In Praise of Online Recipes.

By Marilyn Machlowitz

​As some members may know, as a recent retiree I decided to finally learn to cook by ordering meal kits.  Now, I have branched out to online cooking sites.

A tremendous number of such sites exist. You may already have your favorites. Many specialize in vegan or vegetarian recipes.

I favor two:  New York Times Cooking and Smitten Kitchen.

• New York Times Cooking is available by subscription. Each entry is written by staff or established chefs and cookbook authors. Each recipe is tested. The comments readers offer are either hysterical or helpful:  Hysterical in that some reader cooks change up everything and prepare an entirely different dish. Helpful in that they suggest substitute ingredients or eliminate a step.
• Smitten Kitchen is available online free. It has a chatty tone and is written by an entrepreneurial home cook, who is the author of three cookbooks. Each recipe is also tested, and each post includes comments, but I found that most are asking questions.

My selection criteria are simple:

• Do I want to eat the dish described?
• Is the recipe seemingly easy and quick, without techniques or equipment I don’t have?
• Can I get the ingredients?  Here is where NYT Cooking really shines. I can find everything in Trader Joe’s. (Some recipes are written as though the author is a home economist for Trader Joe’s.) I like to go to one store, not several.

​Since starting this effort, I have not consulted a single cookbook. I don’t need visuals to which my finished dish cannot compare (although this is still true with the online sites above). I don’t even check the videos which each site includes. And, as my daughter observed, cookbooks don’t include the comments section!

​Importantly, since embarking on this way of cooking, I have not eaten a single prepared or takeout meal.

Here are some favorites, each of which I have made more than once:

• Farro With Blistered Tomatoes, Pesto and Spinach. This side dish is so good that a guest, a talented cook, had thirds, not just seconds, and requested the recipe. Purchased pesto is fine, but if you prefer to make your own, do so.
• One Pan Dumplings With Greens. This entrée takes no time. I use spinach, rather than kale, as suggested in the comments.
• Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Two years ago, I did not know what a cookie scoop was. Now I own one.
• Soft Pretzels. This recipe makes a credible Philadelphia soft pretzel, far better than anything sold in a shopping mall. Bonus:  it starts with store-bought pizza dough.

Lustre PS:  We also like:

•  Ottolengi‘s website and newsletter, also heavy on vegetables. Try summer rolls and cucumber and radish kimchi.
• King Arthur Baking, for, yes, baking.  Try Caprese New York Style Pizza.
• Food and Wine.  Lots of amazing recipes of all persuasions. Try Indian Spiced Corn on the Cob.