Recipes that don’t work. The unspoken problem with cookery books

Cookery books may still be selling like hotcakes but I sometimes wonder why given that so many of the recipes don’t actually work. Unsurprisingly it’s not a subject the publishing industry cares to dwell on but it’s a more widespread problem than you’d think.

We authors do our best but even then howlers can slip through. Although I was lucky enough to learn my trade when Delia was in charge of Sainsbury's Magazine, I've been guilty of a couple myself - a tomato soup where the tomatoes had been left out of the list of ingredients (duh!) and some ‘vegan’ Thai-style patties that contained egg white. None of us picked the errors up.

Tsp printed as tbsp - just one letter’s difference - but a potentially catastrophic effect, particularly in a baking recipe. An extra zero on the number of grams - 250 instead of 25. Disaster!

Chefs are particular culprits because they’re simply not used to thinking in terms of recipes, being vague in the extreme about the quantities and methods involved. I remember working with chef Stephen Marwick on the first draft of a fish soup recipe he’d provided which called for ‘a gallon of fish stock’. Just what every home cook has to hand.

None of this is too bad for the experienced cook who reads through a recipe before starting to make it but it’s far more difficult for those who lack the knowledge to spot an error and the knowhow to deal with it.

And a lot of ‘errors’ are merely questions of taste. The author may be much more tolerant of chilli or salt than you are. You need to learn to adjust recipes to your own palate and the ingredients you have to hand. Also your and your family's appetites may differ from the author's. I recently cooked a recipe for 6 that just about fed 3 not especially greedy people.

The situation isn’t likely to improve as publishers continue to go for TV tie-ins and new authors who’ve never written a book before. Or books that aren’t even written by the author (it has been known . . . ) They also prefer short recipes when long ones might be more helpful and commission books at the last possible minute leaving insufficient time for testing and editing - although my impression is that the US publishing industry is more rigorous than the British one in this respect.

So what about you - have you ever had a disaster with a recipe and what went wrong?

This post was first written 5 years ago and I think things have got worse, if anything!

Wine pairing: it’s not about rules just useful knowhow

Every so often someone has a go at food and wine pairing. The media love it as they like to knock anything to do with wine (the other old chestnut being that wine professionals haven’t a clue because they can’t always recognise wines blind)

A typical sally is a post on Eater headed It’s Time to Forget the Old Rules of Wine Pairing by a Miami-based sommelier called Bianca Sanon

One of Sanon’s arguments - and it’s a fair one - is that in many restaurants nowadays small plates are the norm and it’s impossible to find one wine that will go with them all let alone take into account everyone’s personal taste.

But that’s not the only occasion on which we eat. More often at home - and it is more often at home nowadays - we decide to make a dish and have to choose what to drink with it. Easy enough, goes the argument, drink what you like but wouldn’t it be better having taken the trouble to cook something special to find something that would show it off?

It’s this idea that any advice about the subject constitutes a ‘rule’ that I have an issue with “There is a long history of the all-knowing wine guru telling you that you absolutely must have X with Y.” (No there isn’t. It’s merely a suggestion, a prompt.)

“There is no such thing as an objectively perfect pairing” she continues.

I agree no more than there’s a perfect rendition of a particular dish but that doesn’t mean that if you’re enthusiastic about a particular combination you shouldn’t communicate it on the basis that someone mightn’t like it.

Take sauvignon blanc and goats cheese. Of course it won’t appeal if you like neither sauvignon or goats cheese in which case there are a number of other options such as rosé - no-one’s pretending that there aren’t. But MOST people will enjoy it. Same with duck and pinot noir or fish and chips and fizz. It’s useful to have a few combinations up your sleeve just as you know that tomatoes, mozzarella and basil are great bedfellows.

20 food and wine pairings to learn by heart

I like Sanon’s advice - pair to the vibe - and the people and the occasion. I wouldn’t serve natural or orange wine to your conservative in-laws for example or a high alcohol sweet-fruited cabernet to a natural wine fan but you can tailor the type of wine to your audience and still consider the flavours, just as you would if you were choosing a side.

‘Drink what you like’ is really not that helpful a counsel. Translate that into ‘forget recipes just eat what you like’. Most people are not confident enough to cook without a recipe yet no-one says they shouldn’t follow someone else’s guidance.

In her desire not to put up barriers Sanon claims ‘most wines will taste pretty okay with most foods’. But it’s not really helpful to people to suggest that they do if they end result is disappointing. If you drink a full-bodied shiraz with your spaghetti carbonara or a dry white wine with your dessert it’s nothing to beat yourself up about but the people you’re feeding or hosting might enjoy it more if you poured them an Italian white or a sweet wine respectively.

