Blogs : Food Media
Food Media CHOW's roundup of food-related news from blogs, newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, and film.
Is it Really That Hard to Make Salad Dressing?
We’re all busy all the time—email, voicemail, work, gym, friends, family. But you gotta eat, right? Have we simply become too busy to cook?
That’s what some people are saying. It stems from a conversation sparked by Anthony Bourdain’s smackdown of the Food Network on Michael Ruhlman’s blog (545 comments and counting—is that a food-blog record?) and was taken up by Elise Bauer in a post on food blog Simply Recipes. Next, David Lebovitz got into the action when he asked his readers, “How many seconds does one save by opening a bottle of premade salad dressing as opposed to mixing together a few spoonfuls of olive oil and vinegar?”
The debate revolves around the interest or need for such shows as Rachael Ray’s super-speedy dinner prep, or Sandra Lee’s if-you-don’t-want-to-make-it-fake-it approach to cooking. At the root of it all lies the question, are we simply too busy to cook? Are prepared meals, takeout, and processed frozen foods all we have time for after a long day of climbing the capitalist ladder?
As David asks:
I wonder what people are doing where they don’t have time to eat anymore. When I moved to France, they practically had to nail me in my chair to get me to sit down and have a decent meal. I was so used to eating on the run (in my car, in the shower, etc.). But cooking and eating are two of the most fundamental things that human beings do, but what’s happened to us if we can’t do them anymore?
His questions have kicked up a furious debate that has gotten a bit down and dirty, as those who feel unable to regularly prepare homemade meals square off against those who think it’s wrong or ridiculous to claim that you can’t.
The complaints seem to fall into a few camps. There are those who don’t feel they have the time:
If you get off work at 5:00, stop by the market for fresh food (where the parking lot is crowded with the rest of the after-work crowd), and cook it, the kids will have about 15 minutes to eat it before they need to be in bed by 8:00. If you need to help with homework, make calls for the PTA, do some laundry, and reconnect with a spouse while the chicken roasts and you chop the vegetables, you may opt to save a few minutes with a prepared rice pilaf mix and some bottled dressing.
There are those who are skeptic of this claim:
People simply don’t want to take the chance that cooking will bleed into their TV watching is best I can figure.Time to harangue David L. on his blog, but no time to put a chicken in the oven, cook some pasta, or saute a piece of fish to feed the kids. Puzzling.
There are those who believe that lack of cooking knowledge is the culprit:
Suppose I want something like Italian dressing. Here are some of the ways that ignorance, as well as other factors, keep me from doing it myself on the spur of the moment:
• What proportion do the oil and the vinegar need [to be] in?
• I’m comfortable that olive oil is okay. But what kind of vinegar should I use? Is my rice vinegar okay? Will the flavored vinegars I have make things taste funny?
• I don’t tend to keep fresh herbs around, because I don’t really know how to use them. Will dried herbs do? Will just throwing my dried herbs into the vinaigrette work, or will I wind up with just bits of dry, too-strongly-flavored bits of gunk in my oil and vinegar?
• If I do use fresh herbs, how much is too much? Will my minimal knife skills get the herbs small enough?My point is simply this: making your own dressing for the first time is NOT as quick as it is for an experienced cook with skills, a repertoire of recipes that need no book, and a pantry that’s well-matched to the way that person cooks.
Some blame advertising and the processed-food industry:
Madison Avenue has successfully convinced us that we are too tired and too pressured to cook honest meals. They have huge motivation ($$$) to convince us of this and their message seems to be getting through to the last generation or two. I don’t honestly believe that MOST of us are indeed too tired or too busy to cook, but we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that we are. We think we need some kitchen shortcut. We think it’s cheaper to buy pre-packaged food.
The fact is, before there was the option of takeout and the supermarket deli section, people did manage to prepare almost all their meals (imagine that).
I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know that my friends who complain of being too busy to cook manage to watch a significant amount of prime-time TV (are we too busy to cook or too tired to cook?). We all succumb to the occasional takeout shortcut, but too busy or too lacking in skills to be able to cook dinner from scratch? I have a hard time believing that.
Perhaps it is Madison Avenue’s fault after all.
Posted by
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007 at 8:07pm
| 13 comments
Tagged with: david leboviitz, michael ruhlman, anthony bourdain, elise bauer, simply recipes, food network, rachel ray, sandra lee, the grinder, media
« Previous Post: Killer on Wheels Next Post: Want Some Beer with Your Breakfast? » |
People aren't too busy. People like to THINK they are too busy. Because busy equals important. Keeping yourself busy keeps you from thinking too hard about your life and your problems. Saying your are "too busy" to cook also means that cooking and eating (well) aren't important to you.
To me, bottled salad dressing is equivalent to processed cheese - it tastes terrible but some people don't have a palate or don't know any better or were raised on it so anything else tastes "weird" to them.
