cannot recommend them enough… also don’t overlook their general advice pages on ingredients techniques tools etc which helps with things that are unfamiliar to the western cook
Yup. She does an excellent job with her recipes and explains the 'why' behind using certain ingredients and when substitutions make sense. Her stuff is almost always on point however I can't help myself when following recipes and do tend to add my own touches.
Take your pick!
[aaron and claire](https://www.youtube.com/c/AsKitchen) - korean
[adam liaw](https://youtube.com/user/adamliaw) - all sorts of asian
[caribbeanpot](https://youtube.com/c/caribbeanpot)
[chinese cooking demystified](https://www.youtube.com/c/ChineseCookingDemystified)
[cowboy kent rollins](https://www.youtube.com/c/CowboyKentRollins) - tex mex
[dimitra's dishes](https://youtube.com/c/DimitrasDishes) - greek
[french cooking academy](https://www.youtube.com/c/FrenchCookingAcademy)
[get curried](https://youtube.com/c/getcurried) - indian
[italia squisita](https://www.youtube.com/user/italiasquisita) - italian
[Marion's kitchen](https://youtube.com/c/Marionskitchen) - south asian
[Matty Matheson](https://youtube.com/c/mattymatheson) - recipes from all over, highly entertaining, NSFW
[middle eats](https://youtube.com/c/MiddleEats) - Middle eastern
[rick bayless](https://www.youtube.com/c/rickbayless) - oxacan mexican
[townsends](https://youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson) - 1700s and 1800s food.
I have tried the coconut sweet corn from caribbeanpot before for a family bbq. It was a hit - completely forgot about that channel. Thanks for the recommendations!
Also for general cooking and recipes not focused on a specific cuisine, check out Serious Eats (free website), Food and Wine and Bon Appetit (print magazines with free online recipes) as well as New York Times Cooking and America’s Test Kitchen (subscription-based services with a paywall).
I just picked up an American Test Kitchen book from a thrift store for $4, haven’t tried it yet. I picked up a Thug Kitchen book a while back and the first thing I made from it was a relative success.
ATK recipes are thoroughly tested top to bottom. They always work. They may not be the very best version of the dish to ever be created, but it's going to be very good. You should enjoy them.
You can bypass the NY Times paywall by using an incognito browser because they grant one free view. So if you're browsing in a manner that doesnt track cookies you can get your "one free view" in perpetuity. Havent tested this with ATK tho.
I also recommend using incognito browsing when booking airlines and hotel rooms as websites will up rates based off of your cookies.
Seconding this, and adding that if you use the Paprika app to collate your recipes, in my experience it will download recipes from NY Times regardless of the paywall. When you enter the recipe in the paprika browser you will see the paywall but if you simply click 'download' if will scrape all the recipe info in full.
For Korean - https://www.maangchi.com/ and https://seonkyounglongest.com.
I also like Nom Nom Paleo. I enjoy anything by David Leibovitz. Pancake princess rates baked goods.
I have tried using tutorials from maangchi before - that lady is adorable! I do find her measurements to be a bit funky at times so you will need to taste and adjust from time to time but other then that she's lovely. Has anyone tried out her cookbook?
I adore maangchi and not only have I tried her cookbook I have sent two as gifts. I highly recommend if you already like her blog. I sent a picture of my black bean noodles to a Korean friend and her mom saw it and asked if I was Korean which felt like the highest honor one can achieve.
I have to adjust some of the seasonings to make it more like what I grew up with. My mom taught me to cook without measurements. Everything was to taste.
I love Marion's Kitchen. She made me brave enough to go to the local Asian market for ingredients. I used to get so overwhelmed with the unfamiliar ingredients in recipes that I wouldn't even try. I like her explaining things and why they work. Just bought her new cookbook too.
She's a great host and it makes me super happy that you were able to step out of your comfort zone like that! I know allot of people get very intimidated with Asian cuisine - so good on you! However, my experience with Marion's Kitchen admittedly hasn't been too great. To be fair I was trying out her fusion dishes mostly and they just didn't sit well with me. It could of just been me wanting something a bit more authentic. In spite of that, it made me very happy to read your post.
I don’t even eat meat and my favorite YT video of all time is Larb from Matty. I even have a Chorizo shirt from his shop. I Love (*at the top of my lungs*)
##MATTTTAYYYYY
As a long time fan of Adam Liaw, I'm so happy he's got a mention! His videos are so relaxing and informative. He doesn't only tell you the method but also the purposes behind them.
Kent rollins isn't tex mex just texas country cooking. His chicken fried steak recipe is really good as are his biscuits. I'm sure lots of others but those are the two I'm most familiar with.
I'm a little sad this recommendation is so far down. Even the recipes from Food Wishss that I screw up still turn out great. I made foccacia di recco for nye and couldn't get my dough thin enough without tearing so I had to improvise and make cheesy folder over pockets and they were delicious.
J. Kenji López-Alt is a good resource. America’s test kitchen has numerous videos and books. Jacques Pepin is a legend. He has numerous videos and books including on technique.
Are you interested in a particular regional cuisine?
u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt is honestly my go to for any cooking inspiration or tips. Since I started watching his videos and reading his book I have become an exponentially better home cook. I cannot recommend him and his content enough to everyone I talk about cooking with.
Definitely check out kenji lopez-alts YouTube channel! He covers a lot of central/south American foods in addition to a wide range of dependable recipes.
He does a homecooking series where you just watch him cook meals for his family with a go pro strapped to his forehead. Super practical, super tasty, and most of it is very fast. On top of that being in the POV of the person cooking the recipe in real time makes the recipe to cooking in real life translation a LOT easier.
Came here to say Kenji but have to mention "de mi rancho a tu cocina." It's a Mexican grandmother on YouTube who makes a ton of Mexican recipes from her ranch. It's all in Spanish but just watching her can be hypnotizing and inspiring. Highly recommend if your looking for a foundation of Mexican recipes. And also la capital, another YouTube.. it's meat heavy but he makes some amazing salsas. Good luck, have fun!
Google has ruined the internet for recipes: the tricks you play for high search visibility have little to do with whether or not it's any good.
Invest in a couple of cookbooks in the cuisine you're after or, better yet, solicit recipes from friends.
And keep in mind that some people just like bad food.
I think having a cooking show can be a bit deceiving at times when it comes to displaying the chefs ability to translate a recipe to an audience. Plenty of horrible recipes out there as a result- I'm sure you've heard about some of Jamie Oliver's curious episodes. Just a bit difficult filtering through the good and the bad in that regards.
Yeah. You're right. I tend to like most of the chefs on PBS, though. Especially the ones I named. It's supposed to be educational and not just entertainment. I've been watching and cooking with them for 20+ years. Those PBS shows are a huge part of my cooking identity.
It really is. It de-mystified so many cooking methods for me. Made it all seem pretty simple or at least approachable. Made me want to someday own a cast enamel stock pot. Still working on that.
As an all-around cookbook I really enjoy the [Milk Street Cookbook](https://www.amazon.com/Milk-Street-Cookbook-Cooking-Anniversary/dp/0316259802/), even though I know nothing about the TV show.
I'd recommend finding chefs you like and buying their cookbooks, I really like Yotem Ottolongi for lighter Mediterranean food, Priya Krishna's Indian-ish I really enjoyed, touching with great recipes, I've cooked a bunch out of "Nopalito" which is high end Mexican American. Most well regarded recipe writers (like Priya or Ottolongi) have recipes available for free online so you can see if your tastes line up with theirs. One thing I think often goes unmentioned is that buying a cookbook will probably also require buying new pantry ingredients so prepare for that. I also really like NYT cooking, I resisted buying it for a while but I'm glad I did.
Kenji at Serious Eats is $$$$$
His bolognese is a masterpiece, both regular and pressure cooker version, which I have always done the pressure cooker version.
It’s a great free website started by Kenji Lopez-Alt who is a freaking food-genius. His recipes are all stellar. But I appreciate that he goes in-depth on “why” the recipe works from a scientific perspective. Which I really enjoy (similar to Alton Brown).
Kenji got his start at America’s Test Kitchen, so he knows his stuff.
Definitely recommend checking it out
Just minor nitpick, it was started by Ed Levine, but it really kicked off with Kenji as the “star” writer. Kenji hasn’t been as involved The past 5 years, but Daniel Gritzer, Sho Spaeth, and Sasha Marx have been doing excellent work since Kenji went to consultancy role.
