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Asian Cooking Asian cuisine embraces a wonderful variety of flavors, fragrances and tastes. When you feel adventurous, take a gustatory tour of the Orient by trying something new. You'll find recipes for Chinese (including various regional dishes), Japanese, Filipino, Indian, Thai, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Korean and Indonesian food. (Need a suggestion? Try a recipe for Pad Thai from Thailand.) Web:
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Backcountry Recipes When you are heading to the outback, make sure you are prepared. There's nothing worse than getting into the middle of nowhere, and suddenly having a big craving for a barbecued chicken wing. Here are some recipes to use when you go backpacking, hiking and camping. Learn about trail snacks, dinners, breakfasts, meat dishes and desserts that are easy to bring along whether you are going to hike up a mountain or just spend the afternoon in downtown New York. Web:
Barbecue You know what I like after a hard day of writing? A whacking big carrot stick, doused with a liberal helping of spicy barbecue sauce, and roasted slowly over an open flame. However, if vegetarian is not your style, take a look at some of the smoking-and-curing resources on the Net, where I guarantee you'll find enough information to choke a cumin-rubbed Boston butt. And if you find a tempting recipe for slow-roasted barbecued carrot, try it in my honor and see how close you can get to heaven on Earth. Web:
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Bread Recipes Let me make a confession: I love bread. My favorites are rye bread and challah (and my birthday is December 21). If you are also a bread lover, what could be more fun than making your own? My advice is to figure out how much you need, and then make twice as much. (You can never have too much bread.) Web:
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Can Sizes A friend of mine was using a recipe that called for a #2 can of tomatoes, but she didn't know what that meant. So, I used the Net and found out that a #2 can holds 2.5 cups. Then, we lived happily ever after. (And that's a true story.) Web:
Candy Recipes When it's midnight and the stores are closed and you are having a big Attack of the Killer Sweet Tooth, get out the pots and pans, and whip up some of these exotic specimens, such as Turkish delight, peanut butter balls, candied apple slices, and many more. Web:
Cookie Recipes Everybody has his or her own favorite type of cookie. Mine are made from organic seaweed, brewer's yeast, whey and (for fiber) biodegradable sawdust. However, if you happen to be one of those people who is not a health food junkie, your taste in cookies may be a tad more mainstream. If so, check out these Web sites for more cookie recipes than you could use in a month of Sunday bake sales. Web:
Cooking at High Altitudes At a high altitude, the air pressure is lower. As a result, water boils at a lower temperature, which means that boiling water is not as hot on the top of a mountain as it is at sea level. Similarly, the low air pressure causes baked goods to rise significantly faster than they do at a low altitude. Thus, if you are cooking or baking at a high altitude, you will find it useful to get some special knowledge to ensure that everything you create turns out to be as perfect as you are. Web:
Cooking Resources If you're like me, you divide your time between the kitchen and the Internet. If so, here are some fabulously valuable cooking resources that will make life complete. These resources can help you find anything you need in the world of food, and I mean anything. You'll find extensive archives of recipes, as well as cooking tips, articles, FAQs (frequently asked question lists), cooking software, and nutrition information. There are also discussion groups and chat facilities. For example, you can post a message asking if anybody has a recipe for fried groat clusters and check back later to see the responses. So whenever you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, hang out on the Net, where something good is always cooking. Web:
Cooking Talk and General Discussion If you like messing around the kitchen and trying out new recipes, there are lots of people on the Net who will love to talk to you. Join one or all of the cooking discussion groups, and talk about cooking techniques, equipment, recipes, vegetarianism, and so on. Usenet is a great place to trade tips and techniques, and to ask questions about things culinary. Usenet:
Cooking Terminology You're at a fancy restaurant and the waiter suggests the table d'hôte. Your best friend calls and asks, "Would you like to come over and help me do some sousing?" You are reading a recipe book and the author suggests that you add some zest to the fruit dish you are preparing for brunch. What are these people talking about? All it takes is a few minutes with the Net and you'll be able to understand any cooking term, no matter how obscure. For example, a table d'hôte is a complete meal, in which several courses are served for the price of an entree; sousing refers to pickling food in brine or vinegar; and zest is made by grating the peel of a citrus fruit. Web:
