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What's for Dinner?: The Web as a Tool for an Age Old Question

© Vickie McCorkendale

Whether cooking for one or a family of ten this question pops up more often than any of us care to imagine. In today's hectic world meal planning can easily be pushed to the backseat. Who has time? Few people realize the value of the World Wide Web for such tasks. Anyone with Internet access literally has the world of food at his or her fingertips. Just a few mouse clicks and you're on your way to creative recipe choices and dinner with ease!

Sophisticated search engines at many web sites are a great tool for weeding through thousands of recipes. Just think, all you have to do is type in the ingredients you have on hand, say chicken and rice, and the engine does all the work. Now all you need to do is choose among the tempting recipes that match your search. Some sites offer categorized lists of recipes. Whether you crave something Mexican or something low-fat, these listings allow you to pick through all the recipes in any given category.

There are hundreds of web sites concerning food, recipes and dining. Where is one to begin? May I suggest these three sites who's easy to use interface and copious amounts of information should put you right on track. These sites run the gamut including recipes from the simple to the sublime.

For the serious cook, the Recipe File at Epicurious should be just the ticket. This configurable search engine lets you filter through over five-thousand recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet and House and Garden magazines. Search by key word, type of course/meal, the method of preparation, and even type of cuisine!

A hint for the weekday cook: Hidden in the preparation categories are very useful key words such as: Advance, Quick and Light. This is a very useful filter since we all know that most recipes from Gourmet are not designed for the average mid-week meal. Epicurious> is a trustworthy source. Since these recipes have been published in national magazines each one has been rigorously tested by the cooking staff. You can be assured that, if you follow the directions, the dish should turn out fine.

But what if you know what you want to make, but you just need a recipe? This is where SOAR'ss huge listing comes in. This site references over 30,000 recipes. It covers everything from the basics (lasagna ) to the very unique ( Tibetan food!). If you scroll down on the search page there is a large list of recipe classifications. Whether you search for a particular dish or do a key word search, you should turn up many possibilities at this