One must start somewhere and where better to start than at the beginning. I've been trying to determine what exactly it is I will talk about here on this blog - whether it will be topic-specific or just whatever my whim of the day might be. I think I'll roll with the second option for now and just see how that goes.
You might be wondering about the name - "Walking Book of Knowledge" - and wondering if I am some sort of smug self-satisfied know-it-all. Not in the least, my friends out here in the ether - whoever you might turn out to be. This is merely a nickname given to me by friends (WBK for short)due to my ability to collect vast amounts of snippets of knowledge on a variety of topics. It makes me a fierce competitor in the game of Trivial Pursuit (or so I like to think) but that may be where the value ends. In a nutshell, I know a little bit about just about everything but the topics on which I am an expert - well, let's just say that is a shorter list. But I have the inate ability to pull some random factoid out of thin air - thus the nick name.
Now that I've sufficiently beat the hell out of that topic let's move on to some other topic, such as those I plan to cover here and get that out of the way. (I must interrupt myself to mention that my use of the word "hell" in the previous sentence makes me feel a little bad-ass. You see I am from Minnesota - born and bred - and we're nice and polite here and just don't use that kind of language around people we don't really know yet.) Okay, back to topics. There will be discussion of cooking because that is something I love to do. There will be discussion of cookbooks because I love to read them and they relate to cooking - did I mention that is something I love to do? I am sure I will talk about many other things but for now - that's enough information because really, laying out a whole list of topics would suggest that I actually have a plan, which I don't. I'm winging it here people. Shooting from the hip. But if you are willing to stick with me and listen - well, thank goodness for that. You might just pick up some useful yet random information from the Walking Book of Knowledge - WBK for short.
So enough with the sappy introductions. Now that we've got that silly business out of the way, I have some news. Tonight I stopped by the Half Price Books store looking for some used cookbooks. Not any one in particular - I find it is better to go with an open mind and just see what you see. I did score a stack of them. In the back of my mind I was looking for a cookbook with weight measurements. Measuring ingredients by weight rather than by volume leads to more consistent results. (Oh joy!! My first factoid to share with you!)
Anyhow, I did score a copy of Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen - 5th edition. I have no effing idea what this book would cost new but let me just say that the copy I bought cost me $9.98. I am CERTAIN that Ms/Mr Selas (name written on book) did not pay such a nominal amount. I know this because there was also a used copy of the 7th Edition retailing for $59.98. I went for the cheaper edition because I figured that flour, salt or whatever else did not suddenly get lighter or heavier since the 5th edition. No new developments with gravity that might render my copy obsolete. Although it is quite possible that I may have in fact gotten a little heavier since the 5th edition was publishedin 2003. Yeah - that's actually more than a possibility. (Chef Selas - assuming you now are one because you don't need this book anymore, even for sentimental reasons - unless you sold the book for gas money - it would be kind of cool if you showed up here one day.) So I will look throughy the book and see what I am inspired to make. Stay tuned!!
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