media

Being Clever in Print

January 25, 2012
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If you are a regular reader of Cook’s Illustrated, you are familiar with the front matter that precedes the recipes: a folksy editorial by Christopher Kimball, the misnamed “Notes from Readers” (it’s questions from readers), and the Quick Tips. It’s the Tips that I find most interesting; a collection of handy hints from kitchen MacGyvers who [...]

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Cooking More Books

December 30, 2011
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So many cookbooks were published this year that I couldn’t pick just one or two to list as favorites, but I was able to narrow down the list to about a dozen. Here’s what I have been reading and cooking from in 2011: Modernist Cuisine: My number one pick is also the largest and most [...]

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Bloggin’ a Food Blog

November 14, 2011
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If I got invited to a food event, then I can only assume that food blogging has hit maximum saturation. My theory’s proof was delivered in “The Food Wife,” Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, in which Bart, Lisa, and Marge start a food blog. Homer’s love of new food experiences has been well documented throughout [...]

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Eat Your Books

November 11, 2011
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I recently received an invitation to attend a reception at the headquarters of America’s Test Kitchen to celebrate the launch of The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. I don’t know how I came to their attention, but I never turn down an opportunity to mingle with other cooking geeks, so I spent a pleasant two hours at ATK [...]

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Hunt, Gather, Cook

October 19, 2011
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During my Boy Scouting career (before it became just “Scouting”), I spent quite a bit of time in the woods learning how to fell a tree, catch a fish, pitch a tent, tie knots, and navigate by the sun and stars. I was convinced that particular set of skills would serve me in good stead [...]

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Momofuku, the Magazine

July 11, 2011
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In early March, Anthony Bourdain tweeted a couple of blurry photos of the “wall of the super-secret Chang Project HQ at ZPZ.” ZPZ is Zero Point Zero, the production company that produces No Reservations, which led me to conclude that they would be making a television show with chef David Chang from Momofuku. I’d watch [...]

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Pyramid Scheme

June 3, 2011
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Yesterday the USDA unveiled their new diagram for what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet. Seen above, it’s a plate, with the proportions clearly delineated and reflecting what we’ve come to accept as a healthy food intake: mostly vegetables and grains, followed by fruit, then protein, and finally some dairy. It’s a vast improvement over the [...]

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Get Lamp

November 12, 2010
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If you are a gaming geek of a certain age, the phrase “get lamp” should evoke a whole series of memories. For me they remind me of nights spent in the basement of McGregor House at MIT, where I played Adventure, the first computer text game, on a DEC line printer terminal (complete with 300 [...]

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More Than a Few Words About MasterChef

September 1, 2010
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Since the court has determined to condemn me – God knoweth how – I will now discharge my mind concerning the indictment and the King’s title. — Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons Just as I had finally managed to purge the memory of my failed audition from my mind, Fox began broadcasting the [...]

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Hell No

August 11, 2010
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The curent season of Hell’s Kitchen ended last night, but not in the way I expected it to. After enduring many weeks of seriously delusional boasting (“I’m the best cook here.”) from everyone but Jay and Holli, it was no surprise that they would be the two finalists. I figured Jay had it in the [...]

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