The website Good recently sought submissions for its Redesign the Recipe Contest, and some of the entries are really interesting. Click through (hit Next), and then come back.
I like the ones for Asparagus Risotto and Soup the best, because even though they're less colorful and design-heavy than some of the more intricate submissions, the simple graphics strike me as the easiest to follow in the kitchen. This contest may have been inspired by the new cookbook out from Ikea. Take a look.
On a related note, earlier this week, San Francisco food blogger Irvin Lin produced his first wordless recipe, a visually pleasing and fun take on Thomas Keller's Magic Shell ice cream topping. The idea is genius, and even though I'd seen the actual written version in the New York Times, Lin's photos inspired me more than reading the words. And I'm a word person.
Ultimately I'm left with the question of what a real recipe even is, and what it should be. Does a recipe for wheat farina (sometimes called cream of wheat) with marcona almonds, moscovado sugar, and heavy cream even count? Will the arbiters who hold the golden key to the Pearly Gates of Recipedom allow me in if I toss up that picture above, title it something self-evident (how about, duh, Wheat Farina with Marconas, Moscovado, and Cream), and then just walk away? How important is it for me to explicitly tell you that you need to buy wheat farina, milk, moscovado, marconas, and cream, and then cook the cereal and throw on the toppings? That underestimates your intelligence and wastes my time without necessarily making it more likely that you'll make the recipe. At least I think it does.
If you seek inspiration on sites such as this, is the picture worth a thousand words, or isn't it?