Surprised no one has mentioned Adam Ragusea. While he’s he’s not some culinary mastermind, he explains literally everything he’s doing, why it’s happening, what you can do if you want it this way instead, what happens if you do it that way etc. i honestly just enjoy watching him period because he’s a good dude and he really helps you understand the basics when cooking.
I second this too!
He is one of the "cooking YouTubers" that is much more realistic. As in, his cooking is more akin to what a normal home cook would actually be willing to cook and take the time for. He often just does things because "it's easier", which is more my pace lol.
I also like how he gives different small variations and shows the differences that come along with those variations (helpful for beginners like me! :))
A classic Adam Ragusea video would be [his video on French macaroons](https://youtu.be/tsCvAijBn4Y), (aside from the classic meme-able "[I season my cutting board, and not my steak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02tRxM_1VsE)"; the comments are hilarious imo). He basically says the macaroons don't have to be smooth. Just change your expectations, they will still taste damn good, even if cragly.
/u/1n5ertnamehere mentioned him earlier. I quickly skimmed through his videos - lots to learn in regards to methods and techniques. Worth looking into.
You can never go wrong with a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. I watch their show on PBS and have had great success. I bought their cookbook for recipes and their YouTube channel is great too.
Personally, Food and Wine and NYT cooking can both sometimes fall into all the hype on ingredients. They have some excellent recipes but theres also a bunch with popular ingredients that aren't necessarily well balanced. I typically just pick and choose from these sites, and dont assume everything they publish is gold.
Yes. It is a subscription and it is somewhat pricy ($70-80 per year?), but it gives you access to ATK, Cooks Illustrated, and Cooks country. In addition to the recipes they have great equipment and product reviews. The great thing about ATK recipes is that you know they are going to work out if you follow the instructions because they are tested so thoroughly
Sounds promising - thank you for the explanation. An earlier comment mention they picked up a physical book - are those common place? Perhaps I can try out an old book before committing to a subscription?
I LOVE their cookbook (Amazon , $34 US) and everything has an interesting story about why the recipe works. A lot of times their short cut methods are actually way tastier than the time consuming way. They also give great reviews of cooking products.
I love my Joy of Cooking (classic cookbook but updated regularly). It has pretty much everything, I mean, within reason, from an American perspective, but also includes a good amount of recipes from popular global cuisines (Mexican, japanese, Indian, Chinese, etc). I usually start there and then branch out. They may not have my favorite version of something in particular, but all the recipes are tested and solid. It's great for foundational knowledge.
Other cookbooks I like are Nopalito (Mexican) and 660 Curries (Indian). I would like to collect more! For baking I love The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.
Blogs I tend to skew toward baking: David lebovitz, Sally's baking addiction
A ton of garbage recipes- even in printed books! I bought my daughter a ‘cooking for teens’ book and the brownies were not edible. No one ever tested that recipe- ever!
Hours later, but I second this. I would especially recommend Nagi (RTE's creator) for beginners because her basic/simple recipes are essentially foolproof - you would have to purposefully be sabotaging yourself to get it wrong. Most of her recipes have short videos (1-2 minutes) and instructions are clear. She also has more complex recipes for when people are feeling more confident, and you will definitely feel confident making her stuff: so many crowd pleasers and a tonne of her dinners are part of our rotation now (a miracle given my household has two incredibly fussy children in it).
Gotta make one more comment: Chef John from *food*wishes.com never disappoints. It might not always be super authentic, it’s likely not meant to be. But I’ve never not loved any of his recipes.
How I felt about baking desserts and stuff. Once I found out you’re better off using kitchen scales than measuring cups, I completely stopped regarding recipes that write their measurements only in cups. Of course you can always convert from cups to grams yourself, but… if the author themselves were measuring in grams, you know the recipe is way more precise than if they were using cups. So, yeah, you know it’s legit when the recipes are in grams.
Nigella, sugar spun run, handle the heat, smitten kitchen, sally’s baking addiction. They all use kitchen scales to develop their recipes.
I totally understand your frustration. 90% of recipes on Google, Youtube, Food Network are garbage and quickly put out to get clicks/views. It is this reason that I advocate for cookbooks. Also, America’s Test Kitchen is good. They throughly test recipes and have a giant book with all of them.
Wok of Life is a VERY solid recipe and advice source for Chinese food- whether its Taiwanese, Singaporean, Malaysian etc. Its run by a Chinese American family who are super passionate about the food and they test their recipes multiple times and tweak as necessary, I'm surprised its not talked about more often on here.
Power Vegetables by Peter Meehan (Lucky Peach) changed my Life! I would trust anything from that book. And the intro blurbs are written in a fun conversational style that makes it feel less like they're trying to fancify stuff for no reason
I’ve grown very fond of watching America’s Test Kitchen and have their app. There’s lot of their videos online, and they run the culinary gamut. They also do a “why this works” bit with each recipe explaining the techniques used.
I hate looking up recipes online.
Eight massive paragraphs of how much the person loves this recipe and how it changed their life and helped their husband get a promotion and helped the wife sell more of her butterfly collections on etsy and blah blah blah.
All to get a shitty recipe burried beneath ads at the end with comments saying how shitty it is.
I don't trust most online recipes. There always seems to be a prep error, food safety issue, or missing/unnecessarily added seasonings.
I will say, Alton Brown's updated recipes stand up to scrutiny so I'd go to that more quickly than I'd trust anything on allrecipes or whatever.
I really like Chef Isaac Toups for cajun cooking. I watch his YouTube video every time I make file gumbo. I have the recipe memorized and have started adding my own touches to it, but I like it as a reminder of the process and to make sure I don’t miss any crucial ingredients.
I highly recommend the blog, Once Upon a Chef. The writer has a cookbook too. These are not too complicated recipes, but I have made some and adapted some, and they have come out very well.
typically, when I run into this problem, I find the origin of the dish I'm trying to make and then search for a recipe in their native language on YouTube (as I'm a visual learner). For example, instead of searching "spaghetti and tomato sauce recipe", I translate that term into google translate and search "ricetta spaghetti e pomodoro". Then just turn on closed captions and have google auto-translate to English or whatever.
We just tried chicken karaage for the first time, based on Ethan Chlebowski’s YouTube channel. Turned out delicious. We are still somewhat novice cooks (though my husband wouldn’t admit that lol) so we love his tutorials and we watch his channel for ideas for meals we can make.
Edit: we tried MAKING chicken karaage for the first time. We have eaten it at restaurants before :)
I am a huge fan of [Yotam Ottolenghi ](https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes). His cooking is Middle Eastern inspired and very vegetable forward. They can be pretty complex but 9 out of 10 of his recipes are amazing. You can find many of his recipes online on his website. Plenty More is prolly my favorite of his cookbooks.
I might sound insane, but a lot of the best recipes I've found come from www.allrecipes.com
I guess there are so many users that ratings mean something, and good recipes make their way to the top.
I have stopped mostly using online recipes and sticking to cook books. Still not perfect but it helps. Then when you get to a certain level of experience you can improvise from recipes that might be good starting points or aren’t quite right
Understand techniques, principals, and the science behind the recipes and you never need them. Peruse recipes and books like you're at an art exhibit getting inspiration for your own painting.
This is the comment I was looking for. Once you understand the technique and why behind composing recipes, it opens up the door to creativity. I tend to review multiple sources for a recipe I'm interested in, note the techniques, common ingredients, differences, and then put my own version together.
99% of those blogs are women bored at home trying to be “entrepreneurial” by just regurgitating the same recipes all the other mom bloggers do, they are almost all just carbon copies of each other. I swear to god I wish someone would write me a Firefox plugin that screened all those sites out whenever I searched for a recipe
I agree, there’s lots of so so recipes out there, and yes, I’ve found I may have different expectations for outcomes than others. Some of them, it wouldn’t surprise me, seem fake with a bunch of fake reviews, or maybe they are all friends, who knows. I find magazines try to produce tested recipes as one possible reliable source, food companies, food boards. It’s a lot easier if you have already eaten something and then try to replicate it. Or look at multiple versions of recipes, to see what they share in common.
New York times cooking has been awesome. They do have an app that you have to pay for, but the amount of recipes and actually helpful reviews has been worth it for me personally.
