Conference turris::cooks

    Really don't know what you could be missing, but thought I'd add
    something that got to me also.  I asked for the Joy of Cooking for
    Christmas and it came...It seems like a really good cookbook, but
    the two things that I have made were not very good. I made the rice
    pudding, the one with brown sugar.  It was very dry - the dog is
    enjoying it.  I also made the Spicy Beef.  It tasted like corned
    beef would taste if over spiced.
    
    Was I just unlucky and hit on two recipes that didn't appeal to
    me - did I overcook the rice pudding?  Would appreciate your input.
    
    Thanks.
    
    Flo

  Thank you for the review! My wife and I have been considering getting
  it, but hadn't had a chance to see it. From your description, it
  sounds really interesting (at least from our point of view). I don't
  think you're missing anything at all. First of all, if you didn't see
  many recipes, then there aren't many! The question is: is this book
  really a better way to learn how to cook than a book full of several
  hundred recipes? 

  Whether it turns out to be or not, it's a relatively novel approach
  for a cookbook (at least for one offered to the general public). The
  problem with most recipe books (that's literally what they're called
  in France, where they do have other books, sometimes called technique
  books) is that while they may guide you step-by-step through a
  particular dish, you may only get to learn the more general (and more
  useful) cooking principles if you just happen to figure things out,
  noticing patterns and cause-effect as you go along. It's this more
  general experience which enables a cook to successfully modify dishes
  or create new ones from ideas and techniques. Most cookbooks aren't
  much more than a library of ingredient lists, The Joy of Cooking being
  somewhat of an exception.

  In any case, there's no substitute for experience (i.e., making
  mistakes and learning from them), but maybe Julia's book is a quicker
  way to learn from the mistakes and pick up the techniques which a good
  cook needs. It sounds like a book to learn how to cook, rather than a
  library of recipes. I can't wait to see it.

    From the sound of things, I get the impression that you want every
    ingredient listed in a recipe, rather than experimenting with
    several ingredients.  If you aren't sure you like this book, you
    probably don't.  
    
    My suggestion would be to check out the New Basics by the authors of
    the Silver Palate, which is likely to be a combination of both books
    you mentioned.  I'm sure some readers here will offer you alternative
    suggestions as well, but I do find that the New Basics and both Silver
    Palate's are my favorites that I constantly return to.

  Re .3, good points. On New Basics, we just got it, and it's got tons
  of recipes. Definitely a good book, especially if you're interested in
  recipes rather than techniques.

    I think the important factor here is, do you like to be creative when
    you cook? Or would you rather follow a recipe to a `T'? I usually look
    up recipes in more than one book to see what variations exist, then use
    my own creativity on top of that. Nothing I cook is specifically one
    recipe. If you don't feel comfortable improvising while cooking, then
    take the book back and go for a recipe book.

Well, I kept the book.   A few of the reasons you hit on. 

I like to try new recipies to learn combinations I never would have 
thought of.  But, I also just wing it a lot, combining whatever seems 
like it will work.  

Rather than relying on picking up techniques from things I decided to 
keep the book and learn them the correct way.   That will probably 
make both, my recipie following and my 'winging it' a lot better. 

Thanks,

	When I read the base note about this book, it caused me to stop
and think about why I like using that cookbook so much.  I have 
concluded that I like that book because it is both a cook book and a
narrative.  It sort of Julia's farewell and gift to us all.

	I bought the book as soon as it hit Wordsworth.  I have to say that
it is a superb opus - that is if you have read or used her other cook
books.  I find TWTC to be an amalgamation of all of her earlier works.
In some cases, she plagiarizes entire recipes from JC & Company, JC
& More Company, Mastering the Art and the French Chef.

	I thought about the comment in the base note regarding 'where
are the recipes?"  I admit that you have to read a good bit more
before you get to the recipe, but it is well worth it.

	So far, I've made the following with great luck: Tarte Tatin,
Tarte aux Pommes, Pissaladiere, Honey Spice Cake, Gratin de pommes
de terre, b�che de No�l, genoise, isles flottante, p�te de canard
and coq au vin.

	I'm waiting for the sequel for this book that should be called
'The Way to Clean.'  For any of you who attempt to make a spun sugar
nest, be sure to video tape your episode.  Every knob, utensil and
appliance in the kitchen will be sticky and emit a thin filament of
spun sugar for the next 3 weeks.  You'll need a welder's torch
to clean the stove top. [A glass of wine helps in all of these recipes.]

Bon Appetit,
Steve

    RE .7:
    
    Martha Stewart seems to be quite "in" these days - and for some reason,
    I just can't stand her!  For lack of something better to do while
    wrapping Christmas presents, I watched the special she did on
    Christmas.  She did have some good ideas, and one had to do with spun
    sugar.
    
