Written Recipe Format - What's your preferred method?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Like I said Kayelle, when I finally got around to typing it up to my style, I had forgotten where I got it from. I still have a pile in my file that needs my attention. Some day I will sit down and go over all of them and type them up. :angel:
 
I have lost too much data over the years with different types of media, so it gives me great peace of mind to turn the responsibility over to a professional company. It's well worth the $50 or so per year to me. YMMV, of course.
Online storage from a reputable provider is an effective strategy. I maintain and verify my own backups, because that's what I did for years professionally. Maintaining the integrity of company data is something that I kept my hand in, as it was my butt if there was a problem.

But back to the original topic, with apologies to Andy for the diversion. Now that I'm retired and have a lot more time to pursue new recipes, I'm still working out the best way to maintain my files. I don't really care about the format. The one thing that I have started to do is to include the source, as I have a bunch of recipes that I have no idea where they came from. Many of them are from various web sites, so in addition to the copied recipe, I include the link to the instructions, pictures, etc. If the source / reference was from a DC member, I also include that.

I used to keep recipes on 5x8 cards, but am finding that many no longer fit on them if I include detailed instructions. Now it's regular 8-1/2 x 11 paper.
 
Online storage from a reputable provider is an effective strategy. I maintain and verify my own backups, because that's what I did for years professionally. Maintaining the integrity of company data is something that I kept my hand in, as it was my butt if there was a problem.

So did I, and I always hated it :LOL: The most boring, yet important, task ever.
 
Yes, that batter and method would work great for fish taco's CG. I'd chunk up the fish before frying to have more surface area, or maybe cook strips of fish to lay in the tortilla.

Interesting about the shrimp at Serious Eats! SC came home with a bag of big raw frozen shrimp yesterday, so I'll be trying it soon!

To make them like the ones we had from the street vendors in La Paz, Baja, they'd be about 1 inch square and about 1/2 inch thick. They put 3 pieces about that size in each tortilla, then you went around to other the side of the cart which was three stepped shelves with at least a dozen different garnishes and condiments that you could mix and match as you liked.

I've had fish tacos in a lot of US restaurants, and I've had some that were very good, but never anything that could quite compare to what we got in Baja. Those taco wagons also offered shrimp, octopus, squid... all battered and deep fried, and at that time back in the mid 90's, 7 pesos ($1) each.
 
To make them like the ones we had from the street vendors in La Paz, Baja, they'd be about 1 inch square and about 1/2 inch thick. They put 3 pieces about that size in each tortilla, then you went around to other the side of the cart which was three stepped shelves with at least a dozen different garnishes and condiments that you could mix and match as you liked.

I've had fish tacos in a lot of US restaurants, and I've had some that were very good, but never anything that could quite compare to what we got in Baja. Those taco wagons also offered shrimp, octopus, squid... all battered and deep fried, and at that time back in the mid 90's, 7 pesos ($1) each.
After 10,000 miles of bland food on that cruise, we landed at Cabo San Lucas. We headed for an outdoor restaurant right by the pier and ate some wonderful fish tacos with fresh salsa. It was like we knew we were on our way home.
 
I used to keep recipes on 5x8 cards, but am finding that many no longer fit on them if I include detailed instructions. Now it's regular 8-1/2 x 11 paper.


Pirate has stated that he wants to start his own collection of his favorite recipes of his childhood. So I have been printing them out for him and he now keeps them in a hard cover 3-ring binder. Included in his collection are more recent recipes that I have found and made. If they were a hit with him, he wants the recipe. I am only too happy to assist him. :angel:
 
After 10,000 miles of bland food on that cruise, we landed at Cabo San Lucas. We headed for an outdoor restaurant right by the pier and ate some wonderful fish tacos with fresh salsa. It was like we knew we were on our way home.

When you have a captive audience on a boat, you do have to under season and prepare more or less bland food. It is not like anyone can just step off the boat at any time and buy something more edible on shore. :ohmy:
 
When you have a captive audience on a boat, you do have to under season and prepare more or less bland food. It is not like anyone can just step off the boat at any time and buy something more edible on shore. :ohmy:
Ah, unless you are on a Transatlantic cruise, the ship stops in a port almost every day. You can get off and sample the local cuisine as we did in Lima, and many other ports.
 
