So I did a little more training with the chef-rnn at a lower learning rate to fine-tune it a bit and got some shockingly good results, with some weird quirks. I really just couldn’t resist posting more recipes. These are so much fun to read and try to imagine cooking/eating. This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to eatable food, and I’m kind of tempted to try some of these at some point. As usual, I’m going to start

title: chicken & sausage pie
categories: pies
yield: 6 servings

2 chicken breasts, boneless
1 tb olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c shredded swiss or cheddar
-cheese
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a small bowl, combine chicken,
cheese, parsley, mustard, salt and pepper. spread evenly over chicken
mixture. place a layer of chicken on top. bake uncovered at 350 for
20 minutes. sprinkle with parmesan cheese. bake uncovered for 10
minutes or until cheese melts and cheese is melted.

Wow… that actually sounds pretty good. Replace “chicken” with “sausage” at some point so it fits the name, and this could be a decent meat pie. A warning: this version of the network loves chicken.

title: chicken & vegetable stir fry
categories: main dish, poultry, cyberealm
yield: 6 servings

1 chicken
salt
pepper
soy sauce
olive oil
1 c mayonnaise
2 tb tomato paste
1 tb green onions, chopped
1 tb cumin
1 tb chili powder
1 ts worcestershire sauce
1/2 ts cumin
1/4 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts sugar
1/2 ts paprika
1/4 ts pepper

combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until the vegetables
are tender. add chicken and simmer for another 5 minutes. add the
sauce and cook another 5 minutes. serve over rice.

each serving provides: 448 calories; 21 g protein; 12 g carbohydrates;
12 g fat; 30 mg cholesterol; 316 mg sodium; 31 mg calcium.

This needs more vegetables in my opinion, and I’m not a fan of the cup of mayonnaise, but ok, I can see this working.

title: chicken & vegetable soup (salsa de chili)
categories: poultry, soups/stews
yield: 6 servings

2 chicken breasts, boned and
-skinned
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 c onion, chopped
1 cn cream of mushroom soup
1 cn chicken broth
1 ts salt
1 tb chili powder
1/2 ts pepper
2 c chicken broth
2 c chicken stock
1 c parmesan cheese
3 chicken breasts, boned

1. place chicken with thyme, bay leaf, parsley, parsley, salt and
pepper in shallow baking pan. 2. heat, uncovered, in microwave oven
5 minutes or until chicken is tender. 3. add chicken, cook 10 minutes
or until chicken is tender. 3. remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
2. melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. add chicken
and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. add beef stock to pan; cook, stirring often, until slightly
thickened, about 4 minutes. stir in chicken and orange juice. 5.
spoon sauce over chicken and vegetables; sprinkle with cheese.

And now it’s a soup! With orange juice! Also, it’s a multi step recipe, but the step numbers are totally out of order (it goes 1 2 3 3 2 5 7 5). ‘Let’s try that again,’ says the network

title: chicken & vegetable soup
categories: soups, poultry, casseroles
yield: 6 servings

6 chicken breast halves
— boned, skinned
4 tb butter
1/2 c onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c water, hot
1 ts salt
1 ts pepper, black
6 oz can chopped green chiles
1 1/2 c milk
1/4 c onion, minced
1/4 c flour
1 c chicken broth
2 tb cornstarch
1 c milk
1/2 c cornstarch
1 c cheddar cheese, grated

preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine flour, salt and pepper. heat
oil in skillet over medium heat. add chicken and cook until no longer
pink and browned. remove from pan and set aside. add onion to skillet
and cook until tender. add tomato sauce, chicken stock, chili sauce,
chili powder, and cumin. bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes or
until chicken is tender. remove chicken from cooking liquid. add
chicken and stir to coat well. serve over rice.

I love how often it adds “serve over rice” to the end of recipes. I thought this was a soup! That aside, this does sound like a decent soup, so I can’t complain here.

title: ham steaks with rice
categories: pork, meats
yield: 6 servings

1 lb ground lamb
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tb olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 cn cream of mushroom soup
1 cn tomato sauce
1 cn tomato paste
1 tb cumin
6 oz sour cream
2 c sour cream
1 cn 10 oz. pasta shells
1 onion — sliced
1 cn tomato sauce
1 cn tomato sauce
1 cn tomato sauce — 14 oz
can use 1 can kidney beans
1 cn cream of chicken soup
2 c milk
1 ts salt

cook bacon until crisp. remove from pan and drain off fat. stir in
chili powder and cayenne pepper. add tomatoes and salt. cook until
meat is tender. add butter, salt, pepper and sugar. add salt and
pepper to taste. add tomato paste and simmer for 30 minutes. add meat
and cook about 15 minutes longer. stir occasionally. add water if
needed to thicken. serve over hot noodles.

Wow, those ingredients… It really likes using soup as ingredients. Also the idea of adding water to thicken, it clearly doesn’t understand something there.

title: cheese tortellini sandwiches
categories: sandwiches, meats, cheese/eggs, sandwiches
yield: 4 servings

1 12″ sandwich buns (about 1
-pound)
1 c mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tb milk
1 tb prepared mustard
1/2 ts salt
fresh ground black pepper
corn tortillas (optional)

mix the cheese and seasonings together in a bowl. combine the cheese
with the cheddar cheese and stir into the cheese. place in a lightly
greased 9-inch square baking dish. sprinkle with the cheese, and
sprinkle with cheese. bake for 20 minutes. remove from oven and allow
to stand for 10 minutes before serving. serves 6 to 8.

