Do you ever make a recipe found online that you think must have been a joke?

[Pippipotamus]

I can think of at least a couple of times, where it was so horrible that I'm sure the person who submitted the recipe thinks they're funny. I usually fall victim to the horrible recipes when I'm trying to use up random ingredients I have left, or trying to fit some sort of grocery goals.



Like right now, I'm making this healthy turkey casserole(found on yummly) and I am starving!! Recipe says to put uncooked rice in it and cover and bake for an hour... so I do it(I thought back of my head this better work). Hour's up I'm hungry excited to eat... rice is still hard. WAHH


Slowly learning never to trust user-submitted recipes on sites with no quality control

 

[Zhizara]

The chicken and rice recipe right on the can of soup says to make it that way. I've tried several times. It's never worked.

I share your WAH.

I don't use the internet recipes much. I don't trust them. That's why I like it here. If someone has tried one of those recipes and liked it, then I know it's okay. I do use the recipes to find different spices that might be used in a dish. That's how I found the spice combo that makes my good chili great. (ginger, brown sugar, allspice, ground cloves)

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Same here, I search for ideas and most often end up taking some things from one recipe, adding something from another...creating my own recipe. I never try to cook raw rice in any dish that it is baked, hoping it will cook, never works for me. I cook the rice first and then addit in, reducing the liquid if I think it needs it and may also reduce the time.

 

[Andy M.]

Limit your searches to reputable sites.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I dunno. I've occasionally run across some questionable recipes on even Food Network's web site.

Here's a good example of a recipe that looks like a joke...
Best Hot Dogs Recipe : Michael Chiarello : Food Network

Really? Cook hot dogs in water? What a concept! It was even rated 4 stars.

 

[buckytom]

lol, steve. i can't believe they entered that as an actual recipe.

 

[cmontg34]

Nowadays almost every thing has a place for user comments. If I see there are a lot of negative comments for a recipe then I won't try it. I agree with reputable sites, however I don't agree that Foodnetwork is reputable anymore, haha. Once I saw a horrid Rachel Ray recipe..or maybe Sandra Lee..where she used powdered cocoa, red wine, and I believe pre-packaged gravy mix to make a pan sauce for a steak. I was aghast when I read it. Personally I really like Bon Appetit as well as this one. There's one called Foodily that I like as well, however all it does it collect recipes from other websites, so the reliablity is a bit shaky.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Not really Pip, I read them and if I can sorta taste them I will give them a go.

 

[Zereh]

I've had just as many misses making something from a cookbook as I have from recipes on the internet. Somethings you just know will work, some things you're not sure ... but you try them anyway and hope for the best. All in all, I've had way more successes than failures though.

I love sites like Foodgawker & Foodepix which have led me to tons of great food blogs.

Trying new things is part of what keeps me happy in the kitchen. And luckily I'm feeding people that appreciate my successes and encourage me to keep it up!

 

[pacanis]

I haven't run across a recipe that I thought was a joke, but I have made some that didn't turn out at all and I don't know why. Paula Deen's recipes and I seem to have serious conflict.
I have found several on the internet that I love though. And I always read through the comments if they have them. You can usually pick up a good tip, or confirm a change you would like to make.

Hey Steve, Tom, what's wrong with that boiled hot dog recipe? It seems pretty spot on

 

[buckytom]

lol, i liked it when he suggested splitting the dog in half and frying in olive oil to take it to another level!!!

who-da ever thunk it?

 

[Zhizara]

Actually, for someone new to cooking, it's good advice. It seems to me we had a question like that from a newbie this past year.

 

[pacanis]

lol, i liked it when he suggested splitting the dog in half and frying in olive oil to take it to another level!!!

who-da ever thunk it?

That was getting a little too goormay for me

 

[Steve Kroll]

Yeah, next thing you know, he will suggest something really crazy ... like putting it in a bun, for example! Lol

 

[buckytom]

Actually, for someone new to cooking, it's good advice. It seems to me we had a question like that from a newbie this past year.

at first i thought "well, maybe if it's a little kid asking about it", but then little kids shouldn't be boiling water by themselves.

you'd think an adult that wasn't raised with their fingers in their ears, under a rock, in a cave, on mars would understand how to boil a dog.

steve, maybe they should post a recipe for how to toast the hot dog bun, then apply mustard!

 

[Steve Kroll]

Hey, don't get all fancy schmancy on me, Tom. I'm still trying to get my head around the boiling water part.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Just reading some of the reviews for the hot dog recipe. This one made me laugh out loud...

"Never knew one could boil hot dogs and serve them warm, so I had to try this. I don't have sea salt, but I didn't want to ruin the recipe by using ordinary table salt ... so I filled my pot in the surf at the beach instead. Wow! Great result – this recipe rocks! And the jellyfish cooked with the hot dogs add that exotic "kick of flavor"! Now if only my mouth would stop swelling."
​

 

[Timothy]

Limit your searches to reputable sites.

I've never used the Food Network site, but have seen it slammed on several food oriented sites I belong to. What is it about that site that has all those cooks in an uproar about it? Is the site really bad or is it it's membership that is so bad? It's seldom that I've seen one site badmouthed so consistently by other sites.

 

[Timothy]

Not really Pip, I read them and if I can sorta taste them I will give them a go.

That's exactly what I do, Bolas. When being taught how to cook, I was shown to leave one ingredient at a time out of the recipe when I make it to see the literal difference in the outcome. Sometimes, that's very enlightening and it teaches you how radically some seasonings flavor foods.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I wouldn't say Food Network is bad overall, but there does seem to be a real "hit or miss" aspect to it. I've had some of their recipes come out great, but others (even highly rated ones) have been a total flop. Almost like they were never tested before being plopped onto the site.

My favorite recipe web site, hands down, is Elise Bauer's "Simply Recipes". Maybe I've just been lucky, but I haven't run across a stinker there yet. As the title suggests, most of the recipes are simple. More importantly, they taste great.