Jennifer Reese, the former book
reviewer for Entertainment Weekly – although my reaction to that
was who knew there was such a position, but come on, it's not like
she was the in-house metaphysican at TMZ – she lost her job and
used all the time in the week that used to go to work to get a little
obsessive about what was cheaper to cook and what was better to
purchase. The result is Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, a very
entertaining book about the domestic arts in modernity.
As a someone who doesn't mind paying
for quality but will travel miles on bike to safe a couple bucks and
after spending a year eating in, I can emphatically state, of course
we disagree: I have my own perspective on what is cheaper to make and
what is easier to make and when quality and predictability count on but
in this instance, different viewpoints don't matter. Here is why Ms.
Reese is my new culinary BFF – her book is hilarious, opinionated,
conveys a sense of adventure and unlike many books about DIY and
eating local, she doesn't get all Kingsolver about what foods you are
allowed to eat and enjoy.
According to Ms. Reese the rotisserie
chicken about the same price as making it yourself. She is more ambivalent about the cheese than I am, she raises
goats but declares fresh cheese like ricotta
a draw (i think it is always better and ALWAYS cheaper). I buy yogurt and I am price, not brand sensitive, she makes her own
and then makes a compelling case for why I should make my own. Duck
prosciutto? Never had it and while I suppose it would be fun to have
a giant ham hanging from a rafter with that little cap that catches
fat, like every building in Spain does, but the initial investment,
then the waiting (Yes, Tom; Correct Mr. Petty, the Waiting is the
hardest part). Well, I can have a ¼ pound in minutes for about $5.
My gripes with her, aren't disagreements about individual foods, it's her perspective about
time, false equivalencies and quality. If I were unemployed, I would value time differently, it would be less valuable than it is right
now this month with homework, busy work and holidays, but one should
always account for the price of gas/shipping and one's own time when
accounting for savings. The issue of homemade oreos – Don't
they cease to be oreos when you add non-processed ingredients
and care about what they taste like? I don't think it's an apple to
apple comparison, yet I'm totally excited about Pierre Herme's book on
macaroons – the one that apparently has a 38 step process for
making a cookie that can be consumed in one bite. Can't wait to own
his book. Here is
my biggest issue with her book; quality - it doesn't seem to be a
driving concern.. Maybe a
person can make a sound argument for a no-knead loaf of whole wheat
bread but you aren't going to make an award winning baguette at home
for 3 bucks. Even if you call both things a baguette, they are
different.
Still, her book was a joy, a hoot and
realistically challenges a person's preconceptions about food and how
it arrives at the table more than 100 mile diet ever will. Way to go,
Christmas is around the corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment