Cookbook+Analysis



(Simply Delicious Menus for Easy Entertaining) || ** 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Ground Meats ** || - Busy mothers - Hosts older than 21 - Stereotypically, woman || - Men - Beginner/Intermediate chefs - Meat lovers - Definitely not vegetarians || - Warm colors used - Table is set with food on the plates - Arms/hands in the background clinking glasses (assuming it’s filled with wine/alcohol) - Flowers and candles on the table - Very appealing and pretty unlike meat book || - Cartoon hamburger, taco, meatloaf, and other meat dishes - Title is in big, black, bold, all capital letters - Red, and White, picnic like border - Vivid colors used on cartoon food || - Very wide paper - Pictures of food on almost every page - Every page is colorful || - Plain, thin white paper - Small about notebook sized pages - No pictures at all - Black and white pages || - Includes small blurb describing dish before giving recipe - No prep time included, just servings - Steps are unnumbered || - Go straight to the recipe - Recipes are simple, don’t involve many steps, and have short prep times such as 15-20 mins approximately, also includes cooking time - Steps and recipes are numbered ||
 * ** Rhetorical Feature ** || ** Food For Friends **
 * ** Claim: Role of Food ** || Food brings people together and is meant to be the focal point of social gatherings  ||  Food can be innovative, especially when it comes to meat because you can easily eat it 365 ways because here is a recipe for everyday of the year  ||
 * ** Audience ** || - Younger people who throw a lot of parties/gatherings
 * ** Cover ** || -Title written in all lowercase letters in white
 * ** Pages ** || - Glossy paper
 * ** Sections ** || - Separated by theme: including Dinner in Advance, Everyday Entertaining, Effortless Entertaining, Parties and Celebrations, Drinks and Fingerfood, and Party Buffet || - Separated into meat dishes by appetizers, breakfast, lunch, and dinner ||
 * ** Recipes/Steps/Preparation ** || - Presentation is key

**A compare & contrast essay examining how two different cookbooks appeal to a particular audience and establish a claim about the role of food in our lives **

“Food for Friends” by Fran Warde and “365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Meats” by Rick Rodgers are two vastly different cookbooks that each serve a different purpose. Cookbooks are books filled with recipes, instructions, and sometimes extra things (depending on which cookbook you purchase) such as event plans, menu set-ups, and etc. Both “Food for Friends” and “365 Ways to Cook Hamburger...” appeal to different audiences due to the content, set-up, and such in their cookbooks. While “Food for Friends” appeal to the young entertainers (over the age of 21 because of alcoholic beverages included) who are busy because of the extras included (menu plans & such), “365 Ways to Cook Hamburger...” is aimed towards stereotypically men and novice cooks due to the simplistic recipes and steps. Through the cookbook the role of food in our lives is established, “Food for Friends” gives the audience the perception that food is supposed to bring people together and be the focal point of social gatherings and also look good at the same time by the way it is presented in this cookbook. “365 Ways to Cook Hamburger...” proves that food can be innovative, especially when it comes to meat because you can eat it 365 ways with easy recipes.  “Food for Friends” and “365 Ways...” differ greatly from each other in their aim of audience, claim about food, book content, and presentation of content.

 “Food for Friends” has a very welcoming cover, close to home type feel with the table all set-up with food on the plates and friends are also symbolized through arms/hands in the background clinking glasses (assuming it’s filled with wine/alcohol). Warm colors are used along with flowers and candles to make this cover appealing to the eye. There’s this saying, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but in reality, people do all the time, which was why Fran Warde took the time to create such a beautiful cover to sell the audience on this cookbook. The cover of a book is also an introduction to what will be inside the cookbook and this cover does its justice because it shows that this cookbook will be more than recipes and introductions, but presentation will be a big part and also gatherings as well because people usually clink glasses at gatherings. With an effective cover, Fran Warde is able to appeal to busy entertainers, especially when she includes “ Simply Delicious Menus for Easy Entertaining” as  her subtitle. “365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Ground Meats” has a completely opposite take on a cover. The simple cover of this cookbook includes the title in big, black, bold capital letters that takes up half of the cover. Also included is cartoon food such as a cartoon hamburger, taco, meatloaf, and other meat dishes all framed in a red and white picnic-like border. The use of cartoon food versus real food shows that the author doesn’t care for appearance of the food, meat and simplicity is key. This cover foreshadows the inside of this book to be simple with meat-filled recipes, instructions, and that is it. These two contrasting covers allows for the authors to target different audiences and hint their claim as well.

