If you've been cooking for awhile, you probably have an arsenal of go-to recipes, dishes you can whip up from memory, but sometimes — especially when it comes to baking — you need to reference specific ingredient measurements. You can crack open your cookbooks or pull up your bookmarks online, but bartender and blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler uses a more portable tool for storing all his most-used recipes: a Moleskine address book.
Morgenthaler uses his address book to store cocktail recipes, but this method would work just as well for cooking or baking recipes. Recipe cards or books specially made to store recipes are often more complicated than I need; for dishes I have made a few times, all I need is the list of ingredients and a few basic instructions, so I love the simplicity of this idea. Moleskine's very plain address book allows plenty of room for freedom, with the convenience of alphabetical organization.
Its small size (about 4" x 6") also makes it easy to carry along when you are staying at a vacation house or visiting family for the holidays — any time you expect to be cooking, but may not have access to your cookbooks.
• Check it out: The Most Important Bar Tool You're Probably Not Using at Jeffrey Morgenthaler • Find it: Moleskine Pocket Address Book, $10.36 on Amazon
How do you store your most-used recipes for quick reference?
Related: Best Way to Organize Recipes from Many Sources?
(Images: Jeffrey Morgenthaler)
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An address book is too tiny for me to be able to stick on my cookbook stand and read while cooking. I have a binder stored with my cookbook that contains all of my favorite recipes - I just pop out the page I need and then return it to the binder when done. They're organized by subject, which is easier for me than alphabetical. I have them stored on tastebook.com as well, which solves the "need to reference when traveling" problem.
I use MacGourmet. It organizes your recipes into a searchable database and you can create recipe lists (think favorite desserts, Christmas 2012 menu, marinades to try, etc...). It's generally easy to add and edit recipes and even easier if you can import them from a website.You can add notes, mark them for difficulty and basically use as much or as little of the numerous database markers that you want. It even formats them to earily print if you prefer. The biggest drawback is that it's Mac-only...
I use Shop N' Cook for the Mac, and I love it. There's also an iphone app that I own but haven't used yet. It's easy to add recipes from online, using cut and paste. You add a category and a source. In some versions you can compile and print out a shopping list and weekly menus. It also gives you complete nutritional information at the bottom of each recipe, which is fabulous if you are counting carbs or for figuring out Weight Watcher points etc. So I really appreciate this program.
But, on an aesthetic level, I love the idea of using a Moleskin. I have a couple that I use as reference for other things (all my room measurements, paint colors etc.). I find my iphone incredibly much more practical, but I still find paper products like Moleskin and filofax more aesthetically pleasing.
I have a binder of recipes as well, but I've started moving recipes to Evernote. I've got Evernote on my iPad, my Droid, and my computers at home and at work (I do use it for work stuff too), so I can get the recipes anywhere. When I'm cooking I pull up the recipe on the iPad and use that. And I find it very easy to add recipes that I find online to Evernote; it's probably too easy; I'm sure I've now got more recipes stored in Evernote than I will ever get around to using.
I sometimes try out a new recipe using my iPhone to display it, but that can be hazardous in a kitchen. Plus, there's not a really good place for me to stick the phone where I can see it without having to lean in, wake up the screen, etc.
I have my tried-and-true recipes written on index cards. I store them in a little box, arranged with dividers for various kinds of food: meats, veggies, breads, etc. Low-tech, and it's how my mom did it. I drop the recipe in my cookbook holder or clip it in place with a clothespin. Plus, if I splash hot oil on an index card, I can always rewrite the recipe! :)
I copy recipes to a standard Windows notepad file and upload them to my Kindle.
Oh, I think this is genius! When I used to rely on my Moleskine pocket calender I used to scribble all sorts of recipes into it...but I like the idea of an alphabetical index even better.
I switched to putting recipes in my iPodT but I hate how I have to touch the screen every so often when I'm actually cooking from it. I much prefer working from paper.
I keep all my recipes in Evernote. I can clip recipes I see online, modify them, and put in my own. Plus it's easy to email the recipe out, no copy and paste. I can also share my recipes with my husband. I can also check my recipes out on my laptop, a tablet, and an iphone. This has come in handy when shopping or sharing.
I used to keep them all on index cards, but I just can't do all that with paper anymore.
A little over a year ago I bought myself a pretty green photo album for this very purpose! I have recipes printed out from online, ripped from magazines and newspapers and a few photocopied from my mom's well used bright orange Betty Crocker cookbook.
I always wanted to create my own "cookbook", I love to flip through it now and see all the things I've attempted and loved.
Truthfully, I started a blog (who hasn't?!?) simply to document my journey from empty pages to my very own cookbook:
http://biggreencookbook.blogspot.com/
Alphabetically isn't the way for me, but I do love having a portable totally personal notebook to take on holiday with me, here's what mine looks like: http://annabelvita.com/2011/06/27/recipes-on-the-move/
Rather than an alphabetical organization, I like to have my recipes organized by their function and culture of origin. I have separate categories for lunch (make ahead or under ten minute preparation and delicious cold) and dinner recipes (up to twenty minute preparation, often with delicious leftovers for the next day's lunch). Within the lunch and dinner categories I have my recipes organized by cultural origin. I also have a separate category for baked goods. I'd love to put together these recipes in a book of some kind, but with my organization an address book wouldn't work. Maybe a three ring binder like my roomie has would work for me.