NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, January 2004
Cooking on the Web
by Ira Wilsker
ira-wilsker@apcug.org
(click to email author)


No, this is not about using the Internet to cook your food, but instead as a resource for culinary information. Whether you are looking for some novel way to re-serve your abundant holiday leftovers, or some novel new meal, the internet may be a valuable resource.

A quick review of the Yahoo cooking directory at http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Food_and_Drink/Cooking reveals over 3000 websites with recipes, and thousands of other websites with related topics. The directory is divided into subdirectories with headings such as “By Ingredient”, Cookbooks, Cooking Methods, Drinks, Ethnic and Regional, Holidays and Occasions, Humor, Name Brands, Special Dietary Needs, Specific Courses and Dishes, and Web Directories. My oldest daughter recently called asking for help for a housewarming she was hosting at her new condo in Miami. She had special requests for vegetarian, low carbohydrate, Kosher, and other specialty dishes. Not being a gourmand herself, she needed help. This Yahoo directory provided the resources that she needed to meet the needs of all of her guests.

A brief review of the ten most popular recipe sites as determined by Yahoo show the diversity of tastes that can be satisfied by using the web as a resource. The most popular recipe site, according to Yahoo, is http://www.allrecipes.com. This site is self-described as “Your home for great recipes, meal ideas and cooking advice.” At this single website, in addition to thousands of recipes being directly available are recipes and links to other well known resources and brands, such as Hershey, Borden, Keebler, Kellogg, McCormick, Nestle, Crisco, Herb-Ox, and Smuckers. Recipes from popular magazines including Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sunset, and other magazines and periodicals are also available or linked directly from this site. Additional resources are also available for special dietary needs. With the information available on this site, one could feed his family for years without duplicating a menu.

The website http://www.topsecretrecipes.com has a secret recipe of the week, which is only on the site for a week, with a new “secret recipe” appearing every Monday. As I type this, the weekly secret recipe is Olive Garden’s excellent Tiramisu, described on the site as, “A delicious combination of mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, lady fingers, espresso and Kahlua”. I am getting hungry just reading the page!

Where would our kitchens be today if it were not for the ubiquitous Betty Crocker? http://www.Bettycrocker.com has an outstanding and large selection of recipes for every taste. Recipes can be easily browsed by categories such as appetizers and snacks, breakfast and brunch, lunches, dinners, desserts, beverages, breads, side dishes, and other scrumptious and delectable choices. For those interested in what others are cooking, there is also an updated list of the most popular dishes selected from the site. Bettycrocker.com also offers a convenient free online service (registration required), “Your recipe Clippings”, and an electronic file of individually selected recipes. By using this service, a customized web based cookbook can be created. Buried deep in my kitchen are several small file boxes with rough edged clippings from a variety of sources collected over decades. With the online clippings service, these old boxes are approaching obsolescence.

I have frequently been at a restaurant, and liked what I had to eat. I had wondered if these dishes could be easily duplicated at home. A site http://www.copyKat.com, which proclaims on its banner “You’ve tried it in the restaurant; now make it at home” offers this opportunity. As I opened up this site I was greeted with the recipe of the day, “Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Hash Brown Casserole”. One of my coworkers is a faithful Luby’s patron, and frequently brags about the fine meals she and her family has at Luby’s. CopyKat.com has several Luby’s recipes, including Hawaiian Pie, Butternut Brownie Pie, Italian Chicken Breast, Macaroni and Cheese, and many others. Nearby in the list under “L” are Luther’s BBQ sauce, and Lindy’s Famous Cheesecake. A quick look at the “O” category revealed a multitude of recipes from Olive Garden, Outback, Otis Spunkmeyer, and other highly recognizable names. The site is easy to navigate, and a pleasure to browse, except for the popup ads which I found annoying.

A most interesting and comprehensive site is http://www.recipesource.com, where there is an outstanding collection of ethnic and national foods listed both by region and by type of dish. I have traveled extensively, both domestically and internationally, and it is on this site that I found many of the unusual dishes that I enjoyed. Persian, Indian, and Vietnamese dishes are but a few of the many listed. With Chinese food being very popular, this site has 899 recipes for both authentic and Americanized Chinese foods. French, Greek, Swiss, Mexican, and Italian are but a few of the nationality based directories on recipesource.com. In addition to the ethnic listings, this site also offers a cross-reference based on the type of dish. What I found especially interesting was the section for restricted and specialty diets, including baby food, diabetic, gluten free, and vegetarian. Of the many websites I reviewed for this column, this one was my personal favorite.

Enough for this week; I think I gained 10 pounds just fantasizing about the delights I found. Until next week, bon appetite!

Ira Wilsker is the Advisor for Region 8, APCUG Representative & Bylaws Chair for the Golden Triangle PC Club, a columnist for The Examiner in Beaumont, Texas, and has two radio shows. He also graciously shares his articles with the APCUG editors.

There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author. The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.

Click here to return to top



==================================================================