I seem to have a gift. I never thought of it as a gift until I came
to understand that most cooks of even moderate experience can't tell
a good recipe from a bad one, or realize the outcome of following
the recipe as written.

I often wonder how some of these recipes manage to get promoted
and/or published. Obviously the editors are even more clueless than
the submitters and the decisions are made by forces unknown. Take
the case of the magazine that told subscribers to bring a mixture of
equal parts cooking oil and water to boil. I think it was Southern
Living Dangerously magazine, but I can't find it now. It was
discussed here, whoever it was.

Poorly written recipes are a good sign that no faith should be
granted to the writer in regards to their sense of taste. They may
have TIAD, or maybe they just have poor writing skills. Flip a coin
and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Or you can look further into your culinary crystal ball and tell
when a recipe may be worth trying (maybe with modifications), or
when to simply pass it by.

<http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=16 94228>

This recipe failed both tests for me. The outcome was verified by
asking my mother, "you actually made this?".

I'm not criticizing my mother in particular. It seems lots of
people eat this shit up (or at least buy the ingredients and make
it). It's the sole reason for FoodTV's existence in recent years.

Despite the obvious procedural/efficiency errors in the instructions
(do you spot them at first glance?), does this recipe sound worth
the trouble? Can you imagine the outcome?

This is just one of the many recipes I see that just irk me and am
using it as an example (compounded by a very rare weekend at home
for me - who knew there were 60 hours in a weekend?). But I see
other people doing the same thing with like recipes and wonder how
bad recipes get so far. Media rules over common sense, I guess.

ObQuestionableFood: Mix cream of mushroom soup with a half can of
water and a half cup of white wine and a couple tablespoons of cream
cheese. Simmer for 10-14 minutes and use it as a sauce for properly
cooked chicken. Immediate "TIAD" reaction or "Has Possibilities"?

-sw