Diabetic Recipes If you are a diabetic, you know you have to be extra careful about your diet. For this reason, you probably know more about nutritious cooking than other people. To augment your repertoire, here are some great collections of recipes for diabetics, including dishes you would think you could never eat, such as apple dumplings, double fudge balls, fruit cookies and chocolate banana mousse. You will also find other useful resources, such as information on sugar replacements. Web:
Famous Recipes From time to time, I like to paint and, right now, I have one of my abstract paintings hanging over the fireplace. Sometimes I look at it and think, if only this painting had been done by a famous artist, it would be hanging in a museum and worth $40,000. Sometimes it's the same way with food. We value certain preparations because they are created by well-known restaurants or TV chefs. So, just to prove that you can cook in the big leagues, here are some famous recipes (some of which are secret) guaranteed to make you the most famous cook in your household. Web:
Fish Cooking fish is the test of your culinary abilities. Nothing is better than fresh fish, prepared well and cooked properly. On the other hand, old fish cooked poorly is about as rank a foodstuff as you would ever hope to meet. This is why I like this Web site. There are lots of hints, tips and recipes for preparing fish, including a wonderful fish-cooking glossary. My lawyer Bill goes fishing a lot, and sometimes he and his wife Wendy invite me over for a dinner of fresh salmon. Talk about good cooking: I can taste it now. If you ever run into Bill, be sure to tell him you are one of my readers, and ask for a piece of fish. (I'm sure he'll give you one. After all, it's a business expense.) Web:
Food Preservation I love food preservation. For example, right now, I have a 74-day-old pickle in my fridge. (It's actually part of an important biology experiment, but I can't share the details until I am ready to publish.) If you like preserving and processing food and you have higher aspirations than simple pickle preservation, I've got some info here that will keep you busy from now to the next harvest. Learn how to perform all kinds of food miracles: can fruits and vegetables, make your own jams and jellies, cure meat, and even conjure up your very own pickles. Web:
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French Cooking Some people pooh-pooh French cooking. They say that it uses too much butter, that it's too fattening, that the rich sauces are used to hide meat of dubious quality and that any food that can't be prepared by warming it in a microwave is too complex and intricate for day-to-day consumption. My philosophy is: if it's good enough for Zsa Zsa Gabor, it's good enough for me (and she's not even French). Web:
Historical Food If you want some really old food, besides the scary stuff at the back of the refrigerator, try whipping up something from a historical recipe. After all, what better way to enjoy the past than to chow down on some Byzantine murri, Ratafia cream or buttered wortes? Web:
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Home Canning Home canning can be a lot of fun, and it sure is nice to be able to go to the pantry whenever you want and pull out a can of your favorite fruit, vegetable or jam. However, to guard against spoilage and contamination, you need to make sure that you do everything just so. Before you can, check out these tips and recipes. Remember, as your third grade teacher would say, if something's worth canning, it's worth canning well. Web:
Indian Cooking When I am in the mood for Indian food, I don't always have the time to hop on a plane and travel to India. On these occasions, it's easier just to find a recipe and make it in my own kitchen. You can do it, too. Just select your favorite recipe: in no time you will have a delightful meal prepared in your own home, without the side effect of jet lag and the red tape that comes with traveling to another country. Web:
Insect Recipes If you are having a party, these Web sites offer the perfect recipes for little appetizers. Insects are not only freely found in the environment, but they make perfect finger food. Try some dry-roasted leafhoppers or Army worms. For dipping, use the rootworm beetle dip or for dessert try my personal favorite: the chocolate chirpie chip cookies. Web:
Italian Cooking Can't tell your cannellini from your cannoli or your fontina from your fontinella? Don't worry. The Net can make you an Italian know-it-all in no-time-at-all. These Web sites have recipes for pasta, appetizers and main dishes. Or you can read an Italian cooking glossary so you can enunciate your pancetta with the best of them. Web:
