my estimate of my entire library!), with explanations of culling techniques and hints on how to buy - and not to buy - cookbooks ("Never buy a juice book if you haven't a juicer."). A chapter on dishes to cook vs. those to save for restaurant dining, lots of comments on different cookbooks from celebrity-written to practical, more make-vs-buy (including a delightful note about pre-made pasta vs. fresh, which concludes with "the pasta machine went into the Drawer of Spurned Machinery")... I loved the author's style, and he makes some valid points as well!
Journal Entry 4 by 
GoryDetails
at Lull Farm, 65 Broad St. in Hollis, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, September 6, 2012
GoryDetails at Lull Farm, 65 Broad St. in Hollis, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, September 6, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (9/6/2012 UTC) at Lull Farm, 65 Broad St. in Hollis, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I plan to leave this book at the Lull Farm farmstand at around 3:30 or so, when stopping by to check out their buffet of heirloom tomatoes. Hope the finder enjoys it!*** Released for the 2012 You're Such an Animal" release challenge, for the words "ant," "kit," and "hen" embedded in the title. ***
