I like my cookbooks too, but when someone calls me looking for a recipe (which actually happens pretty often) I look online. When a parent called looking for advice on making chicken fajitas for a crowd (his kid’s entire volleyball team) and had exhausted his own cookbook library, I just googled it. Up popped an array of recipes. I could quickly pick out the common ingredients and typical preparation methods and pass the info along (he later told me his fajitas were a hit with the team).

The best recipe site, imo, is www.epicurious.com. I use others too, but what distinguishes epicurious is the quality of the information — the fork ratings and the detailed recipe reviews by people who are really into cooking. You can sort your search results by fork rating and choose only 4-fork recipes that have a bunch of reviews. You can read the reviews for great information on why people liked the recipe, what they added, what worked and what didn’t. When a recipe gets a ton of great reviews from epicurious readers, you know it’ll be a winner.

I don’t have any revered tomes, but I’ve got a beat-up 1990 Family Circle Encyclopedia of Cooking that has probably been the most useful cookbook over the years. But to make you want to get in the kitchen right now and cook something that will smell and taste wonderful, nothing beats Roast Chicken and Other Stories, by English food writer Simon Hopkinson.

(Btw, I didn’t see the steak casserole recipe, but I did find recipes for Luchow’s German potato salad, sauerbraten, wienerschnitzel and Swedish meatballs; the cookbook’s available too. That’s why I love the internet.)

With a fair amount of contrition, I indeed concede that sites such as epicurious are outstanding resources for an eager cook, and serve a more than helpful purpose. I suppose it is, for me, not only a matter of being wary of ubiquity, but—-like all authors and their books—-gaining a sense of trust.

Thanks for the tips, Jolene! (And, as has become my Wednesday morning routine, I enjoyed a cup of coffee along with your haunted parties article in “Taste” this morning.)

You’re right — you’ve gotta trust the source, whether it’s an author or a website. Some sites are indeed more reliable than others, and some are good for one particular type of information. I use the nutrition calculator available through www.recipezaar all the time, but I don’t necessarily trust the reviews.