Browsing the internet may sometimes be a frustrating exercise when you are getting pages and pages of sites from Google other than the one you want. Having formerly worked in a library, I have been able to use some of my “old school” skills to crack the internet and quickly navigate this new frontier, (ok not new to some…). I would like to share some of those time saving tips with you.
The best place to get your recipes from is… a cookbook. An honest to goodness, held in your hand, cookbook. Most cookbooks have tested their recipes fully, and are designed for certain success, IF you’ve followed the recipes properly.
Although we have found some problems with recipes in some books from smaller publishing houses, (one particular “Brownie” cook we have at work is laughable!) anything from Canadian Living, The Joy of Cooking etc are pretty fool proof. So, look at the publishing company, not just the author. Companies such as Random House for example, work with healthy budgets and will fork out money to have recipes tested first!
Should you find yourself somewhere with no cookbook, just a computer and you have a craving for something sweet and have to make it straight away, here is how to search the internet with better than average success:
1. Magazine sites – Go to sites like Canadian Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Food and Wine, Martha Stewart and the LCBO Food and Drink. You will notice they are all large, well respected publications. These sites have always proven to be reliable. Because the recipe has already appeared in a magazine guarantees that it will have been tested to make sure it works for you at home. Try it with some of your favourite food magazines not mentioned here. Then place them in your “Favourites Folder” so that you have quick and easy access to them.
2. Stay away from “HomeMaker Sites” – Here’s the deal with sites like allrecipes.com and cookster.com etc. Recipes are written and developed by you, for example, and then placed on the web. Have you ever read the comments below these recipes? People are always changing things, quantities and such. If you do see something interesting, make sure it has the most “favorites” or highest “star” rating out of the bunch and not a lot of negative comments. Cookster.com has a good layout, and has plenty of excellent big name guest chef recipes to choose from. I have epicurious.com in my favourites section and I have never had a problem with any of their recipes.
3.Remember that lemon tart from Bouchon honey? You’ve been away to an excellent restaurant or have just missed Nigella Lawson make chocolate bread pudding and need the recipe. You can Google the restaurant name + the food you ate and voila, you will have plenty of choices. For example, lemon tart + Thomas Keller will bring you a few dozen sites. Choose the ones that sound most reputable or have the actual recipe included. If for example, you had a wonderful lamb shank from Globe Bistro, Google it, and you may not get the actual recipe but will be linked to plenty of other such recipes. I did and got a Tyler Florence recipe from the Food Network. I can be confident this will work well since it is from the Food Network and ’s a big name chef. (He’s pretty easy on the eyes too!)
4. Inspired By… – Stay away from these words when reading what the site offers you. A recipe “inspired by” means they have changed something along the way. No thanks.
I hope this will help you find your way to many a delicious meal and or gooey dessert. Don’t get side tracked by YouTube or Facebook. Stay focused.
I may as well answer this question now. Yes! The Good Earth is currently working on a cookbook. It will be the ONLY place to search for your favorites. 🙂
Shine On,
ChickwithTongs.
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