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Lizawithazee
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Love it that everyone is so opinionated about this! And now I'm incredibly hungry and unwilling to settle for mediocre food. #gourmet
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TheBusinessGuy
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Hey, hands off Chris Kimball. First of all, he dares to wear bowties. You gotta love a guy who wears bowties (Tucker Carlson always excepted). Second, he has the most anal magazine, website, and TV show in all of cookingdom, and yet they are all entertaining and useful. Third, as another commenter mentioned, he has made a paid website work. And finally, a friend who worked for him says he is a really nice guy and wonderful mentor. #gourmet
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Lizawithazee
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
I like the IDEA of CI, but in practice I've found their advice to often be questionable. I bought several pans they recommended, and they suck. I sold them at a yard sale. I've tried some of their meat-cooking methods, and thought the results mediocre. Some things work well, but he's in no position to be so damned smug about cooking. No shit, Mr. Kimball. Recipes created by and for middle-America home cooks aren't necessarily going to appeal to your rarified tastes. #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@Lizawithazee: I agree re: their pan recommendations. #gourmet
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NoWireHangers
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
I subscribe to the CI e-newsletter, which I love, but Kimball has always rubbed me as a pompous food snob. I mean he is, but can you blame him? His medium is dying, someone's gotta fight for the cookbooks. #gourmet
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notsofresh
10/16/09

@NoWireHangers: I do get tired of hearing about how lovely it is on the farm in Mass. or wherever. Save it for the Christmas letter, Kimball. #gourmet
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kimsama
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
I'll come right out and reveal myself as an America's Test Kitchen hater. I've always found their recipes to be mediocre, at best.

What seems to be the case with me is, if I already know how to prepare a certain dish (say, blueberry pie) in a way that I've always enjoyed, I'm invariable disappointed by their "improved" recipe. And ATK so rarely covers unusual recipes that there's rarely a food on there I've haven't made already.

I prefer to get recipes from food bloggers, who seem to be less interested in "food science" and more interested in deliciousness.

For those of you needing good food blogs (besides the cool ones Ryan linked -- great "least popular recipe ever"), I like Smitten Kitchen, Gluten-Free Gal, 101 Cookbooks, and Simply Recipes. Oh god, I'm such a food nerd. #gourmet
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Claire Buoyant
10/16/09

@kimsama: I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but the people behind some of these blogs can be pretty full of themselves, too. (Just like Kimball, imagine that.) #gourmet
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kimsama
10/16/09

@Claire Buoyant: No, you're right ^_~. I guess I can just handle their brands of smugness more? I guess I'm a horrible human being, but the weather sucks and I feel like being grumpy about ATK. #gourmet
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MissNormaDesmond
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Okay, having now read the NYT piece, I'm kind of stunned that both you and HamNo ignored what was really interesting about it in favor of getting pissy on behalf of the Internet. The guy was totally gloating over having kicked Conde Nast's ass! That's hilarious. You also ignored that his print magazine is thriving and has a paid website, so he has obviously has nothing against the Internet per se, especially seeing as how the Wiki challenge is posted in his blog. He's not the dumb cane-shaking Granpa you're portraying him as. He's talking about the best ways to develop recipes, not how the Internet is bad. #gourmet
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Claire Buoyant
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond: Total tangent here, but Malcolm Gladwell has also written about recipe development:
[gladwell.com] #gourmet
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kimsama
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond: But I would argue his method -- approaching cooking as a science -- is not what his op-ed advocated. Cooking is part science, part art -- sort of like architecture. Whether someone will like a building comes down to what their tastes are in addition to more scientific concerns like how sound it is, how balanced it is, etc. There's no "scientifically right" way to do it, nor is there for cooking, and that's what pisses me off about him.

He goes and advocates Julia Child's long apprenticeship and thoughtful approach to cooking, but on ATK, the mood is more "let's chuck the classic, studied ways of making this recipe for some newfangled science." I see it as sort of disrespecting the classic apprenticeship/mastery cycle. #gourmet
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MissNormaDesmond
10/16/09

@kimsama: Yeah, that seems like a very reasonable criticism to make, but it's not the one that's being made here; they're just trying to make him out a dumb old without really engaging with what he's saying. #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
The only thing worse than a shitty online recipe is the pretentiousness of the people who claim there is no such thing as a good online recipe. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: I'm still working on understanding this concept. If I copy a recipe from Cook's Illustrated onto my blog, does the recipe become bad? What does this all mean? Explain! #gourmet
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Mike Byhoff
10/16/09