 Even the paper and sectioning used in this book are dissimilar. While “Food for Friends” gives off a more high quality feel with it’s large, wide, glossy paper, “365 Ways...” uses just a standard white, notebook-like and sized paper. “Food for Friends” is separated into sections by theme including: Effortless Entertaining, Parties and Celebrations, Drinks and Fingerfood, and Party Buffet. These very specific sections are different from “365 Ways...” sections for this cookbook is separated simply into: appetizers, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 The content of “Food for Friends” is very thorough meaning filled with “fluff” because it doesn’t simply give you a recipe and the instructions. Instead this book is loaded with images, party ideas, menu plans, event ideas, and quotes, perfect for the busy entertainer. With quotes included such as, “Trust me: this chocolate risotto is the best. Soft grains of rice gently cooked in milk, swathed in melted chocolate -- don’t say you aren’t tempted,”(127) it shows that this cookbook is all about the extras that is supposed to make the entertainers life easier rather than just teaching them how to cook a meal. Work plans are also included which tells you what to do “the day before,” such as “prepare the pork fillet...” and “on the day” with things such as “make minted yogurt...,” and lastly, “just before serving” with things such as “cook the pork, assemble the salad....” (32). These work plans are very detailed on purpose to make the entertainers life that much easier. Also, there is an image of almost every dish along with table settings on almost every page which screams appearance and presentation. The colors used in this cookbook are very vivid and bright on almost every page. The colors and photographs add to the appearance of the food and gives the audience the notion that not only should the food should look good as well as taste good. The color scheme in book is very “pretty” and meant to be eye-catching while “365 Ways...” has no color scheme or any colors at all besides a few on the cover for the appearance is not the focal point to Rodgers. Also, the only fluff included for “365 Ways...” is the meat dictionary, which is a few pages in the beginning of the book where it tells the audience all the meats used and where you can purchase most of them. Contrary to “Food with Friends,” “365 Ways...” includes no images in the entire cookbook (even the cover doesn’t have real images).

 The recipes further separates the targeted audiences more in these two different cookbooks. The recipes in “Food with Friends” do not include any preparation/cooking times but includes serving sizes. Each recipe starts off with a little blurb about the dish and little hints like “for a real treat, soak the golden raisins in brandy or whiskey first”(26), then lists the ingredients + amount, and then the instructions in paragraph format. While the recipes are not hard to understand, it includes a lot of information in between each recipe like “how-tos” and “scenery tips” making it ideal for entertainers. Many of the recipes for “365 Ways...” require minimal preparation and cooking times and are very straight-forward. For example, recipe #209 “Sirloin Steak Burgers with Mushroom Ragout” has a prep time of 10 minutes and a 15 minute cook time which will serve 2-3 people (156). Each recipe has the same set-up and is listed back-to-back including a list of ingredients + amount and numbered instructions in making the dish. The instructions are easy to understand (ideal for beginner cooks) for example the first step for the sirloin steak burgers is “1. In a large nonstick skillet, combine mushrooms, half of the minced shallot..... bring to a boil over medium high heat....”(156). The key to Rodger’s recipes is to make it as easy as possible for the audience such as men(who stereotypically don’t have much experience in the kitchen) and novice, meat-loving chefs.

 Everything in these two cookbooks, from the cover to the set-up to the recipes all contribute to the author’s view towards the role of food. Through a colorful, appearance oriented cookbook with very step-by-step processes and event friendly + family oriented ideas, Warde is able to achieve her claim in showing that food brings people together and appearance means just as much as taste does. Rodgers achieves his claim, that you can easily eat your favorite food (meat) 365 days a year, and not go through a lot of hassle in doing so, through his simple constructed cookbook along with easy to understand recipes. These claims connect with their targeted audience, because the audience must agree with the author’s claim if they are going to put the cookbook to good use.

Sources:  
 * Warde, Fran. //Food for Friends: S//// imply Delicious Menus for Easy Entertaining //. 1st ed. New York: Ryland Peters & Small Inc., March 2005. Print.
 * Rodgers, Rick. // 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Ground Meats. // 1st ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Print.