recipe skimming
Itching to be inspired by something new, I've been perusing online recipes posted by various food blogs and other trusted sources. In the process, I've found another use for the load of blackberries the freezer can barely contain. I've also made some observations I felt like sharing here:
* I, as well as many other people I'm sure, would really appreciate if you'd share a reasonable alternative to the obscure ingredient you've got in your recipe. I am sure the pomegranate molasses is what will really make those lentils pop, but some of us don't want to be saddled with that bottle of molasses-minus-one-tablespoon for another couple of years until we throw it out. (This is just the most recent example. I realize in this case I'd just use some other sweet substance to make up for it.)
* Seriously, don't rate a recipe 5 stars out of 5 then write in your review how the recipe as published is inedible, but your adapted, completely different version is amazing. Publish your recipe separately if it's so damn good. Rate the current one as crap if it's crap. The following example story happened ages ago, and I think I already wrote about it here, but I'm sharing it again. That's just how traumatizing it was.
I was pressed for time a while back and had planned to make a carrot cake for some event, but I realized I didn't have enough carrots for the cake I'd planned. I went online and essentially looked for recipes which would make use of the carrots I had on hand. I ended up on Allrecipes.com (the biggest offender here by far, I might add. I usually avoid the site because of this) with a 5-star carrot cake recipe. I read through, saw that I had all of the ingredients, printed it off and baked the cake. I did think it called for a bit too much oil, but I wasn't a pro carrot cake baker and just wanted to get it in the oven.
Later: the cake sucked. When I had time again, I checked the comments on the recipe. No lie, every single person writing in gave the recipe 4-5 stars, then in further comments proceeded to say how they'd cut the oil in half, added more spices, changed the pan they used, added some other kind of fruit, etc. Not a single one made the recipe as given, and indeed, many of them (who had given the recipe a high rating) admitted that the amount of oil in the original recipe made the cake close to inedible. thanks. I hate you all.
* (added after considering Allrecipes a bit longer) There should be a separate area for "recipes" which are just a box of cake mix + a can of fruit, or whatever. It's a waste of my clicking time to discover your Best Evar Cake is actually something I can't replicate due to not having access to the ingredients. I recognize these pre-fab recipes have their place, and some are pretty tasty, but I stand by my right to be annoyed by this. It sometimes feels like there is no cooking site in-between "Food Snobs R Us" and "Semi-Homemade Hell." link for those interested in the reference there.
* Random comments make my day, though. As attached to a roasted cauliflower recipe on a blog site: "I love cauliflower in all its iterations, even covered in terrible cheese or raw. But man does it make me gassy." hah. hahaha.
* I, as well as many other people I'm sure, would really appreciate if you'd share a reasonable alternative to the obscure ingredient you've got in your recipe. I am sure the pomegranate molasses is what will really make those lentils pop, but some of us don't want to be saddled with that bottle of molasses-minus-one-tablespoon for another couple of years until we throw it out. (This is just the most recent example. I realize in this case I'd just use some other sweet substance to make up for it.)
* Seriously, don't rate a recipe 5 stars out of 5 then write in your review how the recipe as published is inedible, but your adapted, completely different version is amazing. Publish your recipe separately if it's so damn good. Rate the current one as crap if it's crap. The following example story happened ages ago, and I think I already wrote about it here, but I'm sharing it again. That's just how traumatizing it was.
I was pressed for time a while back and had planned to make a carrot cake for some event, but I realized I didn't have enough carrots for the cake I'd planned. I went online and essentially looked for recipes which would make use of the carrots I had on hand. I ended up on Allrecipes.com (the biggest offender here by far, I might add. I usually avoid the site because of this) with a 5-star carrot cake recipe. I read through, saw that I had all of the ingredients, printed it off and baked the cake. I did think it called for a bit too much oil, but I wasn't a pro carrot cake baker and just wanted to get it in the oven.
Later: the cake sucked. When I had time again, I checked the comments on the recipe. No lie, every single person writing in gave the recipe 4-5 stars, then in further comments proceeded to say how they'd cut the oil in half, added more spices, changed the pan they used, added some other kind of fruit, etc. Not a single one made the recipe as given, and indeed, many of them (who had given the recipe a high rating) admitted that the amount of oil in the original recipe made the cake close to inedible. thanks. I hate you all.
* (added after considering Allrecipes a bit longer) There should be a separate area for "recipes" which are just a box of cake mix + a can of fruit, or whatever. It's a waste of my clicking time to discover your Best Evar Cake is actually something I can't replicate due to not having access to the ingredients. I recognize these pre-fab recipes have their place, and some are pretty tasty, but I stand by my right to be annoyed by this. It sometimes feels like there is no cooking site in-between "Food Snobs R Us" and "Semi-Homemade Hell." link for those interested in the reference there.
* Random comments make my day, though. As attached to a roasted cauliflower recipe on a blog site: "I love cauliflower in all its iterations, even covered in terrible cheese or raw. But man does it make me gassy." hah. hahaha.