Inside the Test Kitchen: Inspiration for recipes

As I mentioned in my last post, the inspiration for Chatelaine recipes come from everywhere — from staff experimenting at home or eating out to enjoying meals made by friends and family. The process of brainstorming and developing recipes is an interesting. Here's a sneak peek into one more recipe idea (also referenced in my last post). It's the Chatelaine May issue French toast sandwich with raspberry cream. The meal that inspired this recipe was made by a friend and Brunch Club member, Jenn and her boyfriend Dawson. They made the breakfast (shown here to the left) by mashing raspberries and ricotta together. The raspberry mixture was sandwiched between slices of bread then dipped like normal French toast. It was pan-fried on the campfire alongside pineapple skewers. Super tasty! The last two photos are of Chatelaine's take on this French toast with raspberry cream concept. It has a similar filling to the campfire one but it's dipped and made ahead of time so you can get it ready the day before guests arrive. It's then baked in the oven and topped with almonds slices. Yum! Chatelaine recipe ideas come from all over. This is just one of many ways that we come up with a concept. Where does your cooking inspiration come from? Do you find recipes online, read cookbooks or just get in the kitchen and experiment?