Cooking with Confidence

What do you do when you search the Internet for a recipe? Do you get overwhelmed by the amount of hits you find or do you have trouble deciding which website to trust?

I have been in this position and what I tend to do is look at what Martha Stewart or the Food Network is doing, and then I turn to what I know will be a simpler version on a site like All Recipes.

Let's take a recipe for say lasagna. Martha and the megastars on the Food Network will offer a very different version than you will find on All Recipes. It's my decision on which I will go with, or maybe use a little from both in concocting the dish.

Here are my 3 deciding factors on which version of the recipe I go with:

1. How exotic are the ingredients? I understand when making a Lebanese dish it might require spices or meats I may not normally keep around the house. But if I'm looking for a lasagna comparable to one the I ate at a local restaurant, I'm probably not going to choose a recipe that includes ingredients I'm only going to purchase for this specific meal. Would a novice golfer buy a set of Calloways for her first time to play or would she be more likely to buy a good, used set until she had the confidence and conviction to justify the purchase? Stick with simplicity until you have more experience and know what you're looking for in a recipe. One day you may want to make that Lebanese dish.
2. How difficult is the preparation? For Mother's Day this year, I got on the Martha Stewart website to find more unique brunch ideas than what was in my repertoire. I knew going into it that the search would be for a prettier presentation than I normally offer. I was willing to spend the extra time in the kitchen for this special occasion. Also, I have been cooking for my daughters for 27 years and I am confident I can handle a more difficult recipe than when I first started out, despite the fact this recipe was going to be brand new to me. Again, would a beginning golfer agree to play a Championship course or start with a local coarse with few difficult holes? You have to build your knowledge of how to cook before becoming Julia Childs.
3. How often will this recipe be used? Many times over the years I have tried my hand at Asian cooking. I want so badly to re-create my favorite rice dish I get in local restaurants only to make a disgusting mess of the rice and some vegetables. I have found my favorite recipes that I have taken the time to master, re-mix, and make it my own, according to the way I like it. These are the kind of recipes you want to invest time in getting to know and learning how to make it according to your tastes and those loved ones you're offering it to. If playing golf is a whim, I wouldn't even buy used clubs; you can rent them at most golf courses. Don't choose recipes, like I did, because you really think it would be cool to make. Stick with those which will become cornerstones of your reputation. You will only frustrate yourself and think you can't cook. But you can!

I hope this has helped. I needed this kind of advice when I was a fledgling chef. I muddled my way through mystery meals and wanted to give up when no one would eat my cooking. Trial and error doesn't have to be the path for everyone. Ask me a question and I'll be happy to answer according to my experience.

Good luck and Happy Cooking!