Yes, people used to make almost all their own meals. But that's also when women stayed at home to plop out kids, clean the house and cook the dinner.
People who cook elaborate meals from scratch every night either 1) have no kids or 2) have lots of time on their hands. I get home at 6 PM and my son's bedtime is 8 (he's almost 5 yrs old). We cook every night, either me or my husband. The person who cooks gets to spend only the 15 minutes before bedtime interacting with our son. Do we take shortcuts? Heck yes. Do we order takeout sometimes? Heck yes. Do we watch TV? Heck yes. But only after 8.
I suppose we could feed the kid some kind of kiddie chow before bed and then cook for ourselves after 8 PM, which gets dinner on the table by 9 or 9:30. But that makes for a pretty long night when you have to get up at 6 the next day, and requires the prep of two different meals each night.
people who cant figure out how to make salad dressing hove no business on chowhound, food blogs, or watching the food network for that matter. i mean, get it together, its not that hard.
people with kids, of course you arent going to make cassoulet every night, but we can consider the difference between marinara from a jar and home-made marinara made with last summer's tomatoes and taken from the freezer. we can consider the difference between store-bought and home-made salad dressing. hell, the bar ain't that high, get a loaf from the store and spread it with butter, garlic, and parsley, and you just made garlic bread. the question isnt' if you cook "gourmet" every night of the week, hell, everyone loves a night of takeout and netflix, and everyone knows about leftovers. the question is do you cook at all.
it's not that hard, and it's really rewarding. i don't mean to bash anyone, only to encourage folks to try it!
People who overuse shortcuts are just A- Hate cooking B- Inexperienced C- Lazy D- Disorganized
For those who fall in Categories B, C (like me) & D (ditto) but enjoy cooking, here are some tips:
Gets your kids involved in the kitchen! I am sure glad my mom did years ago. Have them prepare the salad and dressing for one, its so easy and they'll get a kick out of shaking the bottle (The best upside (besides helping and learning to cook themselves) is they will learn to love and respect what they eat.
Some shortcuts are needed when you work and have a family and I use them all the time, just try to make them home shortcuts, or to use the plus system, take something ready-made, or halfway made and quickly improve on it.
Also make use or your freezer dammit! Cook on the weekend, I do it watching football, freeze and re-heat during the week. Or better still, slow roast! Just throw any braising meat in the oven at 200 in the morning with water and herbs and it'll be ready and delicious when you come back.
While I know how to make salad dressing and often do, I find that there are certain salads which require bottled dressing. This is back to a childhood thing. My mom used the Seven Seas Italian on a particular version of chef salad. When I make this particular salad I have to have that exact dressing or it doesn't taste right.
Thats not to say that my tastes haven't expanded since then, but I think that there are two ways to grow in your education with food, one is expansive and the other is exclusive. It seems that a good portion of the chowhound community has opted to exclude their previous favorites rather than simply to expand their repertoire. For those of you raised without bottled dressing this does not apply.
In short, how are you supposed to have a petite madeleine moment if you never actually had a petite madeleine? So you have a bottled italian moment or no moment at all.
As far as the time excuse I tend to do most of my cooking or at least the prep work on the weekend because I get about 2 hours a night to myself after work and I can assure you that I'm not watching TV.
I don't have kids but I do work very late and my husband goes to bed early. We have to squeeze in dinner.
We eat fresh. I make dinner, he makes the salad. I've got some dinners that I can get on the table in 10 - 20 minutes. I haven't bought a bottle of salad dressing in years. My hubby was used to the bottled stuff but it only took a few weeks to get him on board.
The most basic dressing is vinegar, oil, salt, pepper. The proportion of oil to vinegar is personal. Some say one part vinegar to three parts oil, some say one part vinegar to two parts oil. Most people use olive oil. Use different vinegars for variety: balsamic, red wine, champaign, apple, etc. Add dijon mustard and minced garlic. Use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Add basil or oregano or honey or capers or anchovies. Mix it up. Experiment.
Sometimes we make too much and use it for two or three days.
Other than healthy, good food, my reward is my husband saying to me after almost every meal: "Wow, that was great. I don't know how you do it. How did I get so lucky? Let me pour you a little more wine. Relax, while I do the dishes."
I don't have kids, but I do work long, late hours often, and I live with a chronic health condition that often leaves me fatigued. I cook dinner at home for myself and my husband nearly every night.
I think that more people with kids, with busy lives, whatever, could choose to cook more meals at home, but like anything, it is a tradeoff. For us, it's important to eat the way we do. We have chosen to invest the time and money into planning meals a week at a time, into making sure that our fridge, freezer and pantry are always stocked with things we can put together easily or at the last minute if necessary. Having a game plan but also allowing some flexibility with our meals is key.
