How to Pick a Winning Recipe

Final are now over, and I (thankfully!) passed all my classes.  I have several recipes I'd like to share with you that I haven't had time to post since I've been studying, but I thought we could take a break from recipes to talk about how to pick a good recipe.  I was recently listening to The Splendid Table on NPR, and they were talking about what makes up a great recipe.  I thought this was especially appropriate because I get very frustrated when a recipe isn't clear, and since I like to cook to relax (hence the name "Cooking Therapy"), I think discussing the qualifications for a good recipe is necessary.  Here's what Lynne Rossetto Kasper says makes up a good recipe (which I stole from here):

• Does the recipe tell you what you can prepare ahead?
• Does it tell you how to store the food and for how long?
• Are the ingredients specific -- not "1 pound beef," but "1 pound well-marbled beef chuck"?
• Do the instructions tell you ...
• What kind of pot and utensils to use?
• The level of heat and/or the timing needed for each step?
• What the food should look like, sound like, and/or smell like?
• How to know if it's done?
• How to serve?

I must admit that many of the recipes I've been posting have not been this specific, so I'm going to try to be better about writing good recipes.  I think that knowing the size of pot to use, the level of heat and timing, and what the food should look like, sound like, and/or smell like are the most important for me.  Several of our old family recipes are pretty basic and don't include a lot detail since they were meant to be learned by demonstration rather than a written recipe.  So I'm trying to make those recipes especially a little clearer for future generations. 

If you see that one of my recipes isn't clear, please let me know!  I poorly written recipe is a stressful recipe!  And stress is not a good seasoning!