How to cook the perfect.... [Guardian.co.uk]

reallyrose

Does anyone else read the "How to cook the perfect..." column on the guardian website?

I follow it in a loose kinda manner. I've cooked several of the recipes and they've always turned out quite delicious! I quite like the process the writer follows, looking at different recipes and picking out the bits she likes.
Also, because she writes up the process she went through, there's lots of room for experimentation with variations.

I cooked the beef stew last week sans dumplings and it was great. Or at least it was great til I went mad at the end and over-seasoned it!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/feb/03/how-cook-perfect-beef-stew

Because I'm just starting to cook, I find the column quite interesting. Often I've no idea what ingredients actually DO. I just chuck them in because the recipe says so. The same goes for techniques, I just do what I'm told!
A little information about the why has really made me a better cook.

_blank_

I picked up a pound of stewing beef yesterday, so I'm going to use that recipe I think.

I've some Porter at home I think I'll use instead of stout.

alfalad

They make an interesting read alright!