Saturday, June 1, 2013

The Improvisational Cook




First sign of a good cookbook:  You check it out not once, not twice, but three times from the library.

Second sign of a good cookbook:  You read the introduction and immediately add it to your Amazon wishlist.

Third sign of a good cookbook:  You find yourself wanting to share this book with all the wonderful cooks you know.

Fourth sign of a good cookbook:  You write a blog post about the book.

Fifth sign of a good cookbook:  You discover that all you really need to do to share it is to list the table of contents...How to Use This Book and Begin Improvising...The Creative Mind-Set...Learning What Goes With What...Some Classic Flavor Affinities...Making Flavors Come to Life: Salt and Other Absolutely Essential Seasonings...The Essential Pantry: Long-Keeping Ingredients as Opportunity...Some Strategies for Improvising....

Sixth sign of a good cookbook:  You find that you are so impatient to stop writing about the book and to start trying it out that you abruptly stop right in the middle of your post and hit publish....



I'd really like to read more cookbooks like this. Any recommendations?



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17 comments:

  1. so I assume this is a good cookbook? lol
    seriously, I think the ability to improvising is a sure sign of a good cook.

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  2. I don't think that I really knew how important improvisation is until I got old.

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  3. Improvisation is definitely an acquired skill. This looks like a great cookbook.

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  4. I'm especially interested in thinking about the chapter on learning what goes with what.

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  5. This cookbook looks very intriguing!

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  6. Seventh Sign of a Good Book: All your blog commenters immediately rush out to get the book after reading the other six signs. :D

    I would say you got your point across :D.

    Thanks for the fun, enthusiastic post!

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  7. Seventh Sign: All your blog commenters immediately rush out to get the book after reading the other six signs. :D

    Thanks for the fun post!

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  8. Love this post, Deb! I'm going to see if my library has this cookbook.

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  9. I don't know that I've ever seen such a positive recommendation for a cookbook! I'm putting this on hold at the library - I hope I'm as enthusiastic about it as you are!

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  10. I didn't realize until I read this book that cooking could be so improvisational!

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  11. I would recommend any cookbooks by Jeffrey Alford and/or Naomi Duguid. Definitely my favorite foodie writers.

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  12. I was looking at this one at the library the other day. I'll have to check it out!

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  13. I love looking at cookbooks-I am trying to think of one to add for you and for as many I have I cannot think of one for you.

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  14. For me, this is a revolutionary cookbook. I like to try things. This book encouraged me to take a chance.

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