I spend maybe an hour a night on prep and cooking, often less than that. It is rewarding on many levels, and I hope that if we ever decide to expand our family, we'll continue to cook and eat this way, and bring our child up knowing what real food tastes like. I hope I never get to the point where something as fundamental as nourishing myself and my family as well as I can becomes an afterthought.
I like to make my own lunches instead of going out. Simple stuff built from leftovers, mostly, but usually with an added touch of sauce here or stir-fried veggies there. I agree with Jenblossom, though. Having the staple ingredients, flexibility, and foresight are essential, especially since I often make my lunch after a long day and dinner, as energy and patience flag, and as I yearn to do something with the evening's remainder that doesn't constitute "work stuff"-- reading a book, taking a walk, seeing a friend for a quick coffee. If I don't plan ahead, I'll end up buying.
Do any of you respondants have real children? How about picky eaters? Anything spicy or challenging on the table results in a Chick Patty supper for the munchkin. Note that I said we cook dinner every night. However, sometimes that means fake meat strip fajitas (veggie household -- slow roasts or sauteed fish filets are out) or doctored-up beans from a can. We use frozen veggies and premade pizza dough. We do make the salad dressing (olive oil, lemon, mustard, garlic, tarragon, s & p) in large amts and it's in the fridge in its mason jar.
Generally, good stuff, like collards (wash & prep takes me 15 mins just for fresh greens -- my lame knife skills!) & white beans, no-knead bread (you need at least 3 solid hours for shaping, rising, cooking), curries, frittatas, lasagne gets made on weekends when there's no time crunch. If we're lucky and careful and organized, there might be leftovers.
howdy "the MU" -
No need to be defensive. Whatever you do is fine.
If you want more home cooking during the week, being vegetarian and having kids shouldn't necessarily interfere. Crock pots are great for beans or veggie stews. Casseroles can be made on the weekend and frozen. Premade pizza dough with homeade toppings and a salad is a great meal, and a lot of pasta with veggie type dishes, Soba noodles, and Veggie Stir-Fry dishes are really quick. Bean and greens (as you mentioned, with beans from a can) is another quickie. Hummus (with canned chickpeas in the food processor) is another quick meal that many kids enjoy.
When I was a kid, what my mom made for dinner was what I ate. She never forced me to eat anything, the rule was try a bite and see what you think. If I didn't like it, I could have Cheerio's once I ate some veggies.
In any case, I think the point of the original commentary is about over-relaince on "convenience" foods, and whether they actually provide any convenience at all. It sounds like you cook a lot and know what you are doing. To me, none of this is about being a purist - Using canned beans, or even bottled dressing from time to time is no big sin. It's more about knowing that you could do it yourself, and learning to make choices from time to time that let you do so.
And, like I said earlier, it's really rewarding.
I do blame Madison Avenue. But then again I feel that shortcuts are necessary in the kitchen, too many shortcuts are where we get in trouble. a couple generations later, cooking hasn't been passed down and someone becomes totally lost in how to make salad dressing because they've never done it or seen it done.
I don't make my own pizza crust and normally don't make my own soup stock, but I know how. Making chicken noodle soup is pretty quick and easy with purchased stock, and pizza with purchased crust. This is a great time for home chefs because there's a shortcut for just about everything, you just gotta pick and choose based on time and flavor (face it, most of those don't taste as good as homemade).
That note about stocking your freezer is the whole point. Make a double batch of whatever you make on the weekend and freeze some, it's a life saver. Also have a few quick ideas in your back pocket. (quesadillas are a good one)
...It's off topic, but the one I don't get is the microwave hot dog in the bun. First of all, how'd they make the bun microwave friendly and second...how is that any easier than microwaving a hot dog that comes in a pack of eight?
I am the least short-cut inclined cook around - I don't have kids, but I do have a freezer full of homemade stock, tomatos sauce, and breadcrumbs, a pantry stocked with homemade jams, pickles, and flavored vinegars, etc, etc. That said, I always have one or two bottled dressings in the house. Why? Because I don't always want an oil and vinegar dressing, and I don't always have the time or the inclination to pull together a more complicated dressing. On a Saturday, I'll cook a real meal in the evening, but for lunch it will be grilled cheese or tuna salad - and salad thrown together with some sort of bottled dressing. I like Shitake/Ginger dressing, and I can't make it in minutes. I just think it's funny that salad dressing of all things should be the central example of the "why don't they cook" debate. At least the use of salad dressing implies the eating of, well, salads, rather than frozen hamburgers and microwaveable mac and cheese.
I do feel for people who don't have cooking skills. Even decent enough cooks who are still reliant on recipes have a hard time buying and using up food, because cooking on a regular basis involves a certain ability to improvise, to pull things together. That takes a long time to learn, particularly if you didn't pick up any of those skills when you were young.
Ranch. Nuff said.