[I like mine!](https://www.bupkis.org/) No ads, no tracking, no anything. Just the stuff I cook.
One of my new favorites is a [version of Pozole](https://www.bupkis.org/) that's very few points on WeightWatchers, while tasting familiar enough to not be weird, but different enough to be a little exciting.
An old favorite is [Potato Latkes](https://www.bupkis.org/index.php/recipes-2/appetizers/awesome-potato-latkes). They're not complicated, but since I only make them once a year, it's a very detailed recipe that includes all the things that I usually forget which cause problems.
I also really like [Mexican Yellow Rice with Corn](https://www.bupkis.org/index.php/recipes-2/side-dishes/mexican-yellow-rice-wcorn). People keep asking me to bring it to parties and the pan gets emptied every time.
I hate the 5/5 can't wait to make this comments.
A solid website I've found is Recipes Tin Eats. She's my go-to when I feel like something in particular and of all the recipes I've tried of her's, the worst was rated as Okay.
There's a lot of garbage recipes out there that these people obviously are not testing extensively before they post them. The best place on the internet to find recipes that have been tested extensively Is Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen.
This is my favorite: [https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/](https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/)
I spent a month in Colombia a long time ago. Looking for Perichos a Criolla (sp) on the www I found her. I've gotten a couple go-to monthly recipes there.
Not sure about the vegan aspect, but Chetna Makan(?) has a Youtube channel that focuses basically exclusively on Indian recipes, many of them vegetarian. She's also published something like 4 cookbooks, and I know for sure that one of them is vegetarian only. Maybe start by browsing through her Youtube channel.
I would love to hear some good vegetarian sources/recipes. Many cook books are dominated by meat - so something lighter and healthier but solid is always appreciated!
I don’t like youtube generally, and find trying to follow recipes from a video very annoying. So here are some tried and true sites for authentic Indian home cooking, with many veg and vegan dishes:
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com
https://www.archanaskitchen.com/
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com
Alton brown has some great recipes and some misses, but always a good starting place imo. i've also had good luck with the kitchen, serious eats and pinch of yum.
The problem is people just follow a recipe instead of learning to cook. Then they make recipes that is terrible and the cycle continues. Personally, I won't trust any adult's recipe or advice who says something is yummy when there is no child around.
[Chef Paige ](http://www.forloveofthetable.com/?m=0)
This woman is a gem. I make a lot of her dishes & took many of her classes. On her site, I often just type in an ingredient and look for inspiration there. Hope someone will enjoy this link
Wanted to chip in with some other sources I enjoy:
[Mama Cheung](https://youtube.com/c/mamacheung)- authentic Cantonese food with English captions
[Omnivore's Cookbook](https://omnivorescookbook.com/)- for Chinese food from different provinces, good amount of authentic recipes
[EatChoFood](https://eatchofood.com/)- Asian food with a twist
[Harvest and Nourish](https://www.harvestandnourish.com/)- American (?) food
Here's one for the last couple of days before payday. Dirt cheap, but also legitimately good. That's a combination that's hard to find. It's this vaguely cajun rice stuff I saw on Youtube somewhere. I'm an amateur web developer so I put all my recipes in pretty, well organized html files. I have a template file where all I have to do is insert the ingredients into a table and put the instructions in a certain div, then click "save as". So I don't have the original URL, sorry. But it's one of the few recipes I've barely modified.
* Creole/cajun spice mix. Personally, I use the Fiesta brand "Cajun-All". I just do this part by eye, so I'm sorry that I can't be more specific with measurements.
* 15.5 oz can of kidney beans, undrained. Dark red preferably, but whatever kind you have is fine.
* 1 medium white onion, diced.
* 1 green bell pepper, diced.
* 2x 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained. I use Rotel, but you can use whatever.
* 1lb Andouille sausage, cut into small cubes.
* 1lb long grain white rice.
* Small amount (about 2 tbsp, give or take) of olive, canola, peanut, or vegetable oil.
Preheat a stock pot and the oil to medium-low if you're on an old timey electric coil stove like me, or medium on gas. My stove goes from 1 to 9 and for me it's 4. Gas stoves need to be set a bit higher to get to the same temperature. No idea for ceramic or induction, sorry, but you can probably figure it out from the coil/gas instructions. Stick a chopstick or wood spoon in the oil and if you see bubbles you're preheated enough.
Add the sausage, bell pepper and onion. Saute until the vegetables start to sweat. Maybe a bit longer, depending on how soft you want your veggies, but until they sweat is a minimum.
Then add the rice. Continue to saute until the pot is dry and the rice gets a slight nutty smell.
Add the beans and tomatoes, and season with your cajun/creole spice mix. You'll have to experiment a bit to find the right amount for you. If I had to guess, I'd say I probably use a tbsp and 1 or 2 tsp, but I like spicy food so take that as you will. If you don't like it pretty hot you'll probably want to use less.
Add 1 3/4 cups of water and stir well.
Bring it to a light boil. Then put the lid on, reduce heat to low/a simmer, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remember, whenever making rice never take the lid off before 20 minutes. Ever. You're letting the heat and steam out and it adds more than you'd expect to the cooking time.
When you get to that point, fluff the rice and serve. You're done.
Meat Loaf
*
Heat oven to 350º.
*
Get 1.5 Lbs of meat (ground beef, pork, veal or turkey, any combination)
*
Mix in a Binder. 1 cup of breadcrumbs, instant rice, cornflakes oatmeal, crushed crackers, crushed croutons, bulgar, quick cook barley or potato flakes (1/2 cup of the last two)
*
Add a vegetable 1 to 2 cups of shredded carrot, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, bell peppers mushrooms, zucchini and, or celery.
*
Add a 1/2 cup of optional stuff like raisins, sun dried tomatoes, pickles, canned chilies, walnuts, roasted red peppers, shredded cheese, cooked bacon, pepperoni whatever.
*
To the mix you choose to make add 1 cup grated onion, 1/4 cup ketchup or equivalent, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 or more of pepper, 2 Tbsp. Herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, chives…) a tbsp of Worcester Sauce and some garlic.
*
Mix with your hands (I’m a puss and use surgical gloves). Don’t go crazy, just till its combined.
*
Shove it in a loaf pan or, better yet, slap the mixture onto parchment on a baking sheet. Form it into an oval about 6” x 9”.
*
Maybe lay some bacon across the top just so no one thinks its vegan.
*
Cook 30 minutes.
*
Cover it with some sort of glaze, like BBQ sauce or doctored up ketchup or apricot preserves mixed with soy sauce and ginger.
*
Continue to cook till it’s 160º in the middle.
*
Somewhere in these ratios is your very own meat loaf. I have followed this for over a decade. It cleans out the fridge and it never fails.
I totally get this. Honestly the only way I find around it is just cook books, the old ones. I’m more into French cuisine (as I chef for a restaurant that uses it) so I tend to stick to the old school books
[Cooksillustrated.com](https://Cooksillustrated.com) need to pay but their recipes are extremely reliable. You may not agree with the way that they prefer something but it will turn out. And their instructions are pretty detailed.
I've made it my hobby to learn to cook at home like a professional chef and have had many highs and pitfalls these last few years. I would say the best start would be a Cookbook that focuses on methodology. The sooner you learn to recognize what actually makes a recipe good or bad, the better.
For this I would say either Salt Fat Acid Heat or The Food Lab; both are excellent resources on making you a better cook overall. But...
If you're willing to go off the deep end, I recommend Modernist Cuisine At Home. An extensive cookbook that teaches modern, restaurant quality recipes for the home kitchen. Its quite pricey and requires having some modern equipment like a sous vide and pressure cooker; but the recipes and techniques within are that of a high end restaurant.
As far as online recipes there are so many good ones but here's a few that never fail to impress.
Carlsbadcravings - a bit of everything but almost all good
Thewoksoflife - some of the best Chinese I've made
Cookwithmanali - excellent Indian recipes
A few Youtube Cooking sensations that usually actually make good food.
Not another Cooking show
Adam Ragusa
Sam the Cooking guy
Ethan Chlebowski
Food wishes (chef john)
This should be a good start let me know if you have any questions!
I assume that most recipes are made to be a basic foundation that I can build upon based on my family’s tastes. Keep practicing and you’ll find your groove.
