12/12/04

Most recipes in my cookbook have been assigned two ratings: a family rating, and David's rating. Both ratings are based on a scale from 0 (worst) to 5 (the best ever). The family rating is an average of the three members of our family, judged against the question "how does this compare to the best food I have ever eaten?" Needless to say, there are very few family ratings of 5.0, and the results reflect the collective tastes of our family. David's rating, on the other hand, is rendered by one person only, and is judged against the question "how does this compare to the best similar dish I have ever eaten?" This rating tends to be higher than the family rating, since it is limited to only similar dishes, and reflects only one person's tastes, namely me. Besides, I only cook dishes that appeal to me!

Be aware that our family ratings are pretty demanding—we all enjoy cooking and eating fine food. A meal with a rating of 3.0 is a good meal indeed. A rating of 4.0 is truly exceptional, and a 5.0 meal is likely to be followed by exclamations of "life just doesn't get any better than this." A meal receiving a rating of 2.0 is probably tasty, but unexceptional—I wouldn't bother cooking it again. A meal receiving a 1.0 or less likely reminds us of dormitory or school cafeteria food. I generally won't post a recipe receiving less than a 3.0. You will, however, find pictures and descriptions of some of my less stellar efforts, so that hopefully you may avoid the same mistakes that I have made.

Let me know if you find these recipes and ratings useful, or at least amusing!

—David