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Recipe Websites


phlawless

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My apologies if this has been covered before, but I am looking for some websites that offer recipe libraries, similar to epicurious, where I can type in a style/ingredient/method and have a list of suggestions. I remember finding one a few weeks ago and thinking "this is so much better than epicurious!", but I didn't bookmark it, and I can't remember it for the life of me.

I often find myself in the position, like tonight, where I have a couple of heads of cauliflower, some left over roast chicken, and a pretty well stocked pantry. All I need now is proportions for a good curry powder.

I'd love some suggestions.

Thanks!

"Godspeed all the bakers at dawn... may they all cut their thumbs and bleed into their buns til they melt away..."

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One that has been around a very long time and has a extensive archive of recipes is The Kitchen Link/Recipe Link

If you click on "More Options" you can search by ingredients or type in one word that is part of a recipe title.

The web site is very intuitive and you can also search the forum archives by year, month and week.

For instance July 1-7 in 1997 shows this list of recipes:

archived recipes July 1997

I just happened to come across this a year or so ago and bookmarked it under "Unusual desserts" for the #11 listing, Orange Cheesecake/better than candy pie.

while not as vast as those above, I recommend you check Mimi's Cyber Kitchen.com Mimi also posts a bunch of great links that are very helpful. As well as PlotzWorthy gifts.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I generally use the Food Network. Mostly it gives me ideas of what I could do. You can search by chef, if that's your thing...

Pick up your phone

Think of a vegetable

Lonely at home

Call any vegetable

And the chances are good

That a vegetable will respond to you

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I see this is going to be the longer version of DTB's new post:

NPR once ran a story about the fact that a lot of people simply rely on google. Type the word "recipe" first and then go from there.

This method works especially well in retrieving recipes for one or two ingredients I have at home that I think might combine well, but I am not sure exactly how I wish to prepare them. I also use it for the monthly cooking threads devoted to specific Italian regions.

That way, I end up with unfamiliar sites from all corners of the world, some with only a few recipes. Over time I notice patterns and bookmark reliable favorites.

For example, about.com crops up a lot on the first page of lists that google.com compiles. There's a really good, scholarly soul who handles Italian regions. For Southern specialties, the offerings are mixed, but I found something I was able to adapt so well it makes me long for the next ramp season.

For international recipes, I find there are a number of sites created for tourists or to promote an author's culinary tours, classes or books.

As far as promoting books goes, David Leite's Web site, of course, deserves mention. The site's recipe section is biforcated into the dishes created specifically for the site and selections from recent publications that invite you to sample a few dishes before deciding if the book a worthwhile investment. The lists of recipes are daunting, but you can search the site with specific keywords.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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I've had good luck with RecipeZaar.

I've also used Food Down Under and Star Chefs (although the search engine on the latter is pretty weak) with good results, especially if I don't want an exact recipe, just some ideas to get me started.

But I have to agree that my favored approach is googling "recipe xyz" and wading through the first three or four pages of entries. Google does put paying customers at the very top of the list and on the right-hand side of the page (in the "Sponsored Links" sections), but after that it's based on a complex set of rules of keywords and depth of a web site and external links and a bunch of other stuff that some consultants get paid a lot of money to guess at--but it does not include paying Google.

I think you can judge quality recipe sites by listening to your gut--if there are lots of trademark mentions of specific brands (e.g. Nestle, Land O Lakes, etc.), that's usually a red flag that you're not looking at serious recipes. On the other hand, if there are references or links back to eGullet, you've probably found yourself a winner! :raz:

Feast then thy heart, for what the heart has had, the hand of no heir shall ever hold.
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The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) has that sort of feature <a href = "http://www.abc.net.au/backyard/" >HERE</a>. When you get there, click on the Recipe tab in the Navigation bar at the top of the screen.

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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  • 2 months later...

www.allrecipes.com

Not exactly the most refined site ever -now and then you will encounter a monstruosity that calls for canned soup, barbecue sauce, molasses and spam- but definitely comprehensive, easy to use, and with lots of good info and recipes, plus a user-friendly interface.

Middlebrow Catalan gastronomy??????

http://baixagastronomia.blogspot.com/

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I was just introduced to Group Recipes.

It appears to be a good blend of recipes and social interaction.

After struggling with the site for a day I have to retract my recommendation.

The layout is confusing and the recipe format is too restrictive.

SB (oh well)

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http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?pageID=44&r=6

I have absolutely NO idea on how I am meant to have a blued out ....here.... to click on such a messy looking link, sorry. I will take lessons someday.

The above will give some Downunder ( as in New Zealand NOT Australia :rolleyes: ) dishes at the mealmaker page. Voted best food magazine in the world for a pretty good reason.

OK. So Im biased. :raz:

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sometimes the easiest thing to do is to go directly to the site of one of your main ingredients. Like cream cheese..I go to John Folse's site, because he has a dairy, but also to kraft and organic farms. all the large labels have huge recipe data bases on their sites. I mean, for example, check out hormel.

I go crazy with epicurious because of the damn popups that my blocker ignores or doesn't see...they crawl across whatever you're trying to read and sit there for about 3 seconds too long. BUT! Of all the recipe sites I've ever seen, I've never seen a better rating system. I sort by fork ratings and go from there. The ability for people to tell you their problems with a recipe are invaluable. They're also good for a laugh, because half the time they've subbed ingredients to the extent that's it's really not the same dish anymore. I do love that recipe review anyhow. You just have to weed out the reviews that screwed it up...you can opt to add any review to your printed recipe too, and that's cool. If someone has a comment that you think is wise, then the notation is already on your recipe when you print. I wish foodtv reviews were the same.

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