I'm new to this blogging thing, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to fit the time committment and effort associated with it into my daily life. It's also a little difficult to judge in advance how much I want to say about a topic. I say all this as a preface to letting you know that after two days of working on tackling the reviews of cooking publications topic, I've succeeded in completing a single review. This has led me to conclude that it would be far wiser to post my reviews as a series of four installments, rather than one gi-normous post.
Therefore, without further ado, here is the first of four reviews of cooking publications I subscribe (or have been given gift subscriptions) to. Read on, and in the meantime, I'll be working on review number two. Reviews three and four will follow shortly thereafter.
There's a clear heirarchy, in my opinion, to the food-related magazines I receive. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up, shall we? That means I'm going to begin with "Cooking Pleasures", a bi-monthly publication put out by Cooking Club of America.
The Cooking Club of America is, in my opinion, the culinary equivalent of an infomercial. "Cooking Pleasures" is the primary benefit you get if you join the Cooking Club of America (hereafter referred to as CCA), with secondary benefits including things like "opportunities" to try (and then buy, unless you return them) products, the "opportunity" to obtain a CCA-sponsored credit card, discount "opportunities" (there's that word again), and a couple other things that amount to more ways for the CCA to sell things to you. There are a fair number of recipes included in each issue, and I have to confess that the few recipes I've actually made have turned out okay. There are also some articles on how to cook, and though they are definitely the "lite" version of cooking techniques I've seen better described elsewhere, nonetheless, they're better than nothing. My issue with the publication is that the entire enterprise seems geared towards selling products and advertising, and recipes (along with contests in which merchandise is given away) are simply the lure they use to attract potential customers. It's probably a pretty smart business model--my guess is that they sell memberships to CCA (from year-long to "life" memberships, which basically amount to subscribing to Cooking Pleasures for life), influence members to purchase products advertised in their magazines, and then charge advertisers for ads and product endorsements.
Now, you could argue that almost every magazine is geared towards selling products--that's how they attract advertising revenue. But again, consider the metaphor I used above. An infomercial is essentially a filmed sales pitch--it's targeted directly at getting you to buy the product it depicts. A "regular" television show is about something else--not a product that it's trying to sell. And the commercials that are interspersed throughout the show are basically along for the ride, getting seen incidentally by viewers who are waiting for the program to begin again. "Cooking Pleasures" certainly has the standard magazine ads--a boatload of them. But in addition, there's a subtle feeling that some of the "articles" are a sales pitch as well.
To get a good sense for what "Cooking Pleasures" is like, consider their version of the product evaluation. Suppose there's a manufacturer out there that makes a coffee maker. "Cooking Pleasures" will ship these coffee makers off to an undisclosed number of their members that volunteer to test them (remember that try before you buy "benefit" I mentioned above?), who then send in ratings that will be tabulated and printed in the magazine. When I first received my gift membership a year or two ago, the results would be published like this:
Mr. Drippy Coffee Maker
Member Ratings
- Convenience: 8.4
- Ease of Use: 7.6
- Ability to Avoid Getting Grounds in the Finished Coffee: 8.1
Member Edna Snortly says: "That Mr. Drippy Coffee Maker heated up in a jiffy, made me a Grande Caramel Latte, and spurted whip cream out the top until I whacked the stop button!"
Okay, let's think about this evaluation. Note that "Cooking Pleasures" gives no sample sizes, so you can't tell if the results are based on one or one hundred responses. They give no context to the scale--is a 7.6 good for ease of use? Or do other coffee makers rate an 8.5? And there's no objective criteria on how to rate a product. What does the product need to to do score a convenience of 10? How about a convenience of 1? And naturally there's no consideration on whether their sample of members contained any sort of bias, such as lack of experience using coffee makers, or a general feeling that positive quotes would be more likely to be published in the magazine. If you'd like a comparison as to the right way to do product evaluations, see my comments on Cook's Illustrated (coming soon in a future post).
Apparently, however, this standard was too exacting for some of the manufacturers that sponsor this activity, as lately "Cooking Pleasures" has changed the format for the product evaluations. Now they appear like this:
Handy John's Indoor Charcoal Grill and Smoker
Top ratings:
- Appearance
- Ease of Use
- Sets Off Smoke Alarms
Comments from Life Member Ralph "One Banana" Beauchamp: "It wasn't as big of a fire hazard as I thought. Didn't even have to dial 911."
Note that now we don't even have an idea of where the ratings fall on a scale of 1-10. For all we know, the Handy John's appearance was a 3, but all the other ratings were worse!