I guess I'm bringing this thread back from the dead, but I had to ask: Doesn't anyone besides me still use handwritten recipe cards and a recipe box anymore?

I found a wooden recipe box with painted strawberries on it on eBay and got a bunch of old fashioned recipe cards there too. Then I bought a bunch more from House-Mouse (where else?). The recipe box stays on the shelf over my counter.

I usually fill out one or two cards a day, hoping I'll get caught up soon. I may never, though, at the rate I find recipes I want to try.
 
I guess I'm bringing this thread back from the dead, but I had to ask: Doesn't anyone besides me still use handwritten recipe cards and a recipe box anymore?

I found a wooden recipe box with painted strawberries on it on eBay and got a bunch of old fashioned recipe cards there too. Then I bought a bunch more from House-Mouse (where else?). The recipe box stays on the shelf over my counter.

I usually fill out one or two cards a day, hoping I'll get caught up soon. I may never, though, at the rate I find recipes I want to try.

I list every little step so it makes for a long list of steps. By the time I have it all down, there is never enough room for the whole recipe. So it just makes sense to put them in the computer. I also back up my recipes on my flash drive. :angel:
 
I guess I'm bringing this thread back from the dead, but I had to ask: Doesn't anyone besides me still use handwritten recipe cards and a recipe box anymore?

I guess not ;) I had a recipe box for a while, but I never used it much. It doesn't hold enough for me.

Many years ago, my then-stepmother gave me a photo album with plastic covers over the pages, with some of her favorite recipes in it. I added to it for a long time. Then I started keeping them on the computer and now the photo album is falling apart :ermm: :LOL:

I'm a book lover, and I have two shelves for cookbooks in my kitchen, so now I organize recipes in three-ring binders. When my husband was teaching high school years ago, he got me this recipe holder made by a student in the shop class. Makes it easy to see them.
 

Attachments

  • 1472418729394.jpg
    1472418729394.jpg
    43.1 KB · Views: 112
  • 1472418751546.jpg
    1472418751546.jpg
    45.2 KB · Views: 99
I'm ADD to an extent I think, and glad to have sites like this to come to.............I'm considered a good cook and that's what matters to me........I know a lot about a lot of things......I'm confident and don't hesitate to give my opinions on things that I know a lot about.......otherwise I'm ignorant on a lot of other things....you've probably noticed in the past....aren't we all.......it's not a fault.......it's life still in transition....it's okay.........but what a great site to come to.......and I thank all the moderators for their time and efforts.......y'all are dealing with a lot of peope from different cultures, languages, values, etc.,......hats off to you..........
 
I use a 3 ring binder too, but not properly.
For whatever reason, Im too lazy to grand punch the holes so I just stuff the recipes in there like a folder, then curse every time I need a recipe and they all fall out or I can't find it. Always saying " This winter Im going to organize the recipes so it never happens again!!" and as each spring comes around, I just have a thicker, more unorganized folder/ Binder :). Some recipes are hand written by me, some are computer print outs, some clipped from the paper or magazined, some even hand written by my mother , father , or grand father. And thats why I kinda like having the folder/ binder, is for the ones that are hand written by my parents/ grandmothers. Kinda cool to see the recipe in their writing. Some of the recipes even have food stains on them, or a burned corner from being too close to the burner . Their physical appearance tells a stpry all by themselves.

Another winter project ( which I never get to) is to make a family cook book out of them, with pictures , family stories about each recipe, and save it for when my kids get married and give them each a copy.

One day....,

larry.
 
I'm a compulsive organizer ;) I keep a three-hole punch on my desk, so I punch the sheets right after I print them.

The handwritten recipes I have are in the photo album I mentioned. When I move them to the binder, I'll tape them to individual sheets.
 

Attachments

  • 1472477730737.jpg
    1472477730737.jpg
    23.3 KB · Views: 101
  • 1472477744764.jpg
    1472477744764.jpg
    25.5 KB · Views: 104
  • 1472477790004.jpg
    1472477790004.jpg
    47.9 KB · Views: 107
I'm a compulsive organizer ;) I keep a three-hole punch on my desk, so I punch the sheets right after I print them...

My three-hole punch sits next to the printer. I use tabbed dividers. Staples has neat ones that you can print the labels for.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1110.jpg
    IMG_1110.jpg
    38.8 KB · Views: 106
Back
Top Bottom