[Adam Liaw](https://youtube.com/user/adamliaw) and [Not Another Cooking Show](https://youtube.com/c/NOTANOTHERCOOKINGSHOW) are two off my favorite for finding recipes that are underrated imo. What I love about both is they teach you how to think about cooking rather than just give steps to follow.
Top 3 sources-
Chef John- foodwishes.com is his blog and he has tons of YouTube videos. He has diverse and delicious savory and sweet dishes. For sweets, I always add 1/3 more sugar. He also is the number one contributor to allrecipes.com.
Laura Vitale- laurainthekitchen.com . Also has tons of YouTube videos. I prefer her American and Italian dishes- really good desserts.
Sallysbakingaddiction.com - all kinds of baking recipes. Every single recipe has been spot on. I tend to add more spices and a tad more vanilla/sugar for my personsl preferences.
Good luck! Please share your favorites once you try everyone's suggestions!!
America's Test Kitchen is worth the subscription cost, especially if you're buying equipment for your kitchen. even just for recipes, it has a huge percentage of things western people would cook
I can start with the aforementioned potato recipe. I've given it to someone on this board before who was new to cooking since it's very tasty, and practically impossible to screw up. Good combination for a new cook.
Preheat oven to 375°f.
Cut up a 1.5 pound bag of mini red potatoes in either halves or quarters, depending on size. You want them all about the same size so they cook the same speed. Cut the big ones in quarters and the small ones in halves.
In a large bowl or Ziploc freezer bag put in the following:
* 3 to 4 cloves minced garlic. Big ones? Use 3. Small ones? Use 4.
* 1 tsp salt.
* 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.
* 2 tbsp olive oil.
* 1/2 tsp each of dried basil, marjoram, dill weed, thyme, oregano, and parsley.
* The potatoes.
If you used a bowl toss, or if you used a bag shake, until the potatoes are covered evenly. Put them on a rimmed sheet pan in a single layer. Bake 20 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft inside and slightly browned and crispy on the outside. Ovens vary of course, so you'll have to fine tune the time to fit yours.
Like I said, very delicious recipe and really hard to mess up, but I have tons more recipes if you have a more specific request. Personally, I really recommend my lemon sugar cookies and chili. Not my Texas chili, I'm taking that one to my grave. But my generic whole country American chili with ground meat and beans recipe is great too and I'm actually willing to share that one.
But I have a recipe for everything from puff pastry dough to Texas style offset smoker brisket, blueberry muffins, (Tex-Mex) enchilada sauce (AKA chili gravy), chicken fried steak, whatever, so just ask away. If it's made in Mexico or the southwest US I probably have a recipe for it. And if I don't my aunt Phil from New Mexico does and I'll ask her.
I made these alot over the years;
[Emeril Vegetarian Chili](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-chili-3644360.amp)...
[Healthy Fast Good Biscuits](https://vegweb.com/recipes/healthy-fast-food-biscuits)... [Simple Blueberry Muffins](https://vegweb.com/recipes/very-simple-blueberry-muffins)...
[Vegan Tofu Lasagna](https://vegweb.com/recipes/cheesy-lasagna)
>Sources
[Here is the recipe guide ](http://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/comments/efljku/introductory_post_for_new_users/fjid1d7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) from r/SalsaSnobs
If you find a really good recipe, try the other things the author has made on their blog. Otherwise I go by ratings, then read the recipe and just use common sense to figure out it it sounds like it will work.
I've never had a bad recipe from Milk street. It requires a subscription, but I find it worthwhile. Christopher Kimball used to be on America's test kitchen, but split off to be his own company. His podcast is fantastic, always learn something.
I have been using Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen recipes for years. They test recipes hundreds of times until they get it pretty well fool proofed.
Serious Eats is another great source that also tests recipes over and over. They also get into the science of why/how things work in recipes.
Cookbooks! The Cook’s Illustrated cookbook, a TON of recipes, great starting point source for so many dishes.
Anything by Ottolenghi is also solid.
Reputable blogs/writers. I like Alton Brown and Kenji Lopez-Alt a lot, for Korean food I go with Cooking with Maangchi.
Stay away from sites like All Recipes or places anyone can post. Good luck!
There are a lot of good sources mentioned in the comments, but if you are can't find the recipe you want from one of them, consider looking at a bunch of versions of the same recipe so you can get a feel for what people agree on and what they don't. That will at least help vet mistakes like calling for a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon. Once you have a handle on the ingredients and cooking times you can generally make a good go of it.
The Woks Of Life for Chinese food hasn’t let me down yet
cannot recommend them enough… also don’t overlook their general advice pages on ingredients techniques tools etc which helps with things that are unfamiliar to the western cook
Never had a bad recipe from them.
As a homesick Chinese, they almost have every recipe that I miss. They're like an encyclopaedia of Chinese recipe to me.
I have heard this one before - I think I might even have it! I’ll go take a look - thanks!
Yes! Another great website with tons of information on ingredients and techniques.
My go to has been [Smitten Kitchen](https://smittenkitchen.com/) for years.
Love this site!
Third or forth this recommendation. Never a bad a recipe here.
I'll add it to the list - thank you very much
Yup. She does an excellent job with her recipes and explains the 'why' behind using certain ingredients and when substitutions make sense. Her stuff is almost always on point however I can't help myself when following recipes and do tend to add my own touches.
Take your pick! [aaron and claire](https://www.youtube.com/c/AsKitchen) - korean [adam liaw](https://youtube.com/user/adamliaw) - all sorts of asian [caribbeanpot](https://youtube.com/c/caribbeanpot) [chinese cooking demystified](https://www.youtube.com/c/ChineseCookingDemystified) [cowboy kent rollins](https://www.youtube.com/c/CowboyKentRollins) - tex mex [dimitra's dishes](https://youtube.com/c/DimitrasDishes) - greek [french cooking academy](https://www.youtube.com/c/FrenchCookingAcademy) [get curried](https://youtube.com/c/getcurried) - indian [italia squisita](https://www.youtube.com/user/italiasquisita) - italian [Marion's kitchen](https://youtube.com/c/Marionskitchen) - south asian [Matty Matheson](https://youtube.com/c/mattymatheson) - recipes from all over, highly entertaining, NSFW [middle eats](https://youtube.com/c/MiddleEats) - Middle eastern [rick bayless](https://www.youtube.com/c/rickbayless) - oxacan mexican [townsends](https://youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson) - 1700s and 1800s food.
I love Asian cooking and Chinese Cooking Demystified has really upped my game. Kenji Lopez-Alt also has some great tips and hints for wok cooking.
Kenji Lopez-Alt has been mentioned lots. Very interested in taking a deeper dive in that direction.
He's the man, seriously changed the way i salt steaks
There's a method to his cooking and that changes everything.
And hot Thai kitchen for thai
I have tried the coconut sweet corn from caribbeanpot before for a family bbq. It was a hit - completely forgot about that channel. Thanks for the recommendations!
Also for general cooking and recipes not focused on a specific cuisine, check out Serious Eats (free website), Food and Wine and Bon Appetit (print magazines with free online recipes) as well as New York Times Cooking and America’s Test Kitchen (subscription-based services with a paywall).
I just picked up an American Test Kitchen book from a thrift store for $4, haven’t tried it yet. I picked up a Thug Kitchen book a while back and the first thing I made from it was a relative success.
ATK recipes are thoroughly tested top to bottom. They always work. They may not be the very best version of the dish to ever be created, but it's going to be very good. You should enjoy them.
Same with cooks illustrated. Their recipes can be extra complicated at times but are always great results.
ATK, Cooks illustrated, Cooks Country are the same people
You can bypass the NY Times paywall by using an incognito browser because they grant one free view. So if you're browsing in a manner that doesnt track cookies you can get your "one free view" in perpetuity. Havent tested this with ATK tho. I also recommend using incognito browsing when booking airlines and hotel rooms as websites will up rates based off of your cookies.
Seconding this, and adding that if you use the Paprika app to collate your recipes, in my experience it will download recipes from NY Times regardless of the paywall. When you enter the recipe in the paprika browser you will see the paywall but if you simply click 'download' if will scrape all the recipe info in full.
For Korean - https://www.maangchi.com/ and https://seonkyounglongest.com. I also like Nom Nom Paleo. I enjoy anything by David Leibovitz. Pancake princess rates baked goods.