Jewish Cooking My most pleasant childhood memories are the Friday nights my family would go to my grandparents' home for dinner. I liked everything my grandmother cooked, but my favorite was chicken soup. She would make it with carrots, celery, parsnips and a bit of parsley, and serve it with kasha and thin noodles. I would load up my bowl and eat so much soup that I hardly had room for anything else, but that didn't bother me. As long as I had my grandmother's chicken soup, God was in his heaven and all was right with the world. (Boy, do I ever miss her.) Web:
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Low-Fat and Fat-Free Recipes Whether you are staying away from fat for dieting or health reasons, you still need some good recipes. The Net has lots of tasty ways of preparing food with less fat. You don't have to feel deprived, because here are recipes for bread, salads, cookies, casseroles, pizza and a variety of ethnic foods. Web:
Mexican Cooking When you are in the mood for something spicy, drag the laptop into the kitchen and connect to these Web sites, which have lots of recipes and interesting trivia about Mexican foods and their history. Web:
Pie Recipes Not long ago I had a great pie experience. A well-known publisher came to visit me and stayed overnight. At dinnertime, he volunteered to help out by making dessert and, using a recipe passed on to him by his grandmother, he baked a magnificent apple pie fit for a king. The best part was -- since we couldn't find a king on such short notice -- we had to eat the whole thing ourselves. If you would like to have a great pie experience in your own home, you don't have to wait for a well-known publisher to visit you. Simply check with these Internet pie resources, where you can find instructions on pie baking along with a nice variety of recipes and tips that will make the whole experience as easy as you-know-what. Web:
Recipe a Day Check these Web sites, and, every day, you will see a free recipe, displayed on your own personal computer in the privacy of your own home. What could be more appetizing? Web:
Recipe Archives I promise you: As long as you have the Net, you will never ever run out of recipes. How about a new idea for dinner tonight? Or perhaps you'd like to cook up a special something for that special someone. Here are some great archives with more recipes than you can shake a wooden spoon at. Web:
Recipe Talk and General Discussion Have you ever seen the Dick Van Dyke Show? Well, when Rob Petrie first met his wife Laura, she did not like him at all. However, he found out that she collected recipes and started sending her cookbooks (which helped him win her heart). Rob had to do it the hard way; today, he could snarf as many recipes as he wanted from either the rec.food.recipes Usenet group or the Web site that serves as the archive for this group. Then he could simply email the recipes to Laura. So what do you do when your boss and his family are coming over for dinner and all you have is a frozen armadillo? Nothing to worry about. Just connect to the Net and check out the armadillo recipes. Either that or borrow a cookbook from Laura. Web: Usenet:
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Recipes by Email Do you like to experiment with new recipes? Do you like to get email? If you answered yes to these two simple questions, a lot of happiness is waiting for you. Simply sign up for one of these free services and, each day, with the regularity of a twenty-minute egg, you will receive a new recipe, sent in a plain, discreet email message. And the beautiful part is, no one else has to know where you get all your recipes. (I'm certainly not telling.) Web:
Sauces A sauce is a liquid, which has been thickened and flavored, used to accompany a particular food. The purpose of a sauce is four-fold: to complement the flavor of the food with which it is served, to moisten the food, to insulate the food, and to decorate the food. In 1902, the French chef Auguste Escoffier, considered by many to be the father of modern cuisine, classified sauces into five categories called the "mother sauces". Within French cooking, all true sauces are based on one of these five mother sauces. They are: Espagnole (Brown Sauce), a dark mahogany sauce made from brown stock; Velouté (Blond Sauce) a light-colored sauce made from a white stock; Bechamel (Cream Sauce), a combination of hot milk, a white roux, and simple seasonings; Hollandaise (Butter Sauce), a combination of clarified butter and egg yolks; and Tomato (Red Sauce), a sauce made from tomatoes. Sounds interesting? Okay, it's time to get serious about sauces. Web:
Southern Cooking Mmm, mmm. If you have never had Southern cooking, you are certainly in for a treat. Take off those jogging shoes and your fitness gear, and pull up to a big slab of ham coated with red eye gravy, a side of collards, some poke salad, okra, black-eyed peas and a hunk of cornbread. If you can't get this at your favorite restaurant, you can learn about Southern cooking on the Net. These sites will tell you what it is and how it's done, including the history of Southern cooking. You'll learn how ingenious Southerners are with their cooking and about the many different uses there are for leftover bacon grease. Web:
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