SC - question after recipe

[Philip & Susan Troy]

And it came to pass on 6 Mar 00,, that Alderton, Philippa wrote:

> One thing that might help some of you new Cooks, is watching "Emeril Live"
> on Food TV. I had been meaning to mention this to Stefan in his search to
> become a better cook, but since we've had a couple of other new cooks
> stepping forward on the List, I thought I might make it a general
> suggestion.

And the Law of Lists says that where a few step forward, dozens more 
are lurking.  Which is why "dumb questions" usually aren't.  
Somewhere, out there, is someone else who wants to know, but is too 
shy or embarassed to ask publicly.

Two things I've found helpful, as a non-intuitive cook of middling 
experience.  Good basic cookbooks, like "The Joy of Cooking" will 
explain a lot of essentials about ingredients and cooking techniques.  
Many of them have illustrations or even photographs to explain certain 
points.   Also, when I'm trying to redact a recipe, I like to look on the 
web or my "Cookbook USA" CD-ROM for as many versions as possible 
for the modern equivalent to the recipe.  That way I can find out a 
approximate temperature, cooking time, ingredient ratio, etc.  Medieval 
cookbooks such as "Take a Thousand Eggs" and "Pleyn Delit" are also 
useful, for their explanations of period ingredients (grains of paradise) 
and techniques (drawing up almond milk).


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net