Four cheers for sublime simplicity
RE Amy Scattergood’s “Simplicity: Let it Rule” [March 15]: Back in the day, say the 14th through 19th centuries, written recipes generally were “one-liners.” It was assumed anyone reading a cookbook knew how to cook and could flesh out the few broad brushstrokes of a recipe. If one cook’s version varied from another’s, that was the culinary equivalent of a personal thumbprint. As with today’s cookbooks, that the recipe was written in the first place implied its author’s thumbprint was better than yours or mine.
With the Industrial Revolution, we turned increasingly to domestic science and uniform measurement with its implied sense of right and wrong. All of which has culminated in the current “helpful” but detrimental-to-our-kitchen-confidence situation. If we could but leave our insecurities at the door, most of us would discover we too possess the talent to whip up Ms. Scattergood’s or even some of those 14th century recipe sketches like a Picasso.
One last thing: The simpler the recipe, the tastier it will be with carefully grown and harvested ingredients. One-stop shopping at a good farmers market can supply 99% of what the author calls for (the rest found in most home pantries), and then her dishes really will be great art.
AMELIA SALTSMAN
Santa Monica
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HERE’S an article I can really identify with! I’m one of those people with a six-burner Viking stove, a set of pricey, gleaming stainless steel pans, some good to excellent cooking skills and lots of recipe books.
Even so, for some reason, when it’s time to cook dinner lately, I am so vexed by the task at hand, I frequently go for the box of mac ‘n’ cheese or fall to my trusty old standard of spicy beans and rice! There I am, standing at my super-BTU range, my tired face reflected in the mirror finish of my saute pan, swirling the Amy’s organic pasta shells.
This article is therapy for my broken cooking spirit! I can’t wait to put it to use.
TAMARA DABNEY
Hartford, Vt.
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RIDICULOUSLY simple: what a great article and great food. Made the halibut last night and it really was delish, although it certainly took me more than 15 minutes.
How about making it a weekly feature?
SANDRA SALLIN
Los Angeles
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THANK YOU, Amy Scattergood, for your “Captivating Culinary One-Liners.”
Upon reading it, I found myself trying to say these lines five times fast: “Poach peeled pears in Port ... “
HARVEY BEERY
Placentia