I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.

Ted

Good design to me has a form that's dictated by function. To some
others, though, all that matters is that it looks good. This cookbook
sounds like the equivalent of the Philippe Starck teakettle: looks
terrific, but don't get it wet or hot.

wrote:
I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.

Ted

In article .com,
says...
I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.



They win awards, well-deserved IMO, because their books combine great
recipes, beautiful photos, and fascinating cultural and historical
information. There are jillions of cookbooks that follow the time-worn
traditional approach and use a layout that any 4th grader can follow.
Some of these are excellent, of course, but the Duguid/Alford books
stand out because of the quality of the contents and their originality.
If you just want a list of recipes they are not for you.

I hope my library gets a copy!


--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths pages at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

In article .com,
wrote:

I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.

Ted

Perhaps those giving the award were so enamored with the couple that
they just felt the authors "deserved" the award?

I confess to having two of their books. The only way I can find a
recipe is by using the index. This requires that I know what I am
looking for.

marcella

Marcella Peek wrote in news:marcella-
:

The only way I can find a
recipe is by using the index. This requires that I know what I am
looking for.

marcella


The Gourmet magazine two cookbook volume set from 1957 are strange as
well. The recipe pages have the name of a dish in an outer edge sidebar
with the recipe next to it in paragraph format. No ingredients list. It
reads like a story. "Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, adding 2 bay
leaves with a 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper..."

And with no ingredient list at the start of each recipe you can't at a
glance see if you have all the ingredients without reading through the
whole recipe first. Also a PITA to generate a shopping list!

Ocassionally a few consecutive color pages showing some of the finished
recipes and which page they can be found on.

The index system of the two volumes while good are completely different,
causing a brainquake when you go from one to the other hunting down a
recipe.

The only saving graces of them is a combined total of 1,500 pages worth
of thousands of great tasting recipes from bygone days, i.e., before
cholesterol was a word.

Andy

Peter A wrote:
In article .com,
says...
I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.



They win awards, well-deserved IMO, because their books combine great
recipes, beautiful photos, and fascinating cultural and historical
information. There are jillions of cookbooks that follow the time-worn
traditional approach and use a layout that any 4th grader can follow.
Some of these are excellent, of course, but the Duguid/Alford books
stand out because of the quality of the contents and their originality.

%%If you just want a list of recipes they are not for you.

List? If a cookbook is too preciously and cryptically designed to
actually cook with, what's its function? Or is this like ambiguous
technical manual written by a committee of boffins whose first language
is not of the Indo-European?

Ted

(Owner of many cheerfully stained cookbooks.)

On 14 Jun 2006 11:38:41 -0700, wrote:


Peter A wrote:
In article .com,
says...
I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that they
win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a section
will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a beginning
of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4 pages farther,
there's another simlar page with a heading that has nothing to do with
cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which refers
to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.



They win awards, well-deserved IMO, because their books combine great
recipes, beautiful photos, and fascinating cultural and historical
information. There are jillions of cookbooks that follow the time-worn
traditional approach and use a layout that any 4th grader can follow.
Some of these are excellent, of course, but the Duguid/Alford books
stand out because of the quality of the contents and their originality.

%%If you just want a list of recipes they are not for you.

List? If a cookbook is too preciously and cryptically designed to
actually cook with, what's its function? Or is this like ambiguous
technical manual written by a committee of boffins whose first language
is not of the Indo-European?

Ted

(Owner of many cheerfully stained cookbooks.)

I get my best recipes out of the Book of Changes.

Don

On 2006-06-14, wrote:

List? If a cookbook is too preciously and cryptically designed to
actually cook with, what's its function? Or is this like ambiguous
technical manual written by a committee of boffins whose first language
is not of the Indo-European?

It's probably like the other ng this is crossposted to,
rec.arts.books. Nothing wrong with an artsy-fartsy cookbook. Our
library has an Italian cookbook with straight paragraph recipes. The
book also includes plates of many of the great Italian food paintings
throughout history. A gorgeous book to look at and read. The recipes
are, despite the format, some of the best Italian recipes I've run
across. I'd kill for a copy. Don't judge a book.....

nb

Peter A wrote:
In article .com,
says...
I checked out "MANGOES & CURRY LEAVES" an Indian cookbook by the
Canajan husband & wife team of Naomi Duguid & Jeffery Alford from the
library yesterday. The layout is such that it's more an
incomprehensible coffee table book than an actual cook book; somewhat
in the manner of the style used back when one couldn't differentiate
the ads from the content in Wired magazine.

