A Flowchart to Figure Out If That Random Web Recipe Will Work

If a recipe on Food52 has mixed comments -- a lot of people have had problems, have had to adjust certain key ingredients like leavening agents, or users have been frustrated by widely disparate baking times etc. -- AND, if the Food52 editor has not replied to the questions or comments, I dismiss that recipe from consideration immediately, even if there are positive reviews. If the staff here or regular contributors don't wish to help users troubleshoot, and don't re-test to ensure the recipe is reliable and clearly enough written to make it generally successful, I don't bother with the recipe -- or any other recipe they post, for that matter, unless it has consistently received a lot of positive remarks demonstrating the recipe is, actually, "tried and true."

I consider any recipe a framework, a spark of an idea, and a source of creativity. If it's a dish I've never made before, I follow the recipe religiously to understand the creator's vision. If it doesn't reach my own vision but is good, then the creative juices kick in and I made it again, but I make it my own. I love Food 52, Smitten Kitchen, Relish and a few others for trustworthy ideas. And I always read the comments to understand why it was fabulous, pretty good, meh, or terrible. If the rating isn't 3 stars or better, I don't bother. But, I have to admit, most of my best recipes reside in my head, passed down from a great-grandmother from Belgium, a grandmother from Verona, and my mother from Trieste. Their cooking chops, including stints as professional chefs, have made for great genes.

I usually go to my trusted blogs and websites (Food 52, Barefoot Contessa, Cooks Illustrated, Food Network, Martha Stewart, Orangette). When a different site pops up, I compare recipes and in all cases, I read the comments. I've had a few not-so-good results from my trusted sites, which I attribute to typos (so very, very irritating).

I thought this article might be a guide to how to balance flavors. I'd love to see something like that. As for this... I consider the source and trust my instincts. I also tend to change ingredients sometimes based upon what I have on hand.

I agree with beejay45; I have enough cooking experience that I can figure out if something is going to work, and what to do if it turns out not so good. I rarely follow recipes to the tee anyway...usually I use whatever I've got on hand. But if you aren't there, I like to look at the comments. If there are a ton of comments by people who seem like they have actually cooked it, then I'll give it a go.

I'm one of those *really more of a guideline* people when it comes to recipes...except with cakes and the like which are unforgiving (and probably why I seldom bake). So, I mostly just read recipes, from whatever source, for a list of ingredients rather than amounts of ingredients. But if you've done much cooking, you'll recognize when amounts are off, if you just let your instincts guide you.

I once used a recipe from Gourmet for stuffed mushrooms, for a dinner party. It seemed like there was an awful lot of butter/oil called for, but this was *Gourmet*! I should have listened to my instincts -- grease, grease everywhere, flowing, dripping - it was disgusting. Probably a typo, but if I hadn't overridden my instincts, it would have turned out great. IOW, I don't fully trust any source, but I'm always looking for new ideas for/ways of combining ingredients, new techniques, just new slants on things. The Internet is great for that.