The Paupered Chef needs and Editor.
Maybe it’s just my weak memory, but most of the recipes from this source have enough mistakes to engender questions in the “comments” column. Maybe whoever writes the web site needs an Editor or just someone who can proof the articles.
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15 Comments:
joke?
KarynMC at 4:32PM on 09/24/08
Thanks for the heads-up, Fred. We'll work a little harder on the proofing of those recipes. Can you point to any specific instances you remember having trouble with?
Adam Kuban at 4:35PM on 09/24/08
Adam,
I am a freelance editor and would be happy to help out with editing! Please feel free to contact me for info! You can reach me through my blog, www.chezvck.blogspot.com.
PestoGal at 5:09PM on 09/24/08
No, no joke.....just little things like how much butter? what temp for how long?....where does the oil go? etc. No big deal, just make sure every item in the recipe list is accounted for in the procedure, and when and how to "put it in."
Fred Rickson at 5:45PM on 09/24/08
I think KarynMC thought it was a joke because you have a typo in the title of your post -- where you post about an article needing to be proofed! :)
megannesta at 5:50PM on 09/24/08
@Fred Rickson: Do you mean the Dinner Tonight posts that the guys from Paupered Chef write for Serious Eats or the stuff they do on The Paupered Chef site itself?
Adam Kuban at 6:07PM on 09/24/08
^ ^ ^ Yeh... up there... what Adam said... I was wondering, too...
(and, hate to be anal, but what megan and karyn said, too... first thing that caught my attention about this post was the error in the title... damn the lack of an edit function on SE) (nag, nag)
LoCo at 9:26PM on 09/24/08
P.S., love Paupered Chef, especially adventures in chicken chicken...
xoxo
LoCo at 9:27PM on 09/24/08
I find it difficult to take the post seriously when there's a typo in the subject.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 10:17PM on 09/24/08
Could it be his subject title is a joke?
pjracz10 at 2:21AM on 09/25/08
I agree with Fred Rickson. For example, yesterday's recipe for "Squash Gnocchi with Meat Sauce" needed to be proofread and edited, in my opinion. Some examples:
- "Cook, breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon, until browned." (For how long?)
- "Meanwhile, the oil into a large pot over medium heat, add the onion, and cook until soft, about 20 minutes." (Okay, there's a time estimate, but there's also a word missing before "oil".)
- "Pour off as much fat from the meat as possible and then add it to the pot." (I'm sure we all know we're supposed to add the meat to the pot, not the fat, but it's not entirely clear what "it" refers to.)
- "Mash with a potato masher for a few minutes. Add the eggs and mash some more." (More precise language would be useful here. What consistency should the squash be once it's mashed up? How thoroughly do the eggs need to be incorporated?)
- "With a tablespoon, sccop up some batter and use a second tablespoon to scrap the dough off into the boiling water." (Scrape, not scrap. It's not a big deal but still...)
Perhaps I'm being too nitpicky, but I've often found small mistakes like these throughout the recipes in the "Dinner Tonight" column. Although it's one of my favorite parts of SE, it's also aggravating to see mistakes like these so frequently.
emmab at 9:50AM on 09/25/08
I think the Paupered Chef is great and I have a pretty easy time following the recipes. I think you need to cut the guys some slack - its a blog, not a cookbook you paid $20 for. I think of it more as a documentation of their cooking experiences, than as a straight up guide.
If they write "Cook, breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon, until browned." then do just that. it might take 20 minutes on one stove in one pan, and might take 15 on another stove in another pan.
also, these guys are not professional chefs - they just love cooking, which is why i like their site so much. its more like a conversation (well, a one sided conversation) than an instruction manual.
keep up the good work guys
Soup_Dumpling at 1:20PM on 09/25/08
I have no problem actually following the recipes, and I certainly don't expect them to be completely polished. Furthermore, I agree that a somewhat off-the-cuff recipe can be refreshing and liberating, but at the same time I find it distracting when there are simple grammatical and spelling mistakes throughout. Basically, my point is that a simple proofread can work wonders.
emmab at 5:22PM on 09/25/08
@emmab: You're right. These should be as clean as humanly possible. I've let things get sloppy with copy-editing lately. Now I'm back on a tear! The staff here will be cursing your screen name after I start haranguing them again because of this thread! ;) Thank you.
Adam Kuban at 3:58PM on 09/26/08
Adam, thank you! I apologize if my comments came off as a bit grouchy; I usually try to be as polite as possible when online but went a bit overboard this time. Anyway, I definitely appreciate your attention on the matter, and I shall continue to look forward to the "Dinner Tonight" posts!
emmab at 4:36PM on 09/27/08