Americans just want to cook simply, not treat their food as some kind of special occasion product.
At least that's what you might think if you read yesterday's front page article in the New York Times (Whipping Up a Cookbook Empire with Meatloaf Instead of Sizzle) and look at recent book sales numbers: the "Fix-It and Forget-It" series, published by Good Books has sold more copies than the combined works of the popular Food Network hosts Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis and Jamie Oliver.
Written by a Mennonite in Pennsylvania, Phyllis Pellman Good, the spiral-bound books are filled with recipes like ham loaf and cheeseburger soup.
"Most of us still do want to cook for ourselves and eat at home. And yet all of the pressures of our lives militate against that," said Ms. Good's husband, who runs the publishing company with her, which puts out hundreds of titles, the Fix It series being, by far, the most popular, to the tune of 70-90% of their $10 million annual sales.
We say bravo to anything that has Americans cooking in more than eating out. But we also applaud new and innovated approaches to cooking that also pique the interest of both experienced and novice chefs, and books that give us inspiration to explore on our own. We're not sure ham loaf will have that effect.
I don't know, maybe it's because I'm a nice Jewish girl, but ham loaf and cheeseburger soup don't really sound that appetizing to me.
I did read the article, though, and it sounds as though these books owe their success more to marketing and product placement more than anything---putting the slow cooker books on a shelf next to the slow cookers on sale at B.J.'s, for example.
And it's not true that "trendy" food is all difficult to make and filled with obscure ingredients. I've seen Ina Garten make garlic roasted potatoes with nothing but garlic, potatoes, and olive oil. Nothing to it, and it tastes great.
I guess middle America sees things differently...
I thought this was an interesting article for the Times to put on their front page. They don't usually cover food trends like this, especially on the cover and with what seems to me to be smart cooking and business/marketing insights in the article.
In the article, Christopher Kimball criticizes the world of "faux food" made by people who might be only occasional home cooks. He specifically mentions New Yorkers in the article, which I take just a little bit of offense too. I think we NYCers do a lot with our small kitchens.
We should also keep in mind that Christopher Kimball's magazines and this cook book series are not run by major media conglomerates and do not accept advertising. Women's Day recipes, as the article says, went more edgy, but this is probably in response to advertiser demand. Those selling edgy equipment and new appliances will go to magazines that have editorial content that is in line with what they sell.
As someone who lives in Kansas City, I first want to say that folks who go to Columbia for grad school and live about 75 miles from Philadelphia or Baltimore are not really "middle America." Also, that I've never known ANYONE under 75 years old who would willingly eat or make hamloaf.
That being said, I thought the article was really about a company who is producing cookbooks for people who cook every meal (or most meals) at home. Not because they enjoy cooking as a hobby but because that's how they feed their family. This audience wants proven recipes, a book that will stay open on the counter (hurray!), ingredients that are already in the kitchen (or easily available), and the ability to walk away from the kitchen and do laundry. Really, anyone who cooks a lot is looking for these qualities, even if the content is something more exotic than cheesburger soup or Polynesian chicken.
I have a lot of food porn that I love -- with beautiful photographs and stories about how the recipe was found -- but I find that the cookbooks I use over and over again are more like the "Fix-It and Enjoy-It!" cookbooks.
Agree with Sharon - much of haute cuisine is actually simple preparation of fresh food. Sometimes with faancy ingredients or varieties but easily modified. Perhaps the recipes in "the FIXIT" series are a little less dependent on technique...I mean meatloaf and cassaroles are basically mush-and-cook (not meant disparagingly because I have a few mush-cook recipes that I love).
And seeing Christopher Kimball quoted makes me want to plug THE QUICK RECIPE cookbook from his COOKS ILLUSTRATED group. Love it. Most things can be made in under 1-hour with basic supermarket ingredients.
The cinnamon roll recipe is incredible.
I second Heather's hurray for a cook book that stays open on the counter. I wish my cookbooks I turn too most often worked like that. The binding on my Bittman How to Cook Everything is shot. I've left it open on the counter for days, got cookie dough and soup on it and I've even taken it on trips with me when I wanted to cook for friends. I also would love laminated or easy-wipe pages.
Chris -- I've transcribed recipes I use a lot into one of those black-and-white composition notebooks. They stay open on the counter, I can add my own notes, and I really don't care if I spill stuff on them. If you're feeling really ambitious, swing by a surveying supply store for a "Rite in the Rain" notebook (http://www.riteintherain.com/products.html). Water seriously beads up on the pages.
I agree that we want to cook simply, not enough hours in the day to get everything done.