Oh Joy!
I firmly believe that no cookbook collection would be complete without "The Joy of Cooking." In fact, it could quite possibly be the only cookbook you will ever need if you like to stick to the tried and true classics.
I confess that I have not actually prepared a large number of recipes out of this book, but instead use it as a guide as to what temperatures to cook various meats and poultry, come up with a new way to prepare something as simple as corn and learn the "why" behind directions used in baking. I also find myself consulting what it says when I'm using other cookbooks, just to make sure what I'm being asked to do is right.
Having laid the ground work for how glorious this book is, it is also not without flaws. Whether it be just a typo or just accidental I find there to be conflicting information in the cooking narratives and the actual recipes, especially when it comes to temperature. These errors were especially glaring when trying to oven bake a rack of ribs for the first time. The narrative says never cook them above 300 degrees and then the recipe tells you to set the oven at 350. Being the experimental fool that I am, it seemed to make good sense to split the difference at 325 and wrap them in foil. The result was a nicely colored rack of rubber that the dogs got to sample after I had trouble cutting them and my husband declared "these are not ribs."
I'm not going to blame "Joy" for that one though, as cooking ribs is really an art form and some people dedicate their entire lives to mastering them. "Joy" also tells me to cook them "low and slow" so for now on the crock pot is the only way to go. I can only afford ribs anyway when I find them on manager's special at Kroger, so I can't put a whole lot of time into learning the fine art of rib preparation nor can I afford to waste money and food trying to learn something. Plus, the crock pot is just awesome. You put food in it and forget about it. How simple is that?
The banana bread recipe has to be my favorite out of this whole book, because the ingredients are usually on hand and it is something my toddler can help with and feel like she has done something major. It was through making this recipe several times (and deciding I can improve upon it by adding my own special touches) that I really discovered the importance of following instructions to the letter. There is nothing like thinking you can do something yourself, only to end up with a thick, pudding like substance at the bottom of the pan, and a dry tasteless brick at the top to teach you that deviating from the norm is not always possible. I'm still amazed that it came out of the pan, as it also created this incredible suction that I had to fight, yet it came out in one piece! But I digress...
Another favorite was reading all about herbs and how to grow and store them. I must preface this with letting you know I don't do very well with taking care of things that can not tell me they need food and water. It is just a sad but true fact. I've had a few plants in my day, but they have all met tragic ends except for one I left behind to be cared for by a friend after I moved back to Kentucky from Texas. I've since learned he died not long after I left, but I blame my friend since I was no where near it when it left this world. So getting the itch to grow herbs seemed like something I should ignore, but another part of me just wanted to see if it was really in me to do. And if I succeeded, then I could once and for all put my tragic plant past behind me. I would also benefit from having fresh herbs readily available to me, thus saving money.
I read the chapter about herbs over and over, and after much inner debate decided cilantro was the way to go. My husband is a big fan of Mexican food, and cilantro is pretty much a staple of that cuisine. I imagined myself stepping into the back yard to pick cilantro then whipping up a big bowl of salsa for him to enjoy anytime he wanted. So I took my daughter to the store and we picked out the perfect package of seeds, paired it with Miracle Grow potting soil, then she and I sat on the front porch and planted cilantro until our little hearts were content. Then we waited.
After the fourth week I decided I must have done something wrong since there was absolutely no sign of any growth. Then there was the accident in which the outside lead we tie our big lab to so she can wander around outside got wrapped around the table the little pots were on and they all got pulled to the ground. After this incident we scooped up the dirt and put them back into the pots, but I was just sure that was the end of the experiment and I had failed miserably.
A few days later I stepped outside to fill the dog's water bowl and just happened to look into the pots and to my great joy there were little cilantro leaves on tiny little stems poking out from the dirt. It was a proud moment indeed.
Now lets fast forward a couple of months when I have almost completely forgotten the little suckers were back there, and they eventually die through total neglect. No ceremonious trips to the back yard to make salsa. No sprinkling of the herbs over freshly made enchiladas. No cilantro flavored anything. Just me making hamburger helper, and the cilantro dying in the back yard.
Yep. Definitely proved growing fresh herbs is not for me.
This incident did not deter me from reading more in Joy, it did however help me to put some things in perspective. Cooking is something we all have to do if we want to eat (unless of course you have money to eat out for every meal), and you can either do the bare minimum and get lack luster results; or you can throw yourself into learning everything you can about it and surprise yourself with how good food can be. I'm somewhere in the middle with having the best of intentions but not the time to take it to the heights of greatness. "Joy of Cooking" is a great launching pad for helping me get to whatever level I feel comfortable being in, yet also has what I need to be minimal when I have to be. Overall, it passes the Rural Kitchen test with flying colors.