@DahlELama: Exactly! What I don't understand is how he says there are no good recipes online. epicurious.com takes recipes from Gourmet and posts them on their site. #gourmet
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Claire Buoyant
10/16/09

@DahlELama: If you copy a CI recipe onto your blog, be prepared for their lawyers to get all over your ass. So there are no CI recipes found in blogs (not for long, anyway). #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@DahlELama: Ha, I would if I could! I think he means recipes that originated online (from food bloggers and the like), but then he doesn't really mention them when making his point (probably because he knows that there are good online recipes). I hope he's not referring to ANY online recipe (no matter where it originated) because, if he was, he's an idiot. #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@DahlELama: Also, mi amor, I'm going to use this as an opportunity to whore out a picture of the NY Strip I grilled last night, because I think it looks de-fucking-licious. #gourmet
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Claire Buoyant
10/16/09

@mattchew03: There are original recipes posted online by trained chefs, too, so he's even wrong there. #gourmet
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kimsama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: I love food porn. To me, that is almost NSFW. Swoon.
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Edited by kimsama at 10/16/09 12:59 PM kimsama was starred kimsama was unstarred

Mike Byhoff
10/16/09

@mattchew03: Even a Wüsthof cutting board! Fancy boy. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: So, what he really means are recipes that originate from amateurs. It is so ridiculously lazy to call out "the Internet" as a credible source. There have always been lousy chefs masquerading as skilled ones; the Internet just gives them a forum, just like it gives crappy writers a forum. But I don't blame the fact that there are a lot of lousy books out there on the Internet, because I'm not an idiot. Stop being bitter that the Internet may potentially crush your magazine and learn to work with it, because deriding it isn't going to stop it from rendering you obsolete... #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@Mikey-B: Ha, thanks. I have a few of those little Wüsthof ones and mainly use them for small jobs (e.g. slicing a piece of meat or chopping up a small amount of herbs or veggies) and keep a separate one for garlic, but when I'm doing anything that requires a big board I absolutely LOVE Boos Blocks and highly recommend them: [www.johnboos.com] #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@DahlELama: Spot-on. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: Must. Have. That. Now. #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@kimsama: You want some moar food pr0n? Did you watch Top Chef Masters? If so (or possibly even if not), you may be aware of Rick Bayless, or "Ned Flanders" to the live bloggers. Anyway, I decided to make the "luxurious" version of his guacamole a few nights ago (but left out the cilantro because I absolutely HATE cilantro), and it was fabulous. Recipe: [www.kalamazoogourmet.com] #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@DahlELama: Are you a medium rare girl? #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: I like to think of myself as extremely rare, but yes, medium-rare is how I like my steak.

Also, I'd just like to point out that my husband is the one who coined "Ned Flanders." I'm pretty sure it's still the high point of his year. #gourmet
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Lizawithazee
10/16/09

@mattchew03: Wow. Way to respect the protein. That's gorgeous. #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@Lizawithazee: Thank you!

@DahlELama: Wait... you're MARRIED?! :( I do appreciate the fact that your husband seems awesome enough to come up with Ned Flanders, though. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: Hey, if you get to be gay, I get to be married! If this gets me dumped as your Gawker girlfriend, I'm going to be pissed. Also, good call--cilantro SUCKS. #gourmet
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ohgee
10/16/09

@DahlELama:

You have to get organic cilantro and make sure it's fresh and smells ok! #gourmet
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Matt Cherette
10/16/09

@DahlELama: I would never dump you! And the fact that you also hate cilantro is another one of the ever-increasing reasons why we're BFF. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@ohgee: Nothing will not make it taste like soap to me; it's a genetic trait. #gourmet
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ohgee
10/16/09

@DahlELama: I used to have to soapiness problems until I started buying organic and smelling to make sure it wasn't soapy. Maybe I'm just lucky. #gourmet
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kimsama
10/16/09

@mattchew03: Pardon me while I light some candles and get romantic with that guacamole.

Thank you for the recipe. I'm gonna get it on this weekend with some avocados I got at a Diwali festival. #gourmet
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DahlELama
10/16/09

@ohgee: Interesting! In your honor, perhaps I will give it a shot. But if it still tastes like soap, you're getting a bag of flaming dog poop on your lawn. #gourmet
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sympathyforthebasementcat
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Is he angling for a tv show with this? The Nakedly Self-Serving Chef does have a nice ring to it. It sounds like a jack-off video with a culinary twist. #gourmet
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Coralvillain
10/16/09

@sympathyforthebasementcat: Sausage with Truffle Oil #gourmet
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MissNormaDesmond
10/16/09

@sympathyforthebasementcat: He has a TV show on PBS. And I really like it, and him. I don't know what I think about this. #gourmet
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Mike Byhoff
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond: America's Test Kitchen. it is very good.