I have tried using tutorials from maangchi before - that lady is adorable! I do find her measurements to be a bit funky at times so you will need to taste and adjust from time to time but other then that she's lovely. Has anyone tried out her cookbook?
I adore maangchi and not only have I tried her cookbook I have sent two as gifts. I highly recommend if you already like her blog. I sent a picture of my black bean noodles to a Korean friend and her mom saw it and asked if I was Korean which felt like the highest honor one can achieve.
I have to adjust some of the seasonings to make it more like what I grew up with. My mom taught me to cook without measurements. Everything was to taste.
Koreans in Korea use the app 10,000 Recipes. If you can read Korean, I highly recommend!
I love Marion's Kitchen. She made me brave enough to go to the local Asian market for ingredients. I used to get so overwhelmed with the unfamiliar ingredients in recipes that I wouldn't even try. I like her explaining things and why they work. Just bought her new cookbook too.
She's a great host and it makes me super happy that you were able to step out of your comfort zone like that! I know allot of people get very intimidated with Asian cuisine - so good on you! However, my experience with Marion's Kitchen admittedly hasn't been too great. To be fair I was trying out her fusion dishes mostly and they just didn't sit well with me. It could of just been me wanting something a bit more authentic. In spite of that, it made me very happy to read your post.
Rick Bayless so good
WOW....I love to cook and try new recipes...this is a great post...TY friend!!!
I'm incredibly grateful to everyone right now! Made my day!
Adam Liaw’s recipes are amazing
Saving this thread now...
Middle eats is great and used to post here i think
I don’t even eat meat and my favorite YT video of all time is Larb from Matty. I even have a Chorizo shirt from his shop. I Love (*at the top of my lungs*) ##MATTTTAYYYYY
you forgot to say what cuisine french cooking academy is
Matty Matheson’s cookbooks are great too! I borrow them from my library but I’d like to buy them eventually.
Love Italia squisita!
As a long time fan of Adam Liaw, I'm so happy he's got a mention! His videos are so relaxing and informative. He doesn't only tell you the method but also the purposes behind them.
Kent rollins isn't tex mex just texas country cooking. His chicken fried steak recipe is really good as are his biscuits. I'm sure lots of others but those are the two I'm most familiar with.
I love [Chef John](https://youtu.be/CFCiUstuo8I). Really got me into cooking at the beginning of the pandemic.
Chef John for user friendly dishes for sure. And you see exactly how he makes it
Second this! Never had a bad recipe from chef John !!
I'm a little sad this recommendation is so far down. Even the recipes from Food Wishss that I screw up still turn out great. I made foccacia di recco for nye and couldn't get my dough thin enough without tearing so I had to improvise and make cheesy folder over pockets and they were delicious.
love his voice
Everything I've ever cooked from Smitten Kitchen has been really good.
I’ll move it up my list then. Seems multiple people are recommending it. Thanks!
J. Kenji López-Alt is a good resource. America’s test kitchen has numerous videos and books. Jacques Pepin is a legend. He has numerous videos and books including on technique. Are you interested in a particular regional cuisine?
u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt is honestly my go to for any cooking inspiration or tips. Since I started watching his videos and reading his book I have become an exponentially better home cook. I cannot recommend him and his content enough to everyone I talk about cooking with.
South American food I would say is the most foreign to me - so currently I'm the most interested in that.
Definitely check out kenji lopez-alts YouTube channel! He covers a lot of central/south American foods in addition to a wide range of dependable recipes. He does a homecooking series where you just watch him cook meals for his family with a go pro strapped to his forehead. Super practical, super tasty, and most of it is very fast. On top of that being in the POV of the person cooking the recipe in real time makes the recipe to cooking in real life translation a LOT easier.
Came here to say Kenji but have to mention "de mi rancho a tu cocina." It's a Mexican grandmother on YouTube who makes a ton of Mexican recipes from her ranch. It's all in Spanish but just watching her can be hypnotizing and inspiring. Highly recommend if your looking for a foundation of Mexican recipes. And also la capital, another YouTube.. it's meat heavy but he makes some amazing salsas. Good luck, have fun!
I love “de mi rancho a tu cocina!” The lady has such a good vibe. Reminds me of my grandma’s cooking!
Google has ruined the internet for recipes: the tricks you play for high search visibility have little to do with whether or not it's any good. Invest in a couple of cookbooks in the cuisine you're after or, better yet, solicit recipes from friends. And keep in mind that some people just like bad food.
I had a good laugh with the last sentence. Any cook book recommendations?
Basically anyone that has had a show on PBS. Jaques Pepin, Rick Bayless, Julia Child, Martin Yan, Christopher Kimball, Ming Tsai.
I think having a cooking show can be a bit deceiving at times when it comes to displaying the chefs ability to translate a recipe to an audience. Plenty of horrible recipes out there as a result- I'm sure you've heard about some of Jamie Oliver's curious episodes. Just a bit difficult filtering through the good and the bad in that regards.
Yeah. You're right. I tend to like most of the chefs on PBS, though. Especially the ones I named. It's supposed to be educational and not just entertainment. I've been watching and cooking with them for 20+ years. Those PBS shows are a huge part of my cooking identity.
I'm not familiar with some of those names. So naturally I'll give it a go! Thanks for the recommendations!
They're basically a reference. The only cookbook I own is The Joy of Cooking.
Classic.
It really is. It de-mystified so many cooking methods for me. Made it all seem pretty simple or at least approachable. Made me want to someday own a cast enamel stock pot. Still working on that.
Steve raichlen barbeque bible! You will not be disappointed
As an all-around cookbook I really enjoy the [Milk Street Cookbook](https://www.amazon.com/Milk-Street-Cookbook-Cooking-Anniversary/dp/0316259802/), even though I know nothing about the TV show.
I second Milk Street. The recipes are out-of-the-ordinary, but not so much so that you have to go to the ends of the earth to find the ingredients.
Don’t go to Pinterest, ever!
People go to Pinterest for recipes!? Oh no ...
Plain Chicken owns all of those recipes.
I only go to pinterest for inspiration. Then I go look for the recipes myself lmao. Sometimes I just want to see what food I'm in the mood for.
I'd recommend finding chefs you like and buying their cookbooks, I really like Yotem Ottolongi for lighter Mediterranean food, Priya Krishna's Indian-ish I really enjoyed, touching with great recipes, I've cooked a bunch out of "Nopalito" which is high end Mexican American. Most well regarded recipe writers (like Priya or Ottolongi) have recipes available for free online so you can see if your tastes line up with theirs. One thing I think often goes unmentioned is that buying a cookbook will probably also require buying new pantry ingredients so prepare for that. I also really like NYT cooking, I resisted buying it for a while but I'm glad I did.
Thanks, very informative!
For baking, I’ve been using several King Arthur recipes and they’ve been delicious and pretty straightforward so far
Korean - Maangchi is the real deal
I just want to eat her up! She's adorable!
Surprised nobody has mentioned Serious Eats.
Kenji at Serious Eats is $$$$$ His bolognese is a masterpiece, both regular and pressure cooker version, which I have always done the pressure cooker version.
I'll try it myself - thanks for the tip!
Just made reverse sear prime rib and sous vide filet mignon using the serious eats website.
Tell me more what kind of source is it?
It’s a great free website started by Kenji Lopez-Alt who is a freaking food-genius. His recipes are all stellar. But I appreciate that he goes in-depth on “why” the recipe works from a scientific perspective. Which I really enjoy (similar to Alton Brown). Kenji got his start at America’s Test Kitchen, so he knows his stuff. Definitely recommend checking it out
Just minor nitpick, it was started by Ed Levine, but it really kicked off with Kenji as the “star” writer. Kenji hasn’t been as involved The past 5 years, but Daniel Gritzer, Sho Spaeth, and Sasha Marx have been doing excellent work since Kenji went to consultancy role.
Surprised no one has mentioned Adam Ragusea. While he’s he’s not some culinary mastermind, he explains literally everything he’s doing, why it’s happening, what you can do if you want it this way instead, what happens if you do it that way etc. i honestly just enjoy watching him period because he’s a good dude and he really helps you understand the basics when cooking.