So, based on approximately a two-year sample, and evaluated subjectively by a single reviewer (me), here are the overall ratings for "Cooking Pleasures", employing their own rating display methodology:
Cooking Pleasures
Recipes: 6
Cooking Instruction: 5
Product Evaluations: 1
Sales Pitch: 10
Comments from Soon-to-be-ex member Jake: "Unless you tune into the Informercial channel on a regular basis, or somehow find yourself stranded on a desert island with nothing else to help you prepare meals over the campfire, I'd recommend choosing another magazine for your culinary reading."
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Review of "Cooking Pleasures"
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Cooking Publication Quiz
I'm working on a comparison of the four cooking magazines I subscribe to, and it's taking some time to get enough detail to be meaningful. It'll be up in the next day or so, however. As a teaser, though, here's a quick characterization of each:
1) Pretentious and focused on political correctness and advertisements, rather than food
2) Scientific evaluation of recipes (including cooking techniques for each dish) and products
3) A compilation of recipes apparently submitted by readers used as a vehicle to support advertising (complete with "product evaluations" that really amount to ads)
4) Scientific evaluation of recipes and products, but with an emphasis on simpler, more approachable recipes (read "easier to cook on a week night after work")
Can you guess which publications these are? Read the next post for confirmation...
1) Pretentious and focused on political correctness and advertisements, rather than food
2) Scientific evaluation of recipes (including cooking techniques for each dish) and products
3) A compilation of recipes apparently submitted by readers used as a vehicle to support advertising (complete with "product evaluations" that really amount to ads)
4) Scientific evaluation of recipes and products, but with an emphasis on simpler, more approachable recipes (read "easier to cook on a week night after work")
Can you guess which publications these are? Read the next post for confirmation...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Do More, Watch Less
Yesterday's post focused very much on my outlook for the world. However, this blog purports to view the world through the lense of food, so with that in mind, today we're going to include more cooking. So I promise, if you read far enough down, you'll actually find some food talk!
About ten years ago I had a revelation. I realized that I was spending most of my life watching things, and not nearly enough time doing things. Think about it. How much time do you spend watching a movie, or a sporting event, or likely worst of all, a TV show? Do any of these things contribute to your life? My take is that they're all really "filler", a way to pass time in between periods of activity. Don't get me wrong--this has it's place. A good movie or a football game can let you escape from reality for a little while and relax, and that's a definite benefit. The problem comes in when you spend most of your free time on filler.
Historically, people haven't had much free time. There were fields to till and crops to bring in, food to hunt, and predators and enemies to fight off. Moreover, until artificial lights enabled more activity after sunset, active times were heavily constrained by the day-night cycle. After sunset, pretty much people just went to sleep. Today, though, at least in the US, Europe and other first world countries, the proportion of time taken up by work is less, the work itself is less backbreaking, leaving more energy for other activities, and the time available for non-work activity has been extended through lighting technology. Sounds like a good thing, right?
Sadly, many people don't seem to capitalize on this gift of free time. Escaping through watching the activities of others, real or fictional, doesn't actually get you anywhere in life. Sad as it is to say, it's a way of marking time, and as we all know, eventually we all have no time left. Doing something, however, no matter how small, is another story--it brings tangible rewards. So here's my advice (for however much that's worth): take advantage of your free time rather than looking for a way to make it pass.
There are lots of ways to take advantage of free time. Obvious ones include further education, starting a business on the side, playing (not watching) a sport, or even starting a blog! However, more routine things count, too. How about cooking, for instance?
When you cook, there is an obvious, direct benefit--you get a meal to eat! However, you also learn things along the way--cooking techniques, characteristics of the ingredients you use, and how different ingredients combined together taste. Cooking is a life skill--it can help you attract friends and romantic partners (a cliche, I know, but it's true--it certainly helped me attract girlfriends back in my single days), so it has value beyond the immediate meal. It's also something of a craft, or at its highest level, even an art form. When you cook a great meal, you get the same feelings any craftsman or artist gets when they create a great product.
It's also a good team activity. If you have children, cook with them! They'll be much more likely to eat what you make if they have a hand in its creation. And it gives you something that you can do together, teaches them a skill as described above, and demonstrates for them something to do with their free time besides watching life go by. I think that's an important lesson for children to learn--one of the problems I think we face today is that many people are unwilling to invest the work required to receive the rewards they desire.
Anyway, if you'd like a suggestion for a recipe to make with your kids, here's a good one. Macaroni and Cheese is a sure-fire winner. A word of warning, however--once you make this recipe from scratch, nobody in your family is going to be satisfied with Macaroni and Cheese out of a box ever again!
Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of butter
3 - 4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 3/4 cups milk
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (the better the cheese, the better the dish will be)
10 oz macaroni (approx 2/3 of a 1 lb package)
4 hot dogs, sliced horizontally 1/4' thick (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, cook macaroni according to directions on package.
In another pan, melt butter over medium heat. When it stops foaming, turn off the heat. Add enough flour to make a thin paste (about like thick gravy). Stir in mustard, then gradually add milk, stirring to keep the sauce smooth. Cut up all but the last inch of the cheese into small pieces, and add them to the milk mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring slowly, until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
Drain cooked macaroni and place in large, ovenproof dish. Add sauce and hot dog slices., and stir well. Grate remaining cheese over the top, and bake uncovered for about 40 minutes.
About ten years ago I had a revelation. I realized that I was spending most of my life watching things, and not nearly enough time doing things. Think about it. How much time do you spend watching a movie, or a sporting event, or likely worst of all, a TV show? Do any of these things contribute to your life? My take is that they're all really "filler", a way to pass time in between periods of activity. Don't get me wrong--this has it's place. A good movie or a football game can let you escape from reality for a little while and relax, and that's a definite benefit. The problem comes in when you spend most of your free time on filler.
Historically, people haven't had much free time. There were fields to till and crops to bring in, food to hunt, and predators and enemies to fight off. Moreover, until artificial lights enabled more activity after sunset, active times were heavily constrained by the day-night cycle. After sunset, pretty much people just went to sleep. Today, though, at least in the US, Europe and other first world countries, the proportion of time taken up by work is less, the work itself is less backbreaking, leaving more energy for other activities, and the time available for non-work activity has been extended through lighting technology. Sounds like a good thing, right?
Sadly, many people don't seem to capitalize on this gift of free time. Escaping through watching the activities of others, real or fictional, doesn't actually get you anywhere in life. Sad as it is to say, it's a way of marking time, and as we all know, eventually we all have no time left. Doing something, however, no matter how small, is another story--it brings tangible rewards. So here's my advice (for however much that's worth): take advantage of your free time rather than looking for a way to make it pass.
There are lots of ways to take advantage of free time. Obvious ones include further education, starting a business on the side, playing (not watching) a sport, or even starting a blog! However, more routine things count, too. How about cooking, for instance?
When you cook, there is an obvious, direct benefit--you get a meal to eat! However, you also learn things along the way--cooking techniques, characteristics of the ingredients you use, and how different ingredients combined together taste. Cooking is a life skill--it can help you attract friends and romantic partners (a cliche, I know, but it's true--it certainly helped me attract girlfriends back in my single days), so it has value beyond the immediate meal. It's also something of a craft, or at its highest level, even an art form. When you cook a great meal, you get the same feelings any craftsman or artist gets when they create a great product.
It's also a good team activity. If you have children, cook with them! They'll be much more likely to eat what you make if they have a hand in its creation. And it gives you something that you can do together, teaches them a skill as described above, and demonstrates for them something to do with their free time besides watching life go by. I think that's an important lesson for children to learn--one of the problems I think we face today is that many people are unwilling to invest the work required to receive the rewards they desire.
Anyway, if you'd like a suggestion for a recipe to make with your kids, here's a good one. Macaroni and Cheese is a sure-fire winner. A word of warning, however--once you make this recipe from scratch, nobody in your family is going to be satisfied with Macaroni and Cheese out of a box ever again!
Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of butter
3 - 4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 3/4 cups milk
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (the better the cheese, the better the dish will be)
10 oz macaroni (approx 2/3 of a 1 lb package)
4 hot dogs, sliced horizontally 1/4' thick (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, cook macaroni according to directions on package.
In another pan, melt butter over medium heat. When it stops foaming, turn off the heat. Add enough flour to make a thin paste (about like thick gravy). Stir in mustard, then gradually add milk, stirring to keep the sauce smooth. Cut up all but the last inch of the cheese into small pieces, and add them to the milk mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring slowly, until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
Drain cooked macaroni and place in large, ovenproof dish. Add sauce and hot dog slices., and stir well. Grate remaining cheese over the top, and bake uncovered for about 40 minutes.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
A Day in Autumn
It's a rainy autumn day here in Maryland, and that seems almost appropriate for my inaugural post. I've always liked autumn. For one, the cooler temperatures are refreshing after the heat of the summer. And in addition, there's something poignant about the end of summer's abundance and the approach of leaner times, when trees must drop their leaves and animals gather foodstocks to survive the cold and barren period of winter's dominance.
