Recipes Online, Where Do I Start?

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Recipes Online, Where Do I Start?
By: Karen A. Spencer- Food Information Consultant

My recent “Google” search for recipes returned 130,000,000 results. To narrow my search, I googled “food magazine” and reduced my results to 70,300,000. We can agree that there is no shortage of recipes available to you. There are great recipe sites out there which I hope to cover at a later date, but today my focus is on online food magazines.

Online food magazines are a great source for recipes as well as information on gadgets and kitchen appliances. Another benefit of online magazines is the recipes are usually tested in their test kitchen before publishing on the web which can give you some assurance that the recipe works.

Take a look at some of these sites; there are recipes that you can view without a subscription. However, to get the most from these sites a membership is required.

Cuisine (http://www.cuisineathome.com/main/oe-recipes.php) has several online recipes available under their online extra section and in their archives (http://www.cuisineathome.com/main/oe-recipes.php#archive) from previous years.

Martha Stewart Every Day Food (http://www.marthastewart.com/everyday). I used to subscribe to Martha’s magazine years ago. I loved her recipes, the magazine was well laid out and offered a wealth of information on food and crafts.

Food & Wine Magazine (http://www.foodandwine.com/) has a searchable recipe database, with ratings.

Saveur ( http://www.saveur.com/) is a food and travel magazine, their online glossary provides information on an ingredient

BBC Good Food (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/) brings you recipes from the UK. Recipes are tested by the Good Food Kitchen except those listed as member recipes. Many of the recipes have been rated by the members. The site contains cooking videos, step by step guides to tricky recipes and conversion tables.

Southern Living (http://www.southernliving.com/) is one of my favorite magazines; it
brings you the best of Southern food. You’ve got to love it!

Cooks Illustrated (www.cooksillustrated.com) is another one of my favorite cooking magazines. Unfortunately, without a subscription, the best you can gain from this site is some general food information.

Hopefully, these sites are of interest, if not there are quite a few others to choose from.

What's For Dinner?

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What’s For Dinner?
By: Karen A. Spencer- Food Information Consultant

Deciding what to cook for a meal can be challenging at times. Face it; it’s a weekly occurring event that you can only push off for so long before the hunger pangs set in.

Growing up, my meals were pretty methodical; seafood night on Wednesday, bean soup at least once a week, chicken in every form on Sunday. I often said “when I grow up, I am not going to cook the same thing twice.” I soon learned as an adult, that it wasn’t as easy as I thought to come up with 365 new meal options each year.

I can appreciate consistency in meal choices, especially if you work out of the home or have limited time for meal preparations. Knowing that a recipe works and your family enjoys it, takes the ‘guess work’ out of customer satisfaction. I do aim to have an extra special meal at least once a week. What makes it extra special varies; sometimes it’s a new dish or a variation of a dish, other times it’s the extra thought I put into setting the table.

I have a few tips for you to try, that aren’t likely to disrupt your schedule too much.
Why not:

Give your meal a make over. Change the look of your good ole faithful works every time meal. If it’s chicken with a blob of mash potatoes, try stacking it, garnish and serving with a sauce. Appearance goes a long way.

Garnishes- To save time, have a couple of garnish items (herbs, vegetables, etc.) already prepped in the fridge that you can grab. Make sure the garnish is visually appealing and compliments the dish’s flavor.

Sparkling Water- Take a sprig of mint and rub along the rim of the glass to release
the essential oil. Fill the glass with cold sparkling water; it’s very refreshing especially on a hot day.

Use menus to find new meal ideas- most restaurants have a fairly detailed description of a dish. Use the menus to get ideas for preparation methods and flavor combinations (I will hopefully write more about this at a later date).

Presentation- You don’t have to go out to buy any books or magazines just yet, find stock photos on the internet to get ideas for building a dish or table settings.

Cooking by the Books

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Cooking by the Books
By: Karen A. Spencer- Food Information Consultant

The current recession has forced many people to change their dining habits to include more home cooked meals. Those who are already comfortable moving about the kitchen, will just do more of it; but what about the people at the pre cooking 101 level? How should they approach the kitchen? Pre-101ers should approach the kitchen carefully, with a cookbook in hand.

What It Is & What It Can Do
Cookbooks are more than a selection of recipes compiled into a book. Cookbooks can provide insight into another culture or time period; educate you on ingredients and cooking methods; the recipes can help you develop your own creative cooking juices. With the right selections, you can move from burning water to preparing meals to wow your family and friends.

How To Select A Cookbook
Remember a cookbook like other books start with an idea and has an author and publisher. Here are a few things to consider before buying a cookbook.

Is the cookbook on my cooking level and interest?
Buying a cookbook beyond your cooking level and interest will likely sit on the shelf and gather dust.

Are the recipes written clearly?
Not all cooking instructions are clear. Some omissions are easier to figure out than others, it is important to know this before you buy it.

Are the ingredients readily available?
If not, did the author offer substitutes for hard to find ingredients?

Don’t judge the book by its cover.
The more you spend does not mean the more you’ll get. There are many excellent cookbooks that are inexpensive and packaged very simply; you may be pleasantly surprised when you crack the cover.

Look for recommendations.
Ask friends and family for cookbook suggestions. Find out why they liked the book and if the recipes worked. There are online bookstores that have a book review section which may be helpful in making a decision.

Whether you are a pre 101er or an experienced cook, the goal is to get cooking without collecting a lot of dust bunnies.