The best cook and wine books?

[NJS]

I just received my new cookbooks however I am pretty desperate, everything is in cups and ounces and inches... I have no idea what this corresponds to in european measurements. Do I have to convert everything or can I just keep the measurements and throw away the value as in doing as if one cup was 100 grams?

There are conversion tables all over the place for actual measures and a cup is a normal teacup not an espresso cup!
NJS

[Rowly]

Researchers in Bordeaux claim the same but have proven that a half a glass of claret is sufficient. And that makes sense, since it costs twice as much.

From the white coats in Beaujolais we learn that gamay contains enough antioxidants to make a man look like Cary Grant.

And in Alsace a glass of good pinot noir improves health and students’ math scores.

Scientists in Champagne claim this red wine news is a lot of bunk. They maintain that their local bubbly has no positive effect on health except that it makes one happy. The logic is that if you experience concentrated happiness every day, you may not live longer, but you will certainly live better. As ever, there is a catch. The dosage required is more than a glassful. “A Magnum a day, keeps the doctor away!”

Of much greater scientific value, coming from an unlikely source (Edinburgh, Scotland), is the study which proves that regular (daily or hourly) sexual activity slows the effects of aging and combats disease.

But we knew that, didn’t we?

I have heard it said that, "The face that over cocktails looks so charming, does often , in the morning, look alarming." I must admit that I have had a similar experience with a very pleasant Chateauneuf-du-pape

[NJS]

I heard a good one recently: 150ml of red wine avoids the adverse effects of every cigarette (provided that they are taken simultaneously). Accordingly, one should drink a bottle of red wine with every five cigarettes: that works out at four bottles of wine in pari passu every pack of twenty cigarettes and, if one happens to be a heavier smoker, with real health concerns, one should drink eight bottles of red wine with every two packs of twenty cigarettes. Presumably, by following this prescription, if one smokes, one doesn't ever die. While we are about it, let's turn the champagne producers' lies on their heads and tell it like it is: the aptly named Bouzy Rouge is the red wine of choice for this practical exercise.

Sounds good to me.

NJS

[Rowly]

Presumably, by following this prescription, if one smokes, one doesn't ever die.

I think the exception is Diet Coke. If you drink enough of this, you will starve yourself to death.

[Costi]

Presumably, by following this prescription, if one smokes, one doesn't ever die.

There was the Holy Grail all along and nobody suspected it!
It is said that the sum of one's vices is a constant - wrong! Add them up and they cancel out each other. The road to Heaven is paved with bad intentions...

[NJS]

Presumably, by following this prescription, if one smokes, one doesn't ever die.

There was the Holy Grail all along and nobody suspected it!
It is said that the sum of one's vices is a constant - wrong! Add them up and they cancel out each other. The road to Heaven is paved with bad intentions...

The pity is that, if Ian Fleming had but had this 'scientific research' at his fingertips, he could well have seen in the centenary of his birth, and the world would have got another thirty odd proper James Bond novels: alas! he did not know that he should have been matching his hundred cigarettes a day with twenty bottles of red wine, instead of a mere bottle of spirits!
NJS

[All over the world]

I just received my new cookbooks however I am pretty desperate, everything is in cups and ounces and inches... I have no idea what this corresponds to in european measurements. Do I have to convert everything or can I just keep the measurements and throw away the value as in doing as if one cup was 100 grams?

There are conversion tables all over the place for actual measures and a cup is a normal teacup not an espresso cup!
NJS

So a cup is a teacup? But not all cups are equal, is it more about consistency than accurate measurement?

Presumably, by following this prescription, if one smokes, one doesn't ever die.

There was the Holy Grail all along and nobody suspected it!
It is said that the sum of one's vices is a constant - wrong! Add them up and they cancel out each other. The road to Heaven is paved with bad intentions...

Now I see why wine prices are on the rise and AA memberships decreasing.

[NJS]

Well a normal teacup is a normal teacup as far as I know. It's about the same as a normal coffee cup, in terms of volume. But, frankly, following cooking receipts to the letter, without using one's senses of smell and taste, is rather like trying to be truly well-dressed from an Emily Post dress chart. You might end up roughly with all the right components - but you need to be able blend them together yourself.

So far as AA is concerned: it is intended to be in a noble cause but there is something about it that I don't like: the dictation of absolutes. We need to learn to govern ourselves and still to live.

NJS

[davidhuh]

So a cup is a teacup? But not all cups are equal, is it more about consistency than accurate measurement?

Dear AoW,

you obviously bought a US cookbook. Next time you check, it can be a pain to convert all the measures. Here you have a conversion table, including "cups": http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/conversion_charts.htm

Best regards, david

[alden]

NJS,

Boozy red is delicious. But the better reds in Champs come from Ambonnay or Ay.

Cheers

Michael

[NJS]

NJS,

Boozy red is delicious. But the better reds in Champs come from Ambonnay or Ay.

Cheers

Michael

That would all make quite a comparative study and, if I were a youngster, I'd say "hang the study of the Law" and I'd be aiming for a doctorate in comparative studies of Champagnes.
NJS

[alden]

That would all make quite a comparative study and, if I were a youngster, I'd say "hang the study of the Law" and I'd be aiming for a doctorate in comparative studies of Champagnes.

Oh NJS

Do not discount the sacrifices of your intended line of study. Can you imagine years of labor in the depths of subterranean chalk caves? And what of the thousands of crus the tasting of which will stress all the resources of your palate, nose and liver to the very limits? Are you truly ready for this challenge and the permanently illuminated red nose that goes with it?

The Law is mush safer ground.

[Rowly]

And what of the thousands of crus the tasting of which will stress all the resources of your palate, nose and liver to the very limits?

The Law is mush safer ground.

Except for the law of gravity, in this context

[NJS]

That would all make quite a comparative study and, if I were a youngster, I'd say "hang the study of the Law" and I'd be aiming for a doctorate in comparative studies of Champagnes.

Oh NJS

Do not discount the sacrifices of your intended line of study. Can you imagine years of labor in the depths of subterranean chalk caves? And what of the thousands of crus the tasting of which will stress all the resources of your palate, nose and liver to the very limits? Are you truly ready for this challenge and the permanently illuminated red nose that goes with it?

The Law is mush safer ground.

I've already got the red nose and a nice rosey spread of gin tan so I don't need to worry about that aspect.
NJS

[alden]

NJS

Well if all you need to worry about is a red nose and a gin tan, you are doing well. With all the guys passing through here who want to taste the great wines and grappas of the island I am going to have to rename the LL sartorial adventure "Cirrhosis in Sicily."

Michael