The $100,000 question: Where Can I Find Good Recipes?

As a person with a keen interest in cooking, the Four State Food Critic is often asked, “where do you find your recipes?”

To be honest, there’s not a straight answer for this.  My recipes and ideas come from many sources and inspirations.  Here’s a quick list of places that may inspire you:

•  Food Magazines (i.e. “Cooking Light”, Southern Living”, “Everyday with Rachel Ray”, etc.)
•  TV shows and their associated websites (i.e. “The Barefoot Contessa”, “The Pioneer Woman”, “Emeril Live”, etc.)
•  Websites (i.e. www.allrecipes.com,  www.foodnetwork.com, etc.)
•  Friends and family
•  My own inspiration (aka trial and error)

There is a weird dichotomy at work with this, as we make judgments on taste based upon non-taste factors (i.e. descriptions and visual input, etc.).  Does the recipe even sound good?  What does the picture of the dish look like?

Another decision factor for the FSFC’s recipes is “how easy will this be to make?”  I know that’s not often a fair assessment, but I think part of successful cooking is confidence, and I’m not about to tackle anything with 25 exacting steps where a mistake in any one of them would spoil the end product.  Go with what you know – and push your boundaries now and then to learn something new.  It’s not always going to come out successful (I am remembering now a classic kitchen failure where I tried to reduce balsamic vinegar and ended up with balsamic hard candy – I really don’t recommend it), but each attempt in the kitchen will add experience to your cooking chops.

Also, don’t be afraid to experiment.  A recipe should be a guide, not a sacred text (except in baking – baking is an exact science and can’t be fiddled with).  Do you prefer skim milk over whole milk?  Substitute it.  Not a fan of walnuts?  Leave them out.  The recipe calls for turkey?  I’ll bet it works for chicken as well.  Happy accidents do happen, and you’ll need to remember what you did to recreate it.  Make a hard copy of the recipe and jot down your notes for future reference – morph them into your own.  Most of my recipes are scribbled all over with notes and adjustments. 

 

Keep all of your recipes in a folder, book, or index card holder in your kitchen.  Go through them now and again while you menu plan.  You’ll find forgotten gems or seasonal specialties.  Your family may also have requests of past favorites.

Soon you’ll have a long list of solid, reliable recipes that you can draw from again and again in your kitchen, and you can build upon your successes to try out new things and extend your culinary range.

Get cracking!