I always picture him wearing the bowtie at all times. Going to bed, in the shower, making love, playing baseball.
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notsofresh
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond: It, him and his magazine are all great. And I can attest to having great difficulty recipe-hunting on the Web myself, but maybe I (and other not-really-foodies) just don't know where to look. Which I think may be his point? #gourmet
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sympathyforthebasementcat
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond: Aw, damn, if he already has a show, then there goes my million dollar idea. #gourmet
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miss_msry
10/16/09

@MissNormaDesmond:

Yeah, he and Alton Brown are revered in my kitchen. But, I don't subscribe, except to the online presence. #gourmet
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alboy2
10/16/09

@Mikey-B: P.S. They have changed the name of the program to "Cooks Country" but it's pretty much the same. I'm a fan, I must admit, though I can't really say I've tried too many of the recipes. Just looks so darned good on my TV!! #gourmet
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Tremonius
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Reminds me of old Chief Dan George in Little Big Man, who did his hula number and chants and challenged the Great Spirit to come out and fight. The hula number was entitled "Jumping the Shark." #gourmet
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Motoko Kusanagi
10/16/09

In reply to The Trolling Cook
Sorry, but this guy is awesome. His show is awesome. Cooks Illustrated is awesome. Their books are also awesome.

I sure as fuck wouldn't want to bet against him and his organization in a cook-off. #gourmet
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QADude
10/16/09

@Motoko Kusanagi: I really like America's Test Kitchen. They have practical advise and they deal with "real world" cooking, unlike most of those so-called celebrity chefs on Food Network who can't even cook a hamburger. #gourmet
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Claire Buoyant
10/16/09

@Motoko Kusanagi: Well, yes and no. Kimball & Co's schtick is that they can provide you with the best recipe derived after thorough testing (and in fact their cookbooks are named with The Best Recipe). But if you go back through their archives, how many different recipes have they produced for some basic dishes? If it's already best, why come up with a different version? Worse, the reasons they use for coming up with each version sometimes don't make a whole lot of sense.

They present themselves as being scientific and logical, but it's clear they don't have scientific or statistical process-control backgrounds. #gourmet
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YankBoffin
10/16/09

@QADude: Count me as a fan as well. I really enjoy the ingredient comparisons (Taco Bell apparently has the best canned fried bean) and equipment comparisons. Actually, the recipes are pretty good too, so I guess there isn't any part of the show I don't enjoy. #gourmet
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Cicada
10/16/09

@Motoko Kusanagi: Cooks Illustrated is the only cooking magazine that I have never been disappointed with. It's crazy how good most of their recipes are.

Oddly enough, the one thing I can't stand in Cooks is Christopher Kimball's folksy little editorials. #gourmet
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Lizawithazee
10/16/09

@Cicada: Those columns alone make me dislike him immensely. #gourmet
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miss_msry
10/16/09

@Motoko Kusanagi:

Thank you for the love. #gourmet
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gawkimo
08/07/09

In reply to Prepare For the Year of Bread Lines
If you're looking to blame investment banks, here's a lead: the World Food Programme says 100 million people who were living on the edge fell into hunger in the 2007-2008 spike in commodity prices, blamed in large part to a massive shift of investment away from financial derivatives into commodities.
"This latest food emergency has developed in an incredibly short space of time - essentially over the past 18 months. The reason for food "shortages" is speculation in commodity futures following the collapse of the financial derivatives markets."
[www.newstatesman.com]
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HotSlacker
08/06/09

In reply to Prepare For the Year of Bread Lines
I'm surprised and disgusted by the cheeky indifference in some of the comments but I know I'm on Gawker so I shouldn't be... so when breadlines become the new "social networking sites" and we're all there I don't want to hear anyone bitching.
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Uncle_Billy_Slumming
08/06/09

@HotSlacker:
If it gets bad we can eat the foodstamps.
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MrInBetween
08/06/09

In reply to Prepare For the Year of Bread Lines
You left off the last sentence of the Goldman Sachs report: "And we expect to make a gajillion dollars next year!"
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Uncle_Billy_Slumming
08/06/09

In reply to Prepare For the Year of Bread Lines
Come grab a cup of coffee with Rupert Murdoch and I, HamNo. We'll explain it all. Bring lots of tinfoil.
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m4ximusprim3
08/06/09

In reply to Prepare For the Year of Bread Lines
Boy, I heard kids loved pot, but to see it graphically illustrated... chilling.
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