Stuff part 1: Delicious Stuff

[kirinn]

So for Valentine's Day, while akiko was sleeping off her Lasik procedure, I spent a ludicrous amount of time making dinner

Comments

[akiko]

May I bring to your recollection the 3-day birthday cake I made for myself?

[kirinn]

And who said anything about *you* not putting a lot of effort into food preparation?

[steuard]

I think using Alton Brown's book helped a lot. Aside from the fact that he generally rocks, and explains everything really well, I find that I just *trust* him more than other cookbooks. Because I know that when he does something, it's not because it's "TRADITION!", but because of SCIENCE. Guess which I trust more.
We've seen glimpses of Alton Brown when visiting people who have cable, and he does seem pretty cool. Meanwhile, we feel very much the same way about Cook's Illustrated magazine (something like the Consumer Reports of cooking) and the associated PBS show America's Test Kitchen: their "The New Best Recipes" book is fantastic. Somewhat less of a science emphasis than Alton Brown (though there's certainly still a substantial chunk of it), but lots and lots of controlled recipe testing (and blind taste tests, etc.)

Cooking can be a lot of fun. Assuming, as you note, that you've got the time and energy for a major project every now and then.

What's the key to comedy?

[some_kitten]

Amusingly, since I'd not brought a single book on my plane (just knitting and way too many electronic devices), I was reading the in-flight magazine article about ATC/CI this very day. At least I hope it was within the past 24 hours. Is it really only 9 pm?

Anyway, while I was reading, I was thinking "Wow, like Alton!" and "Why do I not have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated?"