Fine Cooking: More Than Fine

I didn't expect to like this magazine.

I took advantage of one of those "first issue free" deals to try this magazine when I was in one of my cooking moods. I expected it to be like "Gourmet" or "Bon Appetit", filled with recipes that were too expensive, too complicated and too time consuming for my periodic interest in food preparation.

However, after reading that first issue, I decided to subscribe and made a note on my Christmas gift list to buy subscriptions for my daughter who's a new bride and also for my best friend who enjoys preparing gourmet meals.

What makes this magazine so versatile and useful for either a new or an experienced cook is that the emphasis is on techniques rather than recipes.

DEPARTMENTS
After years of free-lance writing I've had a lot of experience with learning the subtle differences between different magazines and their focuses. I've learned that an analysis of a magazine's regular departments is one of the best ways to pick up that unique personality that every magazine should have and to get a feel for the magazine exec's goals and mission for a particular publication.

A look at "Fine Cooking"'s departments tell a lot about its focus:
"Tasted & Tested" (products/small equipment)
"Technique Class"
"At The Market"
"Tips"
"Basics"
"Flavorings"
"Food Science"
"Recipe & Technique Index" (note "technique")
"Quick & Delicious"
"Artisan Foods"

See what I mean. It's an emphasis on the fundamentals of cooking and good ingredients that make the difference between okay cooking and really fine cooking.

Incidentally, now that I've written a few cookbook reviews myself for Epinions, I could really appreciate the fine job Kay Fahey did on reviewing two summer cookbooks in the "Reviews" department of a recent issue. She talks about the recipes she tried from the books and her thorough review is written in an easy reading, personal style.

A transplanted Southerner, Fahey loved a new Southern cookbook. Her personality is apparent when she writes, "Bless her sweet heart, Lundy provides an extensive list of mail-order sources for southern specialties; finally I don't have to haul home boiled peanuts and fig preserves whenever I visit Mississippi."

The reviewer even politely included a point of disagreement she had with the author in her review--that old Southern debate about the superiority of sorghum or molasses. (I happened to agree with the "Fine Cooking" reviewer.)

My Kind've Magazine
I'm not a great cook or a gourmet cook--just an okay cook who appreciates fine restaurants and good food. And I do like to cook--occasionally.

I once cooked for a family of seven, country cooking that included canning and bread making in the days when there weren't bread machines. However, now my cooking is usually quick and fast except for those times when my children and their families visit or when I get inspired by the culinary mysteries I like to read and fix myself some really fine food.

So why do I like this magazine? Let me explain by going through the August/September issue 2000. Most of the articles in this issue are timely, geared towards the end of summer season. The first feature article is a grilling guide special section with a pull-out that's chock full of information. It includes a chart with the food item (like beef, pork, poultry, vegetables, etc.), grilling technique and cooking time. I don't have a grill or a smoker (there's excellent equipment articles on these in this issue if I decide to get one) but I do camp and cook outdoors with charcoal occasionally so this information is useful to me.

The next article is "Visit the Farmers' Market with a Menu in Mind". Visiting markets is one of my newest interests, especially while traveling. The contributor, John Ash, is the author of the award-winning "From the Earth to the Table". The article is instructional (have a plan; use a market bag; take a look at everything at the market before starting to buy,etc.) as well as inspirational (Ash says, "I love the opportunity to rediscover 'real' foods, and to talk directly to the folks who produce them.").


I'll probably actually try two or three of the seven recipes in this article--"watermelon aqua fresca", "Frico" (cheese crisps) and possibly "blueberry grunt. The first two recipess require less than five ingredients.

The only major criticism I have of the magazine is that I wish each article included one basic recipe and then the rest can be the gourmet recipes they have now that I know are more interesting to those who live to cook.

In this issue there are articles on grilling fruit, making tarts, a project for smoking salmon and grilling corn on the cob. One of the best, in my opinion, is one about smooth homemade ice cream using evaporated milk. I'll probably never try any of the three recipes in the article but this was great armchair cooking for me. As a Texan who has traveled to Mexico many times,I was fascinated to know more about Mexican ice creams, crema morisca, Mexican chocolate and how to make cajeta (a dessert topping/crepe filling).

Typical of a "Fine Cooking" article, this one on ice cream included the why's behind the dish--the fundamentals, the method, the techniques important to making this type of ice cream. Combined with the issue's Food Science column "Getting the Best Texture in Ice Cream", I felt I had useful information about something that's not gourmet because it's unusual but because it's of superior quality.

MY FAVORITE ARTICLE
My favorite article in this issue didn't include a single recipe that I'll use. However, I've already used the information in the article for fixing two meals and I learned things from it that have improved my cooking skills. The article is "Cool Summer Salads From A Pot of Beans". Basically it's about using beans to perk up summer salads.

Of course, I make beans all the time. (Remember I said I'm from Texas where beans and Mexican food are essential food groups). Well, the 100 plus temperatures have made me a little brain dead lately so I'd forgotten how good beans are added to salads. I got some ideas in this article for different ingredients I can use for salads to go with beans that I hadn't thought of.

On top of that, I learned a whole lot about the best way to cook beans. All this time I believed the myth that adding salt to beans while cooking made them tough. It wasn't until I read this article that I understood the real reason why that batch of beans I cooked last summer was still like pebbles after soaking overnight and three days of cooking.

That, in my opinion, is good enough reason to pay the $29.95 for a year subscription.

If you'd like to subscribe, you can do it online at www.finecooking.com
Even if you don't subscribe, this is a great site to bookmark if you like good food and, of course, fine cooking.