I confess that I have not actually prepared a large number of recipes out of this book, but instead use it as a guide as to what temperatures to cook various meats and poultry, come up with a new way to prepare something as simple as corn and learn the "why" behind directions used in baking. I also find myself consulting what it says when I'm using other cookbooks, just to make sure what I'm being asked to do is right.
Having laid the ground work for how glorious this book is, it is also not without flaws. Whether it be just a typo or just accidental I find there to be conflicting information in the cooking narratives and the actual recipes, especially when it comes to temperature. These errors were especially glaring when trying to oven bake a rack of ribs for the first time. The narrative says never cook them above 300 degrees and then the recipe tells you to set the oven at 350. Being the experimental fool that I am, it seemed to make good sense to split the difference at 325 and wrap them in foil. The result was a nicely colored rack of rubber that the dogs got to sample after I had trouble cutting them and my husband declared "these are not ribs."
I'm not going to blame "Joy" for that one though, as cooking ribs is really an art form and some people dedicate their entire lives to mastering them. "Joy" also tells me to cook them "low and slow" so for now on the crock pot is the only way to go. I can only afford ribs anyway when I find them on manager's special at Kroger, so I can't put a whole lot of time into learning the fine art of rib preparation nor can I afford to waste money and food trying to learn something. Plus, the crock pot is just awesome. You put food in it and forget about it. How simple is that?
The banana bread recipe has to be my favorite out of this whole book, because the ingredients are usually on hand and it is something my toddler can help with and feel like she has done something major. It was through making this recipe several times (and deciding I can improve upon it by adding my own special touches) that I really discovered the importance of following instructions to the letter. There is nothing like thinking you can do something yourself, only to end up with a thick, pudding like substance at the bottom of the pan, and a dry tasteless brick at the top to teach you that deviating from the norm is not always possible. I'm still amazed that it came out of the pan, as it also created this incredible suction that I had to fight, yet it came out in one piece! But I digress...
Another favorite was reading all about herbs and how to grow and store them. I must preface this with letting you know I don't do very well with taking care of things that can not tell me they need food and water. It is just a sad but true fact. I've had a few plants in my day, but they have all met tragic ends except for one I left behind to be cared for by a friend after I moved back to Kentucky from Texas. I've since learned he died not long after I left, but I blame my friend since I was no where near it when it left this world. So getting the itch to grow herbs seemed like something I should ignore, but another part of me just wanted to see if it was really in me to do. And if I succeeded, then I could once and for all put my tragic plant past behind me. I would also benefit from having fresh herbs readily available to me, thus saving money.
I read the chapter about herbs over and over, and after much inner debate decided cilantro was the way to go. My husband is a big fan of Mexican food, and cilantro is pretty much a staple of that cuisine. I imagined myself stepping into the back yard to pick cilantro then whipping up a big bowl of salsa for him to enjoy anytime he wanted. So I took my daughter to the store and we picked out the perfect package of seeds, paired it with Miracle Grow potting soil, then she and I sat on the front porch and planted cilantro until our little hearts were content. Then we waited.
After the fourth week I decided I must have done something wrong since there was absolutely no sign of any growth. Then there was the accident in which the outside lead we tie our big lab to so she can wander around outside got wrapped around the table the little pots were on and they all got pulled to the ground. After this incident we scooped up the dirt and put them back into the pots, but I was just sure that was the end of the experiment and I had failed miserably.
A few days later I stepped outside to fill the dog's water bowl and just happened to look into the pots and to my great joy there were little cilantro leaves on tiny little stems poking out from the dirt. It was a proud moment indeed.
Now lets fast forward a couple of months when I have almost completely forgotten the little suckers were back there, and they eventually die through total neglect. No ceremonious trips to the back yard to make salsa. No sprinkling of the herbs over freshly made enchiladas. No cilantro flavored anything. Just me making hamburger helper, and the cilantro dying in the back yard.
Yep. Definitely proved growing fresh herbs is not for me.
This incident did not deter me from reading more in Joy, it did however help me to put some things in perspective. Cooking is something we all have to do if we want to eat (unless of course you have money to eat out for every meal), and you can either do the bare minimum and get lack luster results; or you can throw yourself into learning everything you can about it and surprise yourself with how good food can be. I'm somewhere in the middle with having the best of intentions but not the time to take it to the heights of greatness. "Joy of Cooking" is a great launching pad for helping me get to whatever level I feel comfortable being in, yet also has what I need to be minimal when I have to be. Overall, it passes the Rural Kitchen test with flying colors.
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