Happy new year...to myself...and to all the cooks out there...and anyone reading this. 1/2 hour more to go and it's a new calendar. My new year's resolution(s)? Got a few...
1. Read more
2. Try out more recipes
3. Invent new dishes for the cafe
4. Save more, spend less
5. Stop procrastinating
6. Be good (that covers all, I guess)
Being a cook has always been a joy to me...although it can be dirty, rigorous and sweaty at the same time. But the fascination for food I've had since a child (thanks to my mom, who happens to be one great cook and a mentor in my life) is so overwhelming that I find my day incomplete without cooking a dish or two (even during vacation, we would try to find an apartment with kitchen equipment enough to fry something and make a simple pudding-a stove and a microwave oven). I have no formal training from any renowned culinary school (Le Cordon Bleu? How I wish....) but I went for short classes and courses to equip myself with all the skills and knowledge needed to run the cafe kitchen...and self-taught as well.
When I say self-taught, I meant learning from printed recipes and professional culinary books. And not all the printed recipes and cooking guidelines out there produce real results that can make your day! That is why some books are a hit, while others are like *hit (mind my bad language but I find it really frustrating when I bought a book that fails me). The main reason for me being here is to record all the possible mistakes, failures and success in my attempt to experiment with the already printed and recorded recipes from the plethora of cookbooks in the market, internet, magazines etc. You can say that my lack of culinary skills contributes to my failure in my attempt to get the recipe done the right way, but how many people out there, who are buying cookbooks or trying out online recipes, have good cooking and culinary skills? Many women buy cookbooks because they don't have the knowledge in the first place, but imagine their frustration when they fail after a few try-outs. Definitely demotivating...
So this can also be a good place to comment and critic (positively, I mean) cookbooks. The only problem is that my camera is still being repaired so, I wont be able to include pics of the result (unless I get to borrow from someone).
Many good cookbooks are printed in English. I have searched for some reference in my own mother tongue, but to no avail. At the moment, I am reading...
'Professional Baking 5th edition'. Wiley. 2009.
Like what others say, this book is 'a timeless professional baking reference'. And true, it certainly is. Funny, I tried to search for Gisslen's background online but none to be found. This book has made learning about baking ingredients and baking rules pretty easy. But I have yet to try out the recipes included. Hope Gisslen wouldn't mind his book being used here. And I hope that along this journey, I will get the blessing from all the writers of the cookbooks involved...Happy New Year!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment