On a shelf in our kitchen is a collection of cookbooks. Spanning our favorite cuisines, regions and chefs, they used to be an essential part of our daily routine. Not so much anymore; in fact, I can't remember the last time I cracked one open. That's because it's much easier to go online and plug in the name of what we want to make, or even just the ingredients that we're trying to use. Up pops a laundry list of possibilities, some with pictures, some with descriptions. We scroll through them until we find the one that looks attractive, and take a deeper dive into the details.
But with so many to choose from, how does one decide which to pick? After all, type in "apple pie" and half a second later you get 354 million possible approaches. You need some criteria to weed out the winners and losers. Ingredients are certainly one aspect: if upon further examination one possible starts with "take a dozen eggs" you might take a pass. Or perhaps there are exotic ingredients like sumac or saffron not found in your everyday pantry, and so you move on down the list. You might also examine the steps it takes to make it happen: if there are more than 6 or 7 you might look elsewhere. Likewise if unusual equipment is needed, more than an hour is required, or the recipe includes the directions "Separate one hog's head into halves."
Almost as important as all of the above are the reviews. This is based on the underlying assumption that those weighing in have been there before you and are reacting to their experience. Mind you, we have no idea who these people are, their taste or frame of reference. Do they like things spicy or not? Do they like one sugar or six in their coffee? Do they consider boiling water a difficult task? No matter, we assume they are somewhat similar to us in taste and skill, and use that as a starting point.
In general these comments seem to fall into three classes. The first are the straight up reviews, a thumbs up or down on a dish. About a Bourbon-Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle, Trishia64 said "I made this for a birthday celebration and it got rave reviews." ." In reference to Skillet Chicken in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce, Linda posts "This was delicious and easy!! Husband said this is a keeper and not to miss any leftovers!!" Of course, they are not always raves: for a recipe for Maryland Crab Soup, Roli said "I grew up near the Chesapeake Bay and I think this soup didn't taste anything like Maryland crab soup. The broth was bland and had no depth whatsoever." Or to paraphrase Thomas Wolfe, you can't taste home again.
The second group sees a recipe as a starting point, and offers helpful suggestions along the lines of "Great recipe, but I added more chocolate chips" or "Love it, with some mushrooms thrown in." Then there‘s this one for Creamy Italian White Bean Soup: "Only an average 3-star recipe as written with obvious flaws. The fixes: double the garlic, l/4 more beans, use chix broth in place of water, add onion salt and chix bouillon to taste, add 3 teaspoons fresh Rosemary, double the lemon juice." Translation: I had to tweak it so much I should have just used another recipe to start.
Then there're the ones that mystify me. The writers haven't actually cooked anything, but still feel compelled to contribute, as if they are handing out "Best Trier" trophies to second graders. For a Berry Buttermilk Cake, Anna says "I feel really, really positive about this recipe. i can't wait to make it!" Reacting to one for Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Vegetables, Arcelia writes, "These look great! I'll let you know how they turn out." And for a Lemon tart, Elaine gushes, "The amount of yellow in this recipe is mesmerizing!" Uh, Elaine, it's lemon. And it's yellow. And yet somehow you seem surprised.
It's up to each cook to filter all these and decide which to try and which to avoid. Personally, I take an approach akin to judging a figure skating competition: I throw out the highs and the lows and average the center. And based on that I decide if I'm dealing with the Tonya or the Nancy of Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cakes.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford likes to bake. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
But with so many to choose from, how does one decide which to pick? After all, type in "apple pie" and half a second later you get 354 million possible approaches. You need some criteria to weed out the winners and losers. Ingredients are certainly one aspect: if upon further examination one possible starts with "take a dozen eggs" you might take a pass. Or perhaps there are exotic ingredients like sumac or saffron not found in your everyday pantry, and so you move on down the list. You might also examine the steps it takes to make it happen: if there are more than 6 or 7 you might look elsewhere. Likewise if unusual equipment is needed, more than an hour is required, or the recipe includes the directions "Separate one hog's head into halves."
Almost as important as all of the above are the reviews. This is based on the underlying assumption that those weighing in have been there before you and are reacting to their experience. Mind you, we have no idea who these people are, their taste or frame of reference. Do they like things spicy or not? Do they like one sugar or six in their coffee? Do they consider boiling water a difficult task? No matter, we assume they are somewhat similar to us in taste and skill, and use that as a starting point.
In general these comments seem to fall into three classes. The first are the straight up reviews, a thumbs up or down on a dish. About a Bourbon-Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle, Trishia64 said "I made this for a birthday celebration and it got rave reviews." ." In reference to Skillet Chicken in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce, Linda posts "This was delicious and easy!! Husband said this is a keeper and not to miss any leftovers!!" Of course, they are not always raves: for a recipe for Maryland Crab Soup, Roli said "I grew up near the Chesapeake Bay and I think this soup didn't taste anything like Maryland crab soup. The broth was bland and had no depth whatsoever." Or to paraphrase Thomas Wolfe, you can't taste home again.
The second group sees a recipe as a starting point, and offers helpful suggestions along the lines of "Great recipe, but I added more chocolate chips" or "Love it, with some mushrooms thrown in." Then there‘s this one for Creamy Italian White Bean Soup: "Only an average 3-star recipe as written with obvious flaws. The fixes: double the garlic, l/4 more beans, use chix broth in place of water, add onion salt and chix bouillon to taste, add 3 teaspoons fresh Rosemary, double the lemon juice." Translation: I had to tweak it so much I should have just used another recipe to start.
Then there're the ones that mystify me. The writers haven't actually cooked anything, but still feel compelled to contribute, as if they are handing out "Best Trier" trophies to second graders. For a Berry Buttermilk Cake, Anna says "I feel really, really positive about this recipe. i can't wait to make it!" Reacting to one for Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Vegetables, Arcelia writes, "These look great! I'll let you know how they turn out." And for a Lemon tart, Elaine gushes, "The amount of yellow in this recipe is mesmerizing!" Uh, Elaine, it's lemon. And it's yellow. And yet somehow you seem surprised.
It's up to each cook to filter all these and decide which to try and which to avoid. Personally, I take an approach akin to judging a figure skating competition: I throw out the highs and the lows and average the center. And based on that I decide if I'm dealing with the Tonya or the Nancy of Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cakes.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford likes to bake. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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