You do what?

Some of you know that I used to write for this magazine.

I left that job when I moved to the left coast but still work on cookbooks now and again. So what is it exactly that I do?

Sometimes, I write articles for food mags or contribute recipes to a cookbook.

Other times, I test recipes for cookbooks, usually ones written by restaurant chefs. The chef will get a book deal, send their recipes to an editor who pares them down to serve 4-8, and the editor will send them to me to test.

Why would the recipe have to be tested, you ask? Normally, restaurant chefs don't have any of their recipes written down, and if they do, it'll most likely be a set of vague directions with no concrete measurements or cooking times. If recipes weren't tested, they might look like this:

Marinara (serves 4? 6? 127?)

- enough tomatoes to fill a fish tub
- two cups mirepoix onions
- maybe some rosemary or marjoram, about a handful
- lots of garlic
- salt, sugar
- evoo

Cook together until it makes a sauce.

Er - what kind of tomatoes, and what's a fish tub? Seeded? Chopped? And cook it in what kind of pan? In the oven? On the stovetop? What do you serve this with?

So that's what I do.

All righty, back to the kitchen...