Thinking Outside of the Cookbook

September 28, 2011
By Holly Jennings

This month and next DCCC is doing something a little different. Instead of cooking from a single book, we are doing a comparison of three food magazines: Cook’s Illustrated, Saveur, and Eating Well. (In the magazine business a magazine is called a “book,” so maybe this club pick isn’t that far off . . .)

 

When DCCC club member Jennifer Megyesi, author, farmer, and local chicken expert, came up with this idea I immediately thought it was fun, and novel. I don’t think I would have thought of it myself—yet another great reason to be part of a club: To allow someone else’s interests to become yours, even if for just a couple of months.

 
Jenn says she’s subscribed to a number of food magazines over the years, but hasn’t consistently cooked from them or done a conscious comparison of them to figure out which is best, from a practical point of view. For example, how do the magazines rate according to  availability and seasonality of ingredients used in recipes, ease of preparation, and, most importantly, the  final result—meaning, was it tasty or not?
 
Jenn’s suggestion opens up other ideas for the club: We could do a food blog comparison, or compare a blogger’s cookbook with their blog. I suppose there are endless possibilities, with the love of cookbooks grounding it all.  

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