Basically it comes down to hospitality. If you have a bit of knowledge of food and wine pairing you can make the experience of being round your table more enjoyable for your guests and who can argue with that?”

If you’re new to food and wine pairing you may find this post useful

A beginner’s guide to pairing food and wine

Top image by Yulia Grigoryeva at shutterstock.com

How to cook a turkey without having a breakdown

There’s a myth that cooking a Christmas turkey is simple - a slightly souped up version of an ordinary Sunday roast. In fact it’s quite tricky because of the size of the bird and the number of other things you have to get ready at the same time.

So if you’re a first timer here are some tips from more years than I care to remember of cooking Christmas lunch:

* Don’t go mad when you order the turkey. A 5-6 kg (11-13lb) bird is big enough for most families’ needs. You may struggle to get a bigger bird in your oven

* Make sure you have a roasting tin large enough to take the bird. And some extra large foil and skewers.

* Your initial problem is going to be keeping the uncooked bird cold. Ideally don’t pick it up until the 24th. If there isn’t enough room in the fridge keep it in a sealed container (so cats/dogs/foxes can’t get at it) in a garage or unheated outhouse.

* Take any giblets out of the turkey once you get it home. If you feel up to it make stock with them. Chop the neck and heart roughly - and set the liver to one side (you could add it to a chestnut stuffing, ragu or a paté.) Cook a diced onion in a little oil and butter, add the chopped turkey bits and a spring of thyme if you have some, pour over water and chicken stock to cover, bring up to boiling point then turn down the heat and simmer for an hour. Strain, cool and refrigerate.

* Think about what you’re going to do in the way of stuffing. It may be easier - and safer - to cook it separately. Putting stuffing in the body of a turkey increases the weight and slows down the cooking time. It may even not end up properly cooked. You can however put some stuffing in the neck of the turkey which rounds it out nicely. Don’t ram too much in though otherwise you may find it hard to secure the skin around it. (That’s what the skewers are for.)

* Take the turkey out of the fridge a good 3 hours before you put it in the oven to give it a chance to come to room temperature. (I'm assuming your turkey is fresh. If you've bought a frozen turkey you need to allow at least 24 hours to defrost in a cool place. There should be instructions on the pack.)

* If your turkey is HUGE and there’s no room to cook the roasties (let alone any other root veg, par-cook the potatoes before you put the turkey on. (I usually cut them into even-sized pieces, cover them with cold water, bring them to the boil and cook for 5 minutes then drain saving the cooking water for the gravy. Then roast in olive oil, lard or duck fat for about 30 minutes or until they begin to colour. Set aside to finish later. You could part-cook the stuffing at the same time.

* Once you’ve prepared the turkey place it in the tin and smear it lightly with a mixture of oil and melted butter and season with salt and pepper. You could put a few parsley stalks, half a lemon and a couple of smashed cloves of garlic in the body for extra flavour.

* Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6) - maybe a little hotter. Ovens DO vary and gas pressure can be low on Christmas Day. Put the turkey in the oven and cook for about 25/30 minutes until just beginning to brown. Make a loose ‘tent’ of foil over the roasting tin so the turkey is completely covered and turn the heat down to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4)

* Now this is the key bit. You have to keep an eye on the turkey, checking that it’s cooking fast enough but not too quickly. How do you tell that? It should be sizzling away gently. It should begin to smell appetising but it shouldn’t be browning too fast. Forget about timings per pound or per kilo. Assume it’s going to be in the region of 3 1/2 -4 hours with a resting time of at least half an hour at the end while you make the gravy. Don’t constantly open the oven door but check how things are going every 30 minutes or so. If it’s not cooking quickly enough increase the heat a setting. Turn it down if it's cooking too quickly.

* About another half an hour into the cooking you’ll need to get rid of some of the turkey fat (some birds are fattier than others). You can do that with a fancy bulb baster but I generally just spoon it out with a big serving spoon or carefully tip the tin (really carefully if you don’t want turkey on the floor) and pour off most of the fat. You’ll probably need to do this more than once. After the turkey has stopped producing fat add some liquid (I usually use white wine) to the tin to stop the juices from burning.

* About 2-2 1/2 hours in you may spot the legs are cooking faster than the breast. They will. You may want to wrap them in an extra layer of foil to stop them drying out.