    Use wire snippers from your toolbox to cut off the ends of an
    inexpensive balloon whisk (I certainly wouldn't do this to an expensive
    one!).  Then dip your "whisk" into the sugar and spin it onto your
    whatever (counter, stove, etc. ;-).  I've seen Julia and others do this
    with a fork (not to mention seeing my kitchen after this!), and
    Martha's method *looked* a lot neater and easier.  It could have been
    trick camera-work, though!
    
    BTW, I haven't seen TWTC, but it sounds WONDERFUL!  Maybe it will be a
    birthday gift for me!
    
    Susan

    I thought I was the only one who couldn't stand Martha Stewart....for
    the same reasons as -.1!!! Thanks for sharing that with us. I don't
    feel so bad.. now that I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
    

    
    This book sounds like the perfect reference for the person
    (such as myself) who likes to invent rather than hunt down and
    follow recipies...seem if they provide the basic concept, that
    leaves the cook lots of room for creativity, and an opportunity
    to customize the dish to his/her tastes.
    
    Hang on to it, you may find yourself feeling creative. Anyone
    who reads/writes in this file has a basic enjoyment for the preparation
    and serving and eating of good food!
    
    

    I bought the cookbook as a Christmas present to myself.  As soon as
    I opened it up, I knew this book was meant for me.  I'm the kind of
    person who likes to read recipes just to get ideas.  Unless, I've
    never cooked something before, I usually improvise as I cook.  But
    cooking is one thing and technique is another.  You can cook and
    rely on the recipe and if you're lucky, the recipe is acurate, nothing
    will go wrong and your dish will come out.  If you know the proper
    techniques to use, your chances of a dish coming out is much greater.
    I know.  I used to make a lot of french pastries;  Technique is 100%
    and all the recipes in the world won't help you unless you know the
    proper techniques to use.  So I'm an advocate of technique.
    The Way to Cook is wonderful.  I highly recommend it.  It's not cheap
    though, but if you want a discount, buy it a Royal Discount Books.
    I got it there for $35.00 instead of the $50.00 list price.
                                                           

Well, I should preface this by saying I'm an unabashed longtime fan of JC's...

but this new book is a really fine work.  As with all her books, it's truly
readable from cover-to-cover, and the recipes have all been tested.  For those
who assume all other books have been tested, just try the muffin recipe from 
Joy (says it makes a dozen - but you're lucky to get 3 or 4 out of it.)
Or the ricotta cake crumb crust.  Or many of the cookie recipes.  They
just don't work; it's a sloppy book, full of anachronisms (you haven't had to
scald milk for bread since universal pasteurization - some thirty years ago.)

TWTC is filled with the latest in nutrition, food science, and the art of
menu and meal prepartion. Nifty, practical info, such as how to peel shrimp
efficiently and how to choose a good pineapple. Many recipes are repeated from
earlier books, but with improvements (the french bread, for example.)

Someone in another note called this her legacy - that's a great way to see it.
She's been the greatest popular *teacher* of cooking, and well-deserving of
her popularity. As _COOK'S_ put it - it's just Julia being Julia, and well
worth the price of admission.

John

    I think I'm going to go out and BUY one.
    
    I like to cook a recipe EXACTLY the way it is written the first time I
    cook it.
    
    Once I know what it's like, then I can 'wing' it.  I've tried 'winging
    it' before I know what the original concept is, and 90% of the time it
    is a disaster.
    
    So, since I like Chinese, Thai, Indian, Indonesian, etc. cooking, I
    think I OWE it to myself to get TWTC.
    
    Chris J.
    
    
    

    Chris - Assuming you have one nearby, go to Bj's.  My mother just
    picked up this cookbook for me, somewhere in the price range of
    $30-$33, which sure beats paying full price of $50 for it.  
    The bad thing about it is, she doesn't live close by and she still has
    custody of my book.  :^(

    I just got The Way to Cook for $8.88. I was up real late one night
    (couldn't sleep), and there was this 1 800 number given on TV with a
    choice of about 8 or 10 books. It was a no obligation offer from
    one of the book clubs.                                        

    FYI -- 
    
    There is a book dealer who sets up at an antique show every Sunday a.m
    (7:30 a.m - 1:00 p.m.) at St. Stan's Hall in Nashua.  He sells new
    books for 50% off.  I have seen several copies of Julia's new book
    there (as well as other new titles).  
    
    Lorraine
    

    
    Got it for $5 from the "Book Of The Month Club". 1-800 number on TV.
    No obligation to buy anything else. They tacked some postage onto
    $5, so I can't remember the total. Maybe it was the same offer as
    described in a previous note.
    
    mike