Interesting article from NYT on Cook's Illustrated Christopher Kimball.

Thanks Amanda, interesting. My husband, who enters my recipes into the Living Cookbook, has said he

always knows when a recipe is from Cook's Illustrated because it takes a simple process and turns it into something time consuming and complicated. I loved Ruth Reichl's quote “I think he’s a genius,” says Ruth Reichl, the former editor of Gourmet. “He gives his readers exactly what they want while managing to repurpose every recipe six or seven times." I have every magazine they've published and it's all too true.

I've also noticed a dumbing-down of recipes over the years, taking out ingredients that may be harder to find and substituting something else. I see from the article they do that.

 
Thanks! Still a favorite mag of mine but I'm finding the recipes not as appealing as I once did

in the sense that I used to want to try many from the same issue and now only one or two. But I read all because I learn so much

 
I receive it as a Christmas present and almost never make anything from it.

I find the articles preceding the recipes to be very tedious.

 
Thanks. Loved the article, love the show, love the magazine. I especially like

the kitchen gadget recommendations and food brand taste tests.

 
Every time I see him on TV or in print, my first thought is "This is a guy who would benefit from a

pitcher of margaritas and a pipefull of ganja". After reading the article, I would actually prefer to see him in his "head to toe Peach costume." Maybe it's just me.

I stopped subscribing because although the processes were valuable, they were pedantic and uninspired. Can't cook that way. Maybe it's the margaritas and ganja.

 
I used to like him...and then those essays/letters began to get very Southern-Agrarian-y.

CI is a gorgeous magazine, but I get enough empiricism at home, married to a mathematician... smileys/wink.gif I don't need it in recipes. (Ok, except baked goods.)

 
I don't subscribe, but I will pick up the yearly annual if I find it online at a...

...big discount, or in a used bookstore/library sale.

At this point, I use CI for reference. If I want to make a certain dish and I'm looking at many recipes from different sources to gain inspiration, they are one of my sources. Not for the inspiration, but for the technique.

I hate it when they try to cook mexican food. Oy.

Michael

 
It appears a certain distilled cactus extract combined with a naturally-occurring...

...chemical compound found in varietal hemp has become a panacea for all that ails.

Or so it seems.

Michael

 
I get the magazine from time to time if I see something of interest

this guy has so much patience. I don't even have the patience to get through the explanations as to how he arrived at the perfect recipe. If it is a method I have not seen but promises excellent results I read it, but to do all the testing he does....oh my. Should cooking be that complicated? From the comments I have read about him, it seems he has a following, especially from those just learning how to cook. So whatever works.

 
Oh lord I first read "exorcism." I was gonna say the bow tie and hair are creepy but not THAT creepy

 
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