Oh, All Right....
It's that time of year. And it's cold and snowy and bleak, and the world could use some brightening and cheering all over....
Get your own valentinr
Get your own valentinr
2009-02-04
Entry tags:
Cookbook Project, Book #16
"Fresh and Simple Cooking For Friends," Better Homes & Gardens
This book was an impulse buy, plain and simple. It was on the display rack in the front of a bookstore, discounted down to about 80% off its cover price, and the pictures werthat e shiny and nice, and a quick flip-through suggested that it'd be full of interesting and clever recipes. Unfortunately, when I got it home and looked through it in more detail, it didn't seem nearly as cool, and it has languished unused on my bookshelf since then.
Alas, I think that was the right place for it.
I've been taking the easy route with the past few books, just going for the easy-to-use cookbooks I've used before instead of challenging myself to haul out the stuff I've never actually dared to try, so I promised myself I'd make at least one meal from a never-before-used book this week. And Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto sounded *really* good.
The first problem was their assertion that I could incorporate all the liquid into the rice in 15 minutes. Luckily, I've made risotto enough times before to know that it would take just a bit longer than that. The second problem was their insistence that it was a "one pot meal," while telling me to fry the bacon in a skillet, heat the broth in one pot, and cook the rice in another. Again, not a major problem, but I respect honesty in my cookbooks.
The last problem was the taste. The wine added at the end of the cooking process utterly overpowered any flavor of bacon or tomato. I have no problem cooking with alcohol - it adds depth and flavor and complexity that you can't get any other way, sometimes. But I want it to round out my food, not bludgeon it to death with boozy overtones.
It wasn't actively bad, but it was... not near as heavenly as I would have expected. I'll give the book one more chance, in case I just happened to coincidentally pick the only mediocre recipe in there - but if the next one is as flawed, it may be taking a one-way trip to the secondhand bookstore.
And that's it for food posts for the week. Between yoga, middle eastern dance, and an extra-long work day on Friday, we're feasting on leftovers and quick-tossed-together food until Saturday at the earliest....
This book was an impulse buy, plain and simple. It was on the display rack in the front of a bookstore, discounted down to about 80% off its cover price, and the pictures werthat e shiny and nice, and a quick flip-through suggested that it'd be full of interesting and clever recipes. Unfortunately, when I got it home and looked through it in more detail, it didn't seem nearly as cool, and it has languished unused on my bookshelf since then.
Alas, I think that was the right place for it.
I've been taking the easy route with the past few books, just going for the easy-to-use cookbooks I've used before instead of challenging myself to haul out the stuff I've never actually dared to try, so I promised myself I'd make at least one meal from a never-before-used book this week. And Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto sounded *really* good.
The first problem was their assertion that I could incorporate all the liquid into the rice in 15 minutes. Luckily, I've made risotto enough times before to know that it would take just a bit longer than that. The second problem was their insistence that it was a "one pot meal," while telling me to fry the bacon in a skillet, heat the broth in one pot, and cook the rice in another. Again, not a major problem, but I respect honesty in my cookbooks.
The last problem was the taste. The wine added at the end of the cooking process utterly overpowered any flavor of bacon or tomato. I have no problem cooking with alcohol - it adds depth and flavor and complexity that you can't get any other way, sometimes. But I want it to round out my food, not bludgeon it to death with boozy overtones.
It wasn't actively bad, but it was... not near as heavenly as I would have expected. I'll give the book one more chance, in case I just happened to coincidentally pick the only mediocre recipe in there - but if the next one is as flawed, it may be taking a one-way trip to the secondhand bookstore.
And that's it for food posts for the week. Between yoga, middle eastern dance, and an extra-long work day on Friday, we're feasting on leftovers and quick-tossed-together food until Saturday at the earliest....