NY Times Magazine Food & Drink Issue

[MGZ]

Lots of interesting stuff. I found the format pretty cool too.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/20...

[ttoommyy]

I'll probably get harassed for this, but...

Pllease shut up, Michael Pollan. Your act is getting old.

[buttertart]

Not by me you won't, ttoommyy!

[ttoommyy]

Thank you, buttertart.

[salvati]

More from the usual, boring suspects. Bleh.

[scarsdalesurprise]

I liked the wine chart.

[bob96]

Interesting mostly for layout--short pieces, many sources, listicles, no real center to anything, etc, in visual template that's becoming more and more common, and predictable. The wine choice article offered excellent suggestions for value priced matches ; had it been done, say, a few years ago, it would have featured one big showy wine bottle photo and a straightforward essay/article format instead of the cute diagramming. Not sure what the cacophony of individual voices throughout the magazine added up to (more Pollan on the usual what not to eat, more Bittman mix and match lecturing, snippets of coffee snobbery, etc), except to bring in as many names as easily possible. One silly piece IMHO: the idea and condiments are the one food worth making at home--of all the useless waste of time and energy to do housemade steak sauce when making soups, stocks, and other basics at home really does make the difference i taste, economy, and value. In the end, the magazine was mostly an excuse for one of those huge "best lawyers" multipage ads. insert.

[MGZ]

I assume you're not much of a cook. Homemade condiments, soups, stocks and other basics are worlds better than most anything available to purchase.

[huiray]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/790784
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/766179
;-)

[bob96]

You must not have read my post. I did note the great vlaue of stocks, sauces, breadcrumbs, pickled vegetables, and other basics I make myself almost every week--thanks for the not being much of a home cook snark--but question the real value of investing time in food products that I eat only infrequently. Time and energy are not unlimited resources: I will spend both looking for the freshest artichokes or fish or ricotta, and using them carefully in the kitchen. I simply don't think it's worth it to fuss over something that matters relatively little.

[MGZ]

I wasn't trying to be snarky. I see now how I misunderstood what you were trying to say. My apologies.

[Roland Parker]

Most people have developed a strong liking for their favorite condiments. I'm aware of what homemade mayonnaise or ketchup tastes like and while it can be good, I'm still reaching for the bottle of Heinz or Hellman's as they are still very good and because my taste buds are expecting the particular flavors of the bottled products. Ditto for steak sauces.

[rockycat]

I recall an instructor at a well-known cooking school in NYC begin a lesson on making mayonnaise with the statement that, although there is nothing quite like freshly made mayonnaise, people tend to be unusually loyal to the mayo they had at home growing up and she would entirely understand if students decided they preferred Hellman's/Best/Dukes/etc. to the mayo they were about to make.

Certain flavors and tastes are just ingrained that deeply in our psyches.

And to me, if it ain't Heinz, it ain't ketchup.

[JoanN]

I'm interested in trying the ketchup recipe. Only time I tried making it before, the recipe called for simmering the tomato puree and spices for a couple of hours. I was finding splashes of tomato sauce all over the kitchen for weeks. Curious to see what a "no cook" recipe tastes like. And it's certainly simple enough.

[huiray]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/775478
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/800961
:-)

[JoanN]

Not sure what point you're trying to make with the above links. Both are to recipes for cooked ketchups (one of them evidently not very good). What intrigued me about the recipe in the Times is that it requires no cooking.

[huiray]

Maybe one of them won't splash as much?
Maybe home-made ketchup may not be worth the effort? (Just go and buy your favorite brand, whether Heinz or whatever - see the other links I posted just above your 11.38 am post. But, to each his or her own.)
All posted with tongue slightly in cheek.

[Westy]

Fog City Diner had a good recipe. An older Pawlcyn cookbook, but great.

[buttertart]

That ketchup recipe was uncooked and contained raw cornstarch! For crying out loud! I don't want that anywhere near my food.

[roxlet]

More of Bitman's endless lists. Ugh.

[MGZ]

He penned the introduction and one submission. I didn't see any lists (admittedly, I only read the online version).

[LulusMom]

roxlet, i have to admit i thought of you when i saw his article. And I agreed with you.

[ttoommyy]

If by "endless lists" you mean his various ways to make one dish, say a soup, 6 different ways, I agree. I could do this in my sleep. Not one of those variations on dishes made me think, "Hmmm...I never thought of that." His suggestions may be of use to novice cooks, but I don't think they're of use to most people who are reading the food articles in the NYT Magazine.

[roxlet]

Yes, very boring. Make it Indian! Put in curry powder! Oh, please.

[MsDiPesto]

LOL, good imitation, Roxlet

[ttoommyy]

"Yes, very boring. Make it Indian! Put in curry powder! Oh, please."

LOL!

Got milk? Make It CHOCOLATE milk...add Bosco!

[LulusMom]

Next week's article.

[rockycat]

The Spouse used to do a Martha Stewart impression:

"And if you want your ice tea cold, add ICE!"

and a direct quote

"Matzah - comes from the Hebrew word 'matzah.'" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGd8g...

When did food journalism begin to feel the need to point out the glaringly obvious?

[buttertart]

Thank you! He's annoying as heck.

[Kagemusha]

Just drug it in off the porch. Nice job, as usual. Liked the family tables spread.

[MGZ]

I figure there's at least two dozen Chowhound thread topics in there.