Shower Stuff

#TITLE#What's The Secret To Cooking Recipes Successfully?#/TITLE#

It should be the simplest thing in the world, right? You get a recipe, follow it and come out with something delicious (or at least edible) at the end. Unfortunately, cooking recipes can be a frustrating process to rookie cooks unable to recognize when the recipe they're using is destined to fail before they heat up their first pan.

The secret is in the recipes themselves. Or, rather, the danger is in the recipes themselves.

It is natural to assume that any recipe you find printed has been thoroughly tested and all the potential land mines removed. The ingredients are properly measured, the oven and burner settings are all correct and the cooking process is laid out well and includes every step necessary to produce a good finished product.

In years past, when cookbooks were far and away the biggest source of recipes that could, with the exception of some small, local-press cookbooks, be your philosophy. But the advent and incredible growth of recipe content on the Internet has thrown all that in the dumper. What was formerly easy to trust now must be regarded with a jaded eye attached to a brain that doesn't want to blow a wad of dough on expensive ingredients only to end up with garbage.

Even if you're not a highly trained or experienced cook, you can avoid some of the most common recipe problems. The first thing to do is analyze the ingredients list. Are there any exotic ingredients on there (such as durian) with which you're not familiar? Do the measurements make sense? Does every ingredient on the list appear in the directions?

That last is the source of more heartache than you might imagine. And, especially in baking recipes, it can be disastrous.

Second, look at the recipe procedure. Are you familiar with all the cooking terms mentioned? Have you allowed sufficient time? Are there any long procedures, like an overnight marinade?

With a little cautious checking, you can make sure that any recipe you choose has a better than average chance of success.

Andrew Krause is a Chef and Pastry Chef for over 30 years, at persent I own a Gourmet Bakery called The Cheese Confectioner. You can visit my site at http://www.andies.cashhosters2.com NOTE: You are welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the about the author info at the end).