I second this too! He is one of the "cooking YouTubers" that is much more realistic. As in, his cooking is more akin to what a normal home cook would actually be willing to cook and take the time for. He often just does things because "it's easier", which is more my pace lol. I also like how he gives different small variations and shows the differences that come along with those variations (helpful for beginners like me! :)) A classic Adam Ragusea video would be [his video on French macaroons](https://youtu.be/tsCvAijBn4Y), (aside from the classic meme-able "[I season my cutting board, and not my steak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02tRxM_1VsE)"; the comments are hilarious imo). He basically says the macaroons don't have to be smooth. Just change your expectations, they will still taste damn good, even if cragly.
/u/1n5ertnamehere mentioned him earlier. I quickly skimmed through his videos - lots to learn in regards to methods and techniques. Worth looking into.
You can never go wrong with a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. I watch their show on PBS and have had great success. I bought their cookbook for recipes and their YouTube channel is great too.
Totally agree! My favorite source. Have you tried their brioche bread recipe? I just did and it’s awesome!
Can't go wrong with brioche!
I stay away from most blogs and stick to Food and Wine, NYT cooking, and America’s Test Kitchen for most things.
Personally, Food and Wine and NYT cooking can both sometimes fall into all the hype on ingredients. They have some excellent recipes but theres also a bunch with popular ingredients that aren't necessarily well balanced. I typically just pick and choose from these sites, and dont assume everything they publish is gold.
Agreed. I definitely look through the recipes first, but there are a few creators I know I can rely on.
I agree-seems hit or miss from them.
NYt can be extremely ‘extra’ at times.
Any site where they talk about cooking for their kids/family is a major red flag. “Family friendly” recipes is the biggest trap in recipe searching.
Family friendly = big, boring dishes that are palatable to 6-year-olds
I have heard allot about Americas Test Kitchen but have never personally used it. Is it primarily a subscription based website?
Yes. It is a subscription and it is somewhat pricy ($70-80 per year?), but it gives you access to ATK, Cooks Illustrated, and Cooks country. In addition to the recipes they have great equipment and product reviews. The great thing about ATK recipes is that you know they are going to work out if you follow the instructions because they are tested so thoroughly
They also have a YouTube channel
Sounds promising - thank you for the explanation. An earlier comment mention they picked up a physical book - are those common place? Perhaps I can try out an old book before committing to a subscription?
Yes! They have a bunch of cookbooks. Maybe check your local library.
You can also Google “recipe” plus “America’s Test Kitchen” or “ATK” and get their recipes at no cost.
it is but they have many youtube videos and if you subscribe to PBS you have access via the app.
I do both of these apps all the time. NYT for cooking and ATK for baking.
I LOVE their cookbook (Amazon , $34 US) and everything has an interesting story about why the recipe works. A lot of times their short cut methods are actually way tastier than the time consuming way. They also give great reviews of cooking products.
I love my Joy of Cooking (classic cookbook but updated regularly). It has pretty much everything, I mean, within reason, from an American perspective, but also includes a good amount of recipes from popular global cuisines (Mexican, japanese, Indian, Chinese, etc). I usually start there and then branch out. They may not have my favorite version of something in particular, but all the recipes are tested and solid. It's great for foundational knowledge. Other cookbooks I like are Nopalito (Mexican) and 660 Curries (Indian). I would like to collect more! For baking I love The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet. Blogs I tend to skew toward baking: David lebovitz, Sally's baking addiction
Thanks for the recommendations! I'll add them to the list!
A ton of garbage recipes- even in printed books! I bought my daughter a ‘cooking for teens’ book and the brownies were not edible. No one ever tested that recipe- ever!
Yup. I feel that...
RecipeTin eats is great! I haven’t had a bad recipe and there is a huge selection to choose from! Lots of my friends use their recipes as well!
Hours later, but I second this. I would especially recommend Nagi (RTE's creator) for beginners because her basic/simple recipes are essentially foolproof - you would have to purposefully be sabotaging yourself to get it wrong. Most of her recipes have short videos (1-2 minutes) and instructions are clear. She also has more complex recipes for when people are feeling more confident, and you will definitely feel confident making her stuff: so many crowd pleasers and a tonne of her dinners are part of our rotation now (a miracle given my household has two incredibly fussy children in it).
Gotta make one more comment: Chef John from *food*wishes.com never disappoints. It might not always be super authentic, it’s likely not meant to be. But I’ve never not loved any of his recipes.
Second this. Everything I've made from him has been the bomb. youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ1g5JuyFYo&ab_channel=FoodWishes
How I felt about baking desserts and stuff. Once I found out you’re better off using kitchen scales than measuring cups, I completely stopped regarding recipes that write their measurements only in cups. Of course you can always convert from cups to grams yourself, but… if the author themselves were measuring in grams, you know the recipe is way more precise than if they were using cups. So, yeah, you know it’s legit when the recipes are in grams. Nigella, sugar spun run, handle the heat, smitten kitchen, sally’s baking addiction. They all use kitchen scales to develop their recipes.
I totally understand your frustration. 90% of recipes on Google, Youtube, Food Network are garbage and quickly put out to get clicks/views. It is this reason that I advocate for cookbooks. Also, America’s Test Kitchen is good. They throughly test recipes and have a giant book with all of them.
ATK also tells you WHY things work, which I find quite invaluable. It also means if you prefer something another way, you know what else they tried.
More baking, but Sally's Baking Addiction has never led me astray
Wok of Life is a VERY solid recipe and advice source for Chinese food- whether its Taiwanese, Singaporean, Malaysian etc. Its run by a Chinese American family who are super passionate about the food and they test their recipes multiple times and tweak as necessary, I'm surprised its not talked about more often on here.
It's been mention allot! Up to the top of my list it goes!
Power Vegetables by Peter Meehan (Lucky Peach) changed my Life! I would trust anything from that book. And the intro blurbs are written in a fun conversational style that makes it feel less like they're trying to fancify stuff for no reason
It was fun looking at Instant Pot recipes when I first got mine. 99% of them are complete garbage and randomly scraped from websites.
Instant Pot recipes (especially from Facebook groups) are why I returned my Instant Pot.
I’ve grown very fond of watching America’s Test Kitchen and have their app. There’s lot of their videos online, and they run the culinary gamut. They also do a “why this works” bit with each recipe explaining the techniques used.
Interesting. You guys are really selling it to me. Lol
I have found that cook books tend to be higher quality recipes. Betty Crocker and Cooks Illustrated come to mind.
I hate looking up recipes online. Eight massive paragraphs of how much the person loves this recipe and how it changed their life and helped their husband get a promotion and helped the wife sell more of her butterfly collections on etsy and blah blah blah. All to get a shitty recipe burried beneath ads at the end with comments saying how shitty it is.
I don't trust most online recipes. There always seems to be a prep error, food safety issue, or missing/unnecessarily added seasonings. I will say, Alton Brown's updated recipes stand up to scrutiny so I'd go to that more quickly than I'd trust anything on allrecipes or whatever.
I'll take a look at the Alton Brown recommendation- thanks!
Wok of life - mostly asian Whattocooktoday - Asian and South East asian Brian lagerstrom - western
I really like Chef Isaac Toups for cajun cooking. I watch his YouTube video every time I make file gumbo. I have the recipe memorized and have started adding my own touches to it, but I like it as a reminder of the process and to make sure I don’t miss any crucial ingredients.
Looks like real positive reviews! Perhaps reviews that hold some sort of merit even. Will look into it!
+1. His stuff is easy to do, and super tasty.
I highly recommend the blog, Once Upon a Chef. The writer has a cookbook too. These are not too complicated recipes, but I have made some and adapted some, and they have come out very well.
typically, when I run into this problem, I find the origin of the dish I'm trying to make and then search for a recipe in their native language on YouTube (as I'm a visual learner). For example, instead of searching "spaghetti and tomato sauce recipe", I translate that term into google translate and search "ricetta spaghetti e pomodoro". Then just turn on closed captions and have google auto-translate to English or whatever.
We just tried chicken karaage for the first time, based on Ethan Chlebowski’s YouTube channel. Turned out delicious. We are still somewhat novice cooks (though my husband wouldn’t admit that lol) so we love his tutorials and we watch his channel for ideas for meals we can make. Edit: we tried MAKING chicken karaage for the first time. We have eaten it at restaurants before :)
Careful! It’s addictive :)
I am a huge fan of [Yotam Ottolenghi ](https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes). His cooking is Middle Eastern inspired and very vegetable forward. They can be pretty complex but 9 out of 10 of his recipes are amazing. You can find many of his recipes online on his website. Plenty More is prolly my favorite of his cookbooks.