* After about 3-3 1/2 hours you should start to check if the turkey is cooked. It should look as if it’s nearly done - apart from needing a final brown - but insert a sharp knife or skewer in the thickest part of the leg and in the base of the body. Clear juices should run out. If they’re still a bit bloody the turkey needs more time. Repeat after another 20 minutes or so.

* If you’re confident it’s nearly cooked remove - and keep - the foil tent (but leave the foil on the legs), whack the heat up to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7) and cook for a final 15 minutes or so until the skin is nicely browned. (Again make sure there’s some liquid in the pan or your precious juices will burn)

*Transfer the turkey onto a serving plate and leave it to rest loosely covered with that foil you took off earlier. Put the potatoes, stuffing and any other vegetables back in the oven to finish cooking. Put on the sprouts to cook. Don’t overcook them. Soggy sprouts suck.

* Make the gravy. This is a matter of taste and the number of people you’re cooking for. If you don’t need that much gravy and/or prefer a thin one you can just add the strained giblet stock (if you made some, a little chicken stock, if not) into the pan working off any stuck-on crusty bits and add enough reserved potato water to make a pouring gravy. If you need to make the gravy stretch add a couple of level tablespoons of flour to the juices in the pan to make a thickish paste then gradually add the stock and water. Check the seasoning either way. Turkey makes a good rich gravy - I never find I need that much. You could add some booze but I don't if it’s a family meal with young kids. Strain the gravy if you feel moved. I seldom do by this stage.

* By this time everything should be more or less ready. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sprouts. Warm the plates and keep everything as warm as possible while you carve the turkey up.

So that’s it. Like any recipe it’s a question of knowing what to look for at different stages. Once you’ve done it it will be a doddle next time!

Image © evgenyb - Fotolia.com

Have food hacks become the new recipes?

Barely a day passes without coming across some kind of hack.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, I’m talking life hacks rather than computer ones - a quick impressive fix that saves time or solves a problem. It’s a trend that, thanks - or maybe no thanks to TikTok and Instagram reels, has really taken off in food - endless clever, creative and ingenious ways of handling familiar ingredients.

So what are the best food hacks?

Well, best is subjective - it’s more about the latest. They come and go.

There are, of course, endless lists such as lovefood's 50 food hacks that are borderline genius which include massaging kale to tenderise the leaves and, one I learnt in France years ago, reviving stale bread with a spritz of water. What used to rather less glamorously be called a tip.

Some like the folded tortilla or tornado omelette (an omelette you make with a pair of chopsticks) and, more recently, pasta chips have gone viral

Some you definitely wouldn’t have thought of. Tiramisu soufflé pancakes (panfried meringue topped with mascarpone and coffee powder)? Well Aesthetic Food has while Yummy Food Hacks and Genius Kitchen Tricks shows you how to make guacamole by squishing the ingredients together in a plastic bag.

Slicing techniques frequently feature. Who knew how to cut Christmas trees out of a watermelon? Or how to slice cheese with dental floss?

In fact a lot of hacks seem to involve cheese. There was the four ingredient baked feta and cherry tomato pasta that went took the internet by storm a couple of months ago and pesto eggs (which are all the rage on Tiktok according to the Daily Dot. (You can find others on the cheese magazine Culture’s list of 6 Cheesy Internet Trends that are actually worth trying. I confess I quite fancy the Honeycomb Pasta Cake myself.

It’s even worked its way to the mainstream media. in the last 24 hours I’ve spotted a way to make 'outrageously easy' vegan icecream from an overripe banana - nothing else - in the New York Times @nytcooking.

Maybe hack-based cookbooks will be next. American food writer Molly Baz has already cleverly used QR codes in her new book Cook This Book to illustrate techniques such as how to separate eggs or chop an onion.

Obviously hacks suit those of us with a short attention span - which probably includes most of us right now but I can’t help but feel a slight sense of regret that it's what passes for cooking these days. It’s the antithesis of Delia who painstakingly spelled out exactly what you needed to do at each stage of a recipe or indeed Rachel Roddy’s wonderful new A-Z of pasta which uses words - words, remember them? - to explain the look or consistency she's aiming for.

I guess it depends which camp you’re in. You could argue food hacks are not about acquiring a life skill but infotainment. Like those kids recipes where you make food into funny faces to get them to eat their veg. But maybe it’s the only way to get Generation Z cooking - start with hacks and build confidence to master more ambitious recipes.

What do you think? Do food hacks infantilise or inspire?

Image credits. Tornado omelette by funny face, folded tortilla by faithie at shutterstock.com