I'm Just Here for the Food
Blending humor, wisdom, history, pop culture, science, and basic cooking knowledge, the host of Food Network's Good Eatspresents a special edition of his innovative, instructional cooking guide that features various cooking techniques accompanied by a "master" recipe for each technique, and provides a vast array of food-related tips and advice.
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5recommend
7mentions
6people
2014–2025years
86% recommend14% neutral
Mentions per year
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- Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking" is a fun intro too.
- How to Cook Everything, I'm Just Here For the Food, and On Food and Cooking are my big three. The first one for the breadth of recipes, the second to learn a bit more about the physics and chemistry of cooking, and the third for the truly deep dive into everything we know about food.
Then Modernist Cuisine just for the pictures. Actually I learned a bunch when Mhyrvold spoke at my company- we talked about how to make BBQ ribs. His suggestion: sous vide, then immerse in liquid nitrogen, then deep fry.
- My favorite for teaching cooking, not just recipes, is 'How to Cook,' Julia Child. We have our own and keep a copy at the in-laws for ready reference. We are also big fans of Alton Brown's 'I'm Just Here for the Food.'
- Have a look at Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food." It teaches the different cooking methods - braising, grilling, roasting, frying etc. It teaches you why how these methods work and what foods benefit from them. It's a fun a book and you will cook a bunch of good stuff and there's a healthy bit of science in there as well. It will get you on your way to cooking without recipes.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584790830
The other recommendation I could make would be to "Cooks Illustrated" magazine. It's a monthly magazine but they're the kind of thing you could keep around for years as a reference. Besides the usual recipes also lots of "how to" and they usually have a seasonal focus so you can learn to cook things in season.
- My hot recipe tip: Get a cookbook or three, and don't bother with the SEO cesspool.
- I'm Just Here for the Food (and the sequel)
- Six Seasons
- Cook's Country
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
And others, but those are the ones I use most. Especially Six Seasons -- if you are interested in reducing the amount of meat in your diet but find the vege/vegan web sphere too annoying, that's your ticket.
- 1. Practicality: cheaper, better control of what the family eats. Hospitality: There's little better for building bonds than sharing a home-cooked meal. Recreation: Fun to try new things, to copy things we like, to do something special for special occasions. Also: Cooking changes how I'm using my hands and brain in a different way than sitting at a keyboard/screen all day.
2. We do a rough sketch of the week on Sunday mornings - we spend half an hour talking over budget, schedule, meals and their intersection.
3. A) What we grew up with. B) What we learned we liked C) Things from cookbooks that look good.
4. At different times we've tried Atkins and South Beach. Mostly, we like Pollan's 'Eat food, not too much, mostly plants'. Although we probably eat too many brats to really qualify.
5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook? Planning by the month/week/session ('mise en place') is key. The right gear can be important (knives and pans, yes, but an ounce/gram scale and a thermometer have changed how we cook). Learning is the other key. I've spent too much on cookbooks, but Alton Brown (e.g. 'I'm Just Here for the Food'), Julia Child (esp. 'The Way to Cook'), and Thomas Keller (esp. 'Ad Hoc') all have a lot to teach that applies in day-to-day cooking. I like Thomas Keller's baking trick (from 'Bouchon Bakery'): Use a single measuring bowl with a scale, measure quantities by weight, taring out after each ingredient goes in. Faster, more accurate, fewer things to clean up later.
