RecipeKey: What can you do with Beer, Shrimp, & Eggs?

You get home, you're exhausted, and the last thing you want to do is cook...You open the frig door... A frozen bag of shrimp stares back at you wondering if you'll ever cook them while you pray some miracle will save you from preparing the same bowl of pasta you had the previous 3 nights. The leftover beers are tempting but don't pose any solution other than easing the stress of a long day with a quick buzz on an empty stomach. There's not much else going on in the frig besides a half dozen eggs sitting there, mocking your inability to scramble something together. You've spent the last five minutes standing in front of your ice block, you're starving, and you've gotten nowhere.

Its a situation that everyone gets themselves in, partially because its time consuming to learn how to cook, plan what you're going to make, buy the ingredients, look at the recipes, realize you forgot half the ingredients anyway, and finally put them together in some sort of meaningful way.

The daily process is just dreadful, (at least for me because I'm completely inept in the kitchen,) and so it was during one of those long moments in front of the fridge that spurred Ben Saur and Elise Melvin to start RecipeKey.

The concept is simple: you take some ingredients you have, input them into the "Recipe DNA Engine", and out pops some interesting recipes that you can cook up fairly easily with what you have. Take the random ingredients; BEER, SHRIMP, and EGGS...you could make Beer Battered Shrimp in 4 easy steps:

1. Beat eggs.

2. Add flour and beer gradually until batter is slightly thicker than pancake batter.

3. Add baking powder.

4. Deep fry shrimp until golden brown (about 10 Minutes).

Even I can do that.

As you update your "pantry" on the site, RecipeKey will introduce other recipes based on the random ingredients that you have laying around. It's almost like a Pandora, but for cooking. Rating systems, blogs, and the ability to upload and comment on other recipes help make it easier to find a recipe that will satisfy your pallet.

The site takes it a step further so that you can order from Pea Pod, Stop & Shop's home delivery service. Maybe one day these systems will sync or RFD tags on groceries will keep a complete inventory so you can be notified when items should be thrown out or delivered to your house.

It's a pretty neat idea and will probably try it and do some more cooking now that I have a web app that can hold my hand in the kitchen.

I had coffee with Ben and Elise last weekend and shot some ideas back and forth. They have been reworking the site over the past year based on feedback they've been receiving from family and friends. It's always important to ask what your audience wants, especially when developing a new product. Here is some more info on them:

Ben Saur is the founder and CEO of Recipe Key. Ben is a 2006 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology. Ben previously worked for Ernst & Young as an Information Technology Auditor specializing in non-audit advisory work. Currently, Ben is working towards his MBA at Babson College.

Elise Melvin is the co-founder and CFO of Recipe Key. Elise is a 2006 graduate of Boston College with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Latin American Studies. She received her Masters in Accounting from Boston College in 2007. As a CPA, she currently works for Ernst & Young doing audit work for both public and private companies.

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