Recipe Siren Song

[Rover]

As I was making Lasagne w/Tomato-Cream Sauce & Mozzarella (Patricia Wells "Trattoria" - p.150) last evening, it occurred to me to wonder how I ever tried this recipe in the first place. There was no glamour shot of the finished dish and there's a rather long, rambling description; I can't remember what called to me about this dish. I've made it many, many times over the years with fresh lasagne noodles always, albeit not my own. There's another attraction for me as the sauce (sans cream) is my go-to tomato sauce recipe which I make in bulk, freeze and always have on hand.

I can't imagine not having this lasagne in my repertoire and a number of guests to whom I've served it remarked that they had something very similar in Italy.

What is it that draws you to a recipe to prompt you to try it? Gorgeous beauty-shots don't qualify here.

[LindaK]

This is an interesting question. Sometimes, a recipe includes an ingredient that I'm looking to play with or use (especially now with eatyourbooks.com around). More often, it's the prose or an evocative story that preceeds the recipe, and I feel compelled to make the recipe in an attempt to better understand the experience--or simply to live vicariously. Good food writing seduces me more readily than a list of ingredients.

[andiesenji]

I often get an idea, that may turn into an obsession, when I read about a particular dish in one of the "cozy" mysteries to which I have become addicted. (At one time my reading was mostly Sci/Fi, few mentions of food in those.)

Many of these are early mysteries and dishes are mentioned that are no longer in vogue and sometimes I have to do a lot of searching to find the appropriate recipe.

This has become much easier since the www made these more accessible.

My book club has taken up this idea and once or twice a year we have a potluck where each member brings a successful dish from their favorite mystery.

I think this actually began when I was a child. I recall reading Heidi and pestering my grandmother to let me "toast" cheese in a fireplace, just like Heidi's grandfather did.

There was another book, I think it was Girl of the Limberlost, that piqued my interest in a particular food.

Edited February 13, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[Chef Jonny]

Cooking at home, anything I hear about that I can do on the ol' BBQ is fine enough for this guy. If I hear about a new spice or sauce or cut of meat that "goes nicely with yada-yada on the grill", I'm sold.

[BeeZee]

if there is great debate about what makes a great "X", it intrigues. When there's acknowledgement of dozens of variations, a long history...well that is my current fascination, mole sauce. I have some time off the next 2 weeks so a chance to try some of those long set-aside recipes.

[Rover]

I know exactly what you mean by that. I was a fan of the Lawrence Sanders' Edward X. Delaney books. Edward had a particular affinity for sandwiches which were so evocatively described, it was enough to make me get out of bed, during a late-night reading fest, to take a look at the contents of the fridge to determine if I could replicate one of them.

[andiesenji]

I know exactly what you mean by that. I was a fan of the Lawrence Sanders' Edward X. Delaney books. Edward had a particular affinity for sandwiches which were so evocatively described, it was enough to make me get out of bed, during a late-night reading fest, to take a look at the contents of the fridge to determine if I could replicate one of them.

In the "What are your reading?" topic I mentioned my re-reading of the Lord Peter Wimsey books, which prompted me to pull out the "cookbook" by Elizabeth Ryan and William Eakins that was published in 1982.

And that has prompted me to get a large roasting hen so I can prepare

Poulet Poéle A L'Estragon for dinner today. (having difficulty with accents)

I'm also going to prepare the potato scones and the seedy cake from the same cookbook.

Edited February 13, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[andiesenji]

It's too late for me to edit my last post so I will add this.

I was just chatting with a friend who is an ex-pat Brit who also likes to read and we discussed foods that are often mentioned in books sited in the UK.

We agreed that one "dish" often mentioned that we could easily omit from our list of "wants" is baked beans on toast.

She says she didn't like it when she lived there, although it was a fave of her husband, and wouldn't "cross the pavement" to have it now.

While I do like baked beans and I love toast, I really don't care for the combination.

[janeer]

This may sound weird but I will try almost any recipe for a baked good that calls for lard. I worship lard.

[Pierogi]

My friends and acquaintences regularly tell me I should go on cooking shows like "Top Chef" and "Chopped" et.al. I remind them, gently, while serving them a perfectly cooked stew, or roast chicken, or enchiladas, or gumbo, that I am not a great innovator when it comes to cooking, although I am getting better when I wing it on my own for just me and the fuzzy garbage disposals.

My talent in cooking, I believe, and have always believed, lies in being able to read a recipe and determining a) if the flavors will work together and be interesting and good together, b) if the technique will cook the dish to a point where it will be cooked well and showcase whatever is the main ingredient and c) if it will suit my taste and the tastes of whoever I am cooking for.

Those are the qualities I look for in a recipe. Plus, does it sound like something I can handle in my kitchen, or do I need a dewar of liquid nitrogen to make the ice cream? That, I'll probably skip on by, no matter how good the custard base sounds !

ETA---Basically, does the recipe make SENSE for me, my palate, my capabilities and my equipment?

Edited February 14, 2011 by Pierogi (log)

[Mjx]

If a recipe looks like it's difficult, it will probably attract, me, especially if I'm missing at least one important piece of the necessary equipment. Otherwise, I tend to have a clear idea of what I want to cook and just hunt up a recipe that looks like it will deliver.