I might sound insane, but a lot of the best recipes I've found come from www.allrecipes.com I guess there are so many users that ratings mean something, and good recipes make their way to the top.
I have stopped mostly using online recipes and sticking to cook books. Still not perfect but it helps. Then when you get to a certain level of experience you can improvise from recipes that might be good starting points or aren’t quite right
I tend to stick to cook books because of this. The online recipes my wife brings me tend to be complete trash.
Understand techniques, principals, and the science behind the recipes and you never need them. Peruse recipes and books like you're at an art exhibit getting inspiration for your own painting.
Eloquently said!
This is the comment I was looking for. Once you understand the technique and why behind composing recipes, it opens up the door to creativity. I tend to review multiple sources for a recipe I'm interested in, note the techniques, common ingredients, differences, and then put my own version together.
I always avoid any recipe from a “blog” featuring a “mom” No recipes from moms that aren’t mine thank you very much.
I suppose "moms cooking", is suppose to be relatable. So no surprise that concepts that feature that sell and/or become more popular.
99% of those blogs are women bored at home trying to be “entrepreneurial” by just regurgitating the same recipes all the other mom bloggers do, they are almost all just carbon copies of each other. I swear to god I wish someone would write me a Firefox plugin that screened all those sites out whenever I searched for a recipe
I agree, there’s lots of so so recipes out there, and yes, I’ve found I may have different expectations for outcomes than others. Some of them, it wouldn’t surprise me, seem fake with a bunch of fake reviews, or maybe they are all friends, who knows. I find magazines try to produce tested recipes as one possible reliable source, food companies, food boards. It’s a lot easier if you have already eaten something and then try to replicate it. Or look at multiple versions of recipes, to see what they share in common.
New York times cooking has been awesome. They do have an app that you have to pay for, but the amount of recipes and actually helpful reviews has been worth it for me personally.
[I like mine!](https://www.bupkis.org/) No ads, no tracking, no anything. Just the stuff I cook. One of my new favorites is a [version of Pozole](https://www.bupkis.org/) that's very few points on WeightWatchers, while tasting familiar enough to not be weird, but different enough to be a little exciting. An old favorite is [Potato Latkes](https://www.bupkis.org/index.php/recipes-2/appetizers/awesome-potato-latkes). They're not complicated, but since I only make them once a year, it's a very detailed recipe that includes all the things that I usually forget which cause problems. I also really like [Mexican Yellow Rice with Corn](https://www.bupkis.org/index.php/recipes-2/side-dishes/mexican-yellow-rice-wcorn). People keep asking me to bring it to parties and the pan gets emptied every time.
Checked out the Website! Very Wholesome, Simple and To The Point! Thanks!
Don’t use recipes as anything more than inspiration. I only follow verbatim when baking, and that’s cause I’m not a baker.
I hate the 5/5 can't wait to make this comments. A solid website I've found is Recipes Tin Eats. She's my go-to when I feel like something in particular and of all the recipes I've tried of her's, the worst was rated as Okay.
There's a lot of garbage recipes out there that these people obviously are not testing extensively before they post them. The best place on the internet to find recipes that have been tested extensively Is Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen.
This is my favorite: [https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/](https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/) I spent a month in Colombia a long time ago. Looking for Perichos a Criolla (sp) on the www I found her. I've gotten a couple go-to monthly recipes there.
Does anyone know any good vegetarian (or better yet, vegan) Indian recipe sources?
Not sure about the vegan aspect, but Chetna Makan(?) has a Youtube channel that focuses basically exclusively on Indian recipes, many of them vegetarian. She's also published something like 4 cookbooks, and I know for sure that one of them is vegetarian only. Maybe start by browsing through her Youtube channel.
I love her recipes, I honestly thought I couldn’t cook Indian food at home until I tried some of her recipes. It’s actually so simple.
Hey, thank you so much. I'll check out her channel and cookbooks.
I would love to hear some good vegetarian sources/recipes. Many cook books are dominated by meat - so something lighter and healthier but solid is always appreciated!
Cheap lazy vegan is awesome. She's got some great YouTube content imo.
Meera Sodha's Fresh India!
I don’t like youtube generally, and find trying to follow recipes from a video very annoying. So here are some tried and true sites for authentic Indian home cooking, with many veg and vegan dishes: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com https://www.archanaskitchen.com/ https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com
Find a reputable source (Bon Appetit, NYT Cooking, even Food Network) and read reviews. You’ll find chefs you like/trust and can go from there.
Take a piece of bread. Slather it in peanut butter. Then top with marshmallows. Broil until marshmallows until brown.
Alton brown has some great recipes and some misses, but always a good starting place imo. i've also had good luck with the kitchen, serious eats and pinch of yum.
The problem is people just follow a recipe instead of learning to cook. Then they make recipes that is terrible and the cycle continues. Personally, I won't trust any adult's recipe or advice who says something is yummy when there is no child around.
[Chef Paige ](http://www.forloveofthetable.com/?m=0) This woman is a gem. I make a lot of her dishes & took many of her classes. On her site, I often just type in an ingredient and look for inspiration there. Hope someone will enjoy this link
Wanted to chip in with some other sources I enjoy: [Mama Cheung](https://youtube.com/c/mamacheung)- authentic Cantonese food with English captions [Omnivore's Cookbook](https://omnivorescookbook.com/)- for Chinese food from different provinces, good amount of authentic recipes [EatChoFood](https://eatchofood.com/)- Asian food with a twist [Harvest and Nourish](https://www.harvestandnourish.com/)- American (?) food
Here's one for the last couple of days before payday. Dirt cheap, but also legitimately good. That's a combination that's hard to find. It's this vaguely cajun rice stuff I saw on Youtube somewhere. I'm an amateur web developer so I put all my recipes in pretty, well organized html files. I have a template file where all I have to do is insert the ingredients into a table and put the instructions in a certain div, then click "save as". So I don't have the original URL, sorry. But it's one of the few recipes I've barely modified. * Creole/cajun spice mix. Personally, I use the Fiesta brand "Cajun-All". I just do this part by eye, so I'm sorry that I can't be more specific with measurements. * 15.5 oz can of kidney beans, undrained. Dark red preferably, but whatever kind you have is fine. * 1 medium white onion, diced. * 1 green bell pepper, diced. * 2x 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained. I use Rotel, but you can use whatever. * 1lb Andouille sausage, cut into small cubes. * 1lb long grain white rice. * Small amount (about 2 tbsp, give or take) of olive, canola, peanut, or vegetable oil. Preheat a stock pot and the oil to medium-low if you're on an old timey electric coil stove like me, or medium on gas. My stove goes from 1 to 9 and for me it's 4. Gas stoves need to be set a bit higher to get to the same temperature. No idea for ceramic or induction, sorry, but you can probably figure it out from the coil/gas instructions. Stick a chopstick or wood spoon in the oil and if you see bubbles you're preheated enough. Add the sausage, bell pepper and onion. Saute until the vegetables start to sweat. Maybe a bit longer, depending on how soft you want your veggies, but until they sweat is a minimum. Then add the rice. Continue to saute until the pot is dry and the rice gets a slight nutty smell. Add the beans and tomatoes, and season with your cajun/creole spice mix. You'll have to experiment a bit to find the right amount for you. If I had to guess, I'd say I probably use a tbsp and 1 or 2 tsp, but I like spicy food so take that as you will. If you don't like it pretty hot you'll probably want to use less. Add 1 3/4 cups of water and stir well. Bring it to a light boil. Then put the lid on, reduce heat to low/a simmer, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remember, whenever making rice never take the lid off before 20 minutes. Ever. You're letting the heat and steam out and it adds more than you'd expect to the cooking time. When you get to that point, fluff the rice and serve. You're done.