Aargh. I've seen other cookbooks by this pair and I'm amazed that
they win awards in the cookbook/culinary sphere. What chaps me is a
section will start with a page that seems obviously designed to be a
beginning of a section.. (on the right hand page, cierto) but 4
pages farther, there's another simlar page with a heading that has
nothing to do with cooking..

On the obverse of that page, there's another heading page which
refers to nothing in particular.

The pictures are nice and the recipes may be nice, if one could find
them.. I don't get it.



They win awards, well-deserved IMO, because their books combine great
recipes, beautiful photos, and fascinating cultural and historical
information. There are jillions of cookbooks that follow the time-worn
traditional approach and use a layout that any 4th grader can follow.
Some of these are excellent, of course, but the Duguid/Alford books
stand out because of the quality of the contents and their
originality. If you just want a list of recipes they are not for you.

I hope my library gets a copy!

You certainly paint an appealing picture of their work--which I will look
for--but I find it hard to believe that anyone can outdo Madhur Jaffrey when
it comes to Indian cookbooks. And her book on Far Eastern Cooking is an
essential. For one thing, she includes a section in the back that has
pictures of all of the ingredients. Years ago, when I first got into Thai
cooking, I went to an Asian market where no one spoke English armed with
this book, and was able to find everything I needed, including a selection
of often-mysterious greens.

"Janet Puistonen" wrote in
news:030kg.3899$ZB3.2709@trndny05:

You certainly paint an appealing picture of their work--which I will
look for--but I find it hard to believe that anyone can outdo Madhur
Jaffrey when it comes to Indian cookbooks. And her book on Far Eastern
Cooking is an essential. For one thing, she includes a section in the
back that has pictures of all of the ingredients. Years ago, when I
first got into Thai cooking, I went to an Asian market where no one
spoke English armed with this book, and was able to find everything I
needed, including a selection of often-mysterious greens.


Janet,

How clever! Good for you!!! Sorry if I'm not as motivated in Indian
cuisine.

I did enjoy Tony Bordaine's Travel Channel shows there!

All the best,

Andy

Peter A wrote:

They win awards, well-deserved IMO, because their books combine great
recipes, beautiful photos, and fascinating cultural and historical
information. There are jillions of cookbooks that follow the time-worn
traditional approach and use a layout that any 4th grader can follow.
Some of these are excellent, of course, but the Duguid/Alford books
stand out because of the quality of the contents and their originality.
If you just want a list of recipes they are not for you.

Mmm... Cookbooks are *supposed* to primarily 'just lists of recipes'.
The rest of the stuff you mention is normally filed away under various
other headings.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

In article .com,
says...
List? If a cookbook is too preciously and cryptically designed to
actually cook with, what's its function?


Many people are able to "actually cook" from these books, myself
included. Aside from the recipes, which can be followed by anyone with a
modest amount of cooking skill and intelligence, the book's function is
to provide interesting photos, historical and cultural background, and
an interesting read.

Any other questions?

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths pages at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

In article 030kg.3899$ZB3.2709@trndny05, says...
You certainly paint an appealing picture of their work--which I will look
for--but I find it hard to believe that anyone can outdo Madhur Jaffrey when
it comes to Indian cookbooks. And her book on Far Eastern Cooking is an
essential. For one thing, she includes a section in the back that has
pictures of all of the ingredients. Years ago, when I first got into Thai
cooking, I went to an Asian market where no one spoke English armed with
this book, and was able to find everything I needed, including a selection
of often-mysterious greens.



Jaffrey is indeed one of the real jems of Indian cooking, and cooking in
general as far as I am concerned. But the point is not to outdo anyone.
It's not a competition, after all.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths pages at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

I have it in the cuisine...

helpful

la agua fresca
http://aguafresca.healthifica.com

Peter A wrote:
In article 030kg.3899$ZB3.2709@trndny05, says...
You certainly paint an appealing picture of their work--which I will look
for--but I find it hard to believe that anyone can outdo Madhur Jaffrey when
it comes to Indian cookbooks. And her book on Far Eastern Cooking is an
essential. For one thing, she includes a section in the back that has
pictures of all of the ingredients. Years ago, when I first got into Thai
cooking, I went to an Asian market where no one spoke English armed with
this book, and was able to find everything I needed, including a selection
of often-mysterious greens.



*Jaffrey is indeed one of the real jems of Indian cooking, and cooking
in
*general as far as I am concerned. But the point is not to outdo
anyone.
*it's not a competition, after all.

Jem? EVOO! Rachael Ray is being summoned?

Ted

ObFoodTV: **BISMUTH CHEF**

ObBook: DEMYSTIFYING THE INDIAN GROCERY (a helpful guide..)