And it's that last point that makes autumn appropriate for the first post of this blog. I believe that we are approaching the point where summer turns to autumn, where the seaon of plenty we've had here in the USA, and likely in the western world as a whole, comes to an end. Our civilization is in the late days of September right now, in a sort of "Indian summer", and if we were smart, we'd be preparing for the long, coming winter.
However, we're not smart. That's the kicker. We are definitely the proverbial grasshoppers, playing away our last few warm days, ignoring the changing season. I had a conversation with a friend of mine who shares some of the same views a few years ago, and we tried to guess how long the US has before it comes to an end. All civilizations come to an end, right? Rome fell. So did the Greeks. And yes, I get that the countries still exist--but they are fundamentally different from what they once were, and they lost their positions of prominence in the world (to the detriment of their citizens, by the way). It's only reasonable to assume the US will fall one day as well.
Anyway, my friend estimated 50 years before the US "falls", putting the end our of civilization in about 2050. I was more optimistic, giving us 100 years, but lately I'm beginning to believe that my friend had it right. And you know what the worst thing is? Unlike the seasons, which run in an unchanging cycle, for us, winter doesn't have to come. It could be avoided, or at least postponed. As a matter of fact, it still could be postponed--there's a chance. In my view, science and technology just might rescue us from our current problems, but it will need to be transformational to do so, and today, even science is under assault. Failing some sort of transformational breakthrough, to maintain (and spread) our season of plenty we're forced to count on groups of humans making rational, even wise, decisions. And my faith in the human race (and governments especially) to accomplish this feat is asymptotically approaching zero.
Nonetheless, we can but try. And that's one reason for this blog--it's yet one more small voice, crying out into the ether, "Be smart! Make the right decisions for a change! Consider long-term implications and unintended consequences!" Maybe enough people will listen...
So, here we are in autumn, with winter coming. What can we do to stave off the cold? As far as civilization goes, that's far too big a topic for a single post, but some ideas will be explored in future postings. In the meantime, here's a quick suggestion for you, individually, to warm up on a cold day. Make soup! Take a look at today's menu and you'll find a suggestion for one soup that's easy to make and will relieve the chill in your bones. It may not save the world, but at least it will keep your family warm and fed...
And it's that last point that makes autumn appropriate for the first post of this blog. I believe that we are approaching the point where summer turns to autumn, where the seaon of plenty we've had here in the USA, and likely in the western world as a whole, comes to an end. Our civilization is in the late days of September right now, in a sort of "Indian summer", and if we were smart, we'd be preparing for the long, coming winter.
However, we're not smart. That's the kicker. We are definitely the proverbial grasshoppers, playing away our last few warm days, ignoring the changing season. I had a conversation with a friend of mine who shares some of the same views a few years ago, and we tried to guess how long the US has before it comes to an end. All civilizations come to an end, right? Rome fell. So did the Greeks. And yes, I get that the countries still exist--but they are fundamentally different from what they once were, and they lost their positions of prominence in the world (to the detriment of their citizens, by the way). It's only reasonable to assume the US will fall one day as well.
Anyway, my friend estimated 50 years before the US "falls", putting the end our of civilization in about 2050. I was more optimistic, giving us 100 years, but lately I'm beginning to believe that my friend had it right. And you know what the worst thing is? Unlike the seasons, which run in an unchanging cycle, for us, winter doesn't have to come. It could be avoided, or at least postponed. As a matter of fact, it still could be postponed--there's a chance. In my view, science and technology just might rescue us from our current problems, but it will need to be transformational to do so, and today, even science is under assault. Failing some sort of transformational breakthrough, to maintain (and spread) our season of plenty we're forced to count on groups of humans making rational, even wise, decisions. And my faith in the human race (and governments especially) to accomplish this feat is asymptotically approaching zero.
Nonetheless, we can but try. And that's one reason for this blog--it's yet one more small voice, crying out into the ether, "Be smart! Make the right decisions for a change! Consider long-term implications and unintended consequences!" Maybe enough people will listen...
So, here we are in autumn, with winter coming. What can we do to stave off the cold? As far as civilization goes, that's far too big a topic for a single post, but some ideas will be explored in future postings. In the meantime, here's a quick suggestion for you, individually, to warm up on a cold day. Make soup! Take a look at today's menu and you'll find a suggestion for one soup that's easy to make and will relieve the chill in your bones. It may not save the world, but at least it will keep your family warm and fed...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