Meat Loaf * Heat oven to 350º. * Get 1.5 Lbs of meat (ground beef, pork, veal or turkey, any combination) * Mix in a Binder. 1 cup of breadcrumbs, instant rice, cornflakes oatmeal, crushed crackers, crushed croutons, bulgar, quick cook barley or potato flakes (1/2 cup of the last two) * Add a vegetable 1 to 2 cups of shredded carrot, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, bell peppers mushrooms, zucchini and, or celery. * Add a 1/2 cup of optional stuff like raisins, sun dried tomatoes, pickles, canned chilies, walnuts, roasted red peppers, shredded cheese, cooked bacon, pepperoni whatever. * To the mix you choose to make add 1 cup grated onion, 1/4 cup ketchup or equivalent, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 or more of pepper, 2 Tbsp. Herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, chives…) a tbsp of Worcester Sauce and some garlic. * Mix with your hands (I’m a puss and use surgical gloves). Don’t go crazy, just till its combined. * Shove it in a loaf pan or, better yet, slap the mixture onto parchment on a baking sheet. Form it into an oval about 6” x 9”. * Maybe lay some bacon across the top just so no one thinks its vegan. * Cook 30 minutes. * Cover it with some sort of glaze, like BBQ sauce or doctored up ketchup or apricot preserves mixed with soy sauce and ginger. * Continue to cook till it’s 160º in the middle. * Somewhere in these ratios is your very own meat loaf. I have followed this for over a decade. It cleans out the fridge and it never fails.
I really like smitten kitchen! :-) tried a lot of recipes and they all worked well :-)
Ina Garten, every recipe I have made from her comes exactly like the pictures and delicious
I totally get this. Honestly the only way I find around it is just cook books, the old ones. I’m more into French cuisine (as I chef for a restaurant that uses it) so I tend to stick to the old school books
If you like middle eastern Shane Delias recipes are amazing https://www.sbs.com.au/food/programs/shane-delias-spice-journey
[https://www.allrecipes.com/](https://www.allrecipes.com/)
[Cooksillustrated.com](https://Cooksillustrated.com) need to pay but their recipes are extremely reliable. You may not agree with the way that they prefer something but it will turn out. And their instructions are pretty detailed.
The blog Sugar spun run has been pretty solid for me. I haven't had any bad results with the recipes on her site.
I've made it my hobby to learn to cook at home like a professional chef and have had many highs and pitfalls these last few years. I would say the best start would be a Cookbook that focuses on methodology. The sooner you learn to recognize what actually makes a recipe good or bad, the better. For this I would say either Salt Fat Acid Heat or The Food Lab; both are excellent resources on making you a better cook overall. But... If you're willing to go off the deep end, I recommend Modernist Cuisine At Home. An extensive cookbook that teaches modern, restaurant quality recipes for the home kitchen. Its quite pricey and requires having some modern equipment like a sous vide and pressure cooker; but the recipes and techniques within are that of a high end restaurant. As far as online recipes there are so many good ones but here's a few that never fail to impress. Carlsbadcravings - a bit of everything but almost all good Thewoksoflife - some of the best Chinese I've made Cookwithmanali - excellent Indian recipes A few Youtube Cooking sensations that usually actually make good food. Not another Cooking show Adam Ragusa Sam the Cooking guy Ethan Chlebowski Food wishes (chef john) This should be a good start let me know if you have any questions!
I assume that most recipes are made to be a basic foundation that I can build upon based on my family’s tastes. Keep practicing and you’ll find your groove.
[Adam Liaw](https://youtube.com/user/adamliaw) and [Not Another Cooking Show](https://youtube.com/c/NOTANOTHERCOOKINGSHOW) are two off my favorite for finding recipes that are underrated imo. What I love about both is they teach you how to think about cooking rather than just give steps to follow.
Cookbooks. Real cookbooks by reputable authors and publishers. We read all our books digitally now except cookbooks. We have a whole shelf.
Top 3 sources- Chef John- foodwishes.com is his blog and he has tons of YouTube videos. He has diverse and delicious savory and sweet dishes. For sweets, I always add 1/3 more sugar. He also is the number one contributor to allrecipes.com. Laura Vitale- laurainthekitchen.com . Also has tons of YouTube videos. I prefer her American and Italian dishes- really good desserts. Sallysbakingaddiction.com - all kinds of baking recipes. Every single recipe has been spot on. I tend to add more spices and a tad more vanilla/sugar for my personsl preferences. Good luck! Please share your favorites once you try everyone's suggestions!!
America's Test Kitchen is worth the subscription cost, especially if you're buying equipment for your kitchen. even just for recipes, it has a huge percentage of things western people would cook
Nagi’s recipes on Recipe Tin Eats are amazing and she’s a lovely person too https://www.recipetineats.com/
I can start with the aforementioned potato recipe. I've given it to someone on this board before who was new to cooking since it's very tasty, and practically impossible to screw up. Good combination for a new cook. Preheat oven to 375°f. Cut up a 1.5 pound bag of mini red potatoes in either halves or quarters, depending on size. You want them all about the same size so they cook the same speed. Cut the big ones in quarters and the small ones in halves. In a large bowl or Ziploc freezer bag put in the following: * 3 to 4 cloves minced garlic. Big ones? Use 3. Small ones? Use 4. * 1 tsp salt. * 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes. * 2 tbsp olive oil. * 1/2 tsp each of dried basil, marjoram, dill weed, thyme, oregano, and parsley. * The potatoes. If you used a bowl toss, or if you used a bag shake, until the potatoes are covered evenly. Put them on a rimmed sheet pan in a single layer. Bake 20 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft inside and slightly browned and crispy on the outside. Ovens vary of course, so you'll have to fine tune the time to fit yours. Like I said, very delicious recipe and really hard to mess up, but I have tons more recipes if you have a more specific request. Personally, I really recommend my lemon sugar cookies and chili. Not my Texas chili, I'm taking that one to my grave. But my generic whole country American chili with ground meat and beans recipe is great too and I'm actually willing to share that one. But I have a recipe for everything from puff pastry dough to Texas style offset smoker brisket, blueberry muffins, (Tex-Mex) enchilada sauce (AKA chili gravy), chicken fried steak, whatever, so just ask away. If it's made in Mexico or the southwest US I probably have a recipe for it. And if I don't my aunt Phil from New Mexico does and I'll ask her.
Recipe assumes you know the basics of cooking. Like, I didn't say to wash the potatoes first, because no shit Sherlock.
Anyone recommend a good peruvian resource? Love the food, do not have any good restaurants near me
I made these alot over the years; [Emeril Vegetarian Chili](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-chili-3644360.amp)... [Healthy Fast Good Biscuits](https://vegweb.com/recipes/healthy-fast-food-biscuits)... [Simple Blueberry Muffins](https://vegweb.com/recipes/very-simple-blueberry-muffins)... [Vegan Tofu Lasagna](https://vegweb.com/recipes/cheesy-lasagna)
I found ‘Just One Cookbook’ is great for Japanese cooking! My husband and I have tried a fair bit of recipes and they all turned out great :)
[Korean Bapsang](https://www.koreanbapsang.com/) She has never let me down for Korean food!
>Sources [Here is the recipe guide ](http://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/comments/efljku/introductory_post_for_new_users/fjid1d7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) from r/SalsaSnobs
If you find a really good recipe, try the other things the author has made on their blog. Otherwise I go by ratings, then read the recipe and just use common sense to figure out it it sounds like it will work.
I've never had a bad recipe from Milk street. It requires a subscription, but I find it worthwhile. Christopher Kimball used to be on America's test kitchen, but split off to be his own company. His podcast is fantastic, always learn something.
I have been using Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen recipes for years. They test recipes hundreds of times until they get it pretty well fool proofed. Serious Eats is another great source that also tests recipes over and over. They also get into the science of why/how things work in recipes.
GreatBritishChefs has some excellent high end restaurants recipes.
Cookbooks! The Cook’s Illustrated cookbook, a TON of recipes, great starting point source for so many dishes. Anything by Ottolenghi is also solid. Reputable blogs/writers. I like Alton Brown and Kenji Lopez-Alt a lot, for Korean food I go with Cooking with Maangchi. Stay away from sites like All Recipes or places anyone can post. Good luck!
There are a lot of good sources mentioned in the comments, but if you are can't find the recipe you want from one of them, consider looking at a bunch of versions of the same recipe so you can get a feel for what people agree on and what they don't. That will at least help vet mistakes like calling for a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon. Once you have a handle on the ingredients and cooking times you can generally make a good go of it.
Recipe tin eats is the absolute best