Clockwatching

Busy people can still cook real food

By Carrie Floyd

May 2, 2008

Contemplating the perennial question of what to make for dinner, I pulled Pierre Franey’s book The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet off the shelf. Flipping through its pages, I had to laugh at the distance we’ve traveled since 1979, when the book was first published. By today’s standards, “60 minutes” might be called an eternity, or slow death in the kitchen. Who has 60 minutes to make dinner?

To judge from the popular media, the average American has maybe 15 minutes to make a meal. And given other options — prepared food, frozen entrées, fast food, restaurants — why should anyone dirty their hands in the kitchen?

Clockwatching — Busy people can still cook real food :: by Carrie Floyd :: Culinate