Oh jeez, another recipe with a full cup of mayo. Why do you need a full cup of mayo (or salad dressing) in a  tortellini sandwich?

title: baked salmon with shallots
categories: fish
yield: 4 servings

2 tb butter
1 tb white wine vinegar
1 ts salt
1 ds pepper
4 shrimp (2 1/2 lb ea.)
-(1 lb); peeled, and
– cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 c chicken broth
2 tb capers; drained
1 tb fresh parsley; chopped

remove skin from chicken breasts and discard. remove skin and bones
from chicken; set aside. in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
add chicken and cook, turning the chicken for about 10 minutes or
until cooked through and cooked through. set aside.

in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. pour over
the chicken. serve immediately.

Wow, you could cook this with only fairly minimal changes. But also, why are the shrimp cubed? Why is that necessary?

Okay, I could write about these all day. Let’s look at some weird edge cases. What happens when I turn the temperature all the way down? (to 0.1, the lowest value it will let me use)

title: baked stuffed carrots
categories: vegetables
yield: 4 servings

1 lb fresh spinach
1 tb olive oil
1 tb lemon juice
1 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
1 tb olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tb fresh parsley, chopped
1 tb fresh parsley, chopped
1 tb fresh parsley, chopped

in a large saucepan, combine the carrots, onion, celery, carrots,
celery, carrots, celery, carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaf, pepper,
and salt. bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for
15 minutes. strain the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl. add
the chicken stock and the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.
serve immediately.

title: chicken a la parmesan
categories: poultry
yield: 4 servings

1 chicken, cut up
1 c chicken broth
1 c chicken broth
1 c chicken broth
1 tb cornstarch
1 tb soy sauce
1 tb cornstarch
1 tb water
1 tb cornstarch
1 tb water

cut chicken into small pieces. combine chicken broth, soy sauce,
vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. add chicken and
cover with plastic wrap. microwave on high for 10 minutes. remove
chicken from broth and set aside. combine cornstarch and water in a
small bowl. add to skillet. cook and stir until thickened. serve over
rice.

[after this it just starts repeating “1 ts cayenne pepper” over and over]

I, uh, wow. That first one sounds really good, and the second is a weird way to cook a chicken (which involves a sauce that is just corn starch and water). I think it would need some modification to be eatable (e.g. actually cook the chicken) but it seems totally reasonable otherwise.

What happens if I let the network overfit a bit? To do this, I sample from not the best checkpoint, but the most recent checkpoint. Typically the validation behavior is a very rapid drop, followed by a much more gradual decline, and then eventually it bottoms out or starts going up- this means the network has overfit to the data and is reproducing the inputs instead of generalizing to new data.

title: cornmeal bread pudding
categories: desserts, puddings
yield: 1 servings

1 c popcorn, unsalted
3 c sugar
1 c milk
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla
2 c coconut, shredded
2 c cottage cheese
1 tb orange rind, grated
2 c coconut
1 c chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. in a
medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
stir in buttermilk and eggs. blend well. add chocolate chips, stir
until well blended. spread batter evenly into prepared pan. bake 15
to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out
clean. cool in pan on wire rack. cut in squares.

Yeah, that seems reasonable. Too reasonable. Fortunately, the ingredients are great- Why does it have popcorn? I guess that would have to be a topping or something? All said, this one could be pretty good.

title: chocolate fudge bars
categories: candies, chocolate
yield: 1 servings

1 c sugar
1 c butter or margarine
2 c confectioners’ sugar
1 ts vanilla
2 c milk
1 c chopped walnuts

cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. blend in egg and
vanilla. sift flour with baking powder and salt and add to creamed
mixture. mix in another 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. pour into greased
and floured 9″ round cake pan. bake at 350 f for 50-55 minutes. cool
in pan and cut into squares.

Ok, there’s no way that’s not a real recipe with a few modifications. That’s too good. There were a couple like this, so I’ll skip over them for now.

title: fish fillets
categories: fish
yield: 4 servings

-waldine van geffen vghc42a
1 lb fish fillets; cut into 1/2″
-cubes
1 c walnuts; chopped
1 c peanut oil
1 c water
1 clove garlic; minced
1 tb butter
1 tb flour
2 tb sugar
1 tb cornstarch
1 tb water
1 pn salt
1 ts worcestershire sauce
1 ts cornstarch

preheat oven to 375f. lightly butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking
dish. sprinkle the shrimp with the salt and pepper. arrange the
artichokes in a single layer on the carrots. add the onion and garlic,
and sprinkle with the garlic powder. place the chicken breasts on top
and bake for 15 minutes or until they are soft and crunchy.

place the chicken in a serving bowl and top with the basil sprigs.
sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

serves 4.

I love this one because of “soft and crunchy.”

And then we get this monstrosity:

title: frosty chocolate cheesecake (lacto)
categories: chocolate, cakes, desserts, cheesecakes
yield: 16 servings

—————————crust——————————–
1 c sugar
1 pk strawberry pudding mix
1 c cold water
2 tb margarine; melted
1 ts vanilla extract

————————–filling——————————-
1 c sugar
2 tb cornstarch
1 ts cream of tartar
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 c water
1 ts vanilla

—————————glaze——————————–
1 c sugar
1 ts cornstarch
1 ts cornstarch
1 ts lemon juice

combine the chocolate chips, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a heavy
saucepan over medium-high heat. cook over moderate heat, stirring
constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. remove from the heat and
stir in the butter until dissolved. stir in the vanilla and coconut.
spoon into a 9-inch springform pan. using a rolling pin, score the
cake layers in the pan. bake the cake in the middle of a preheated
350f oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean. cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the
cake from the pan and cool completely.

in a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and water. cook, stirring
constantly until the chocolate is melted. remove from the heat and
stir in the coconut. spread the chocolate mixture over the cream
cheese mixture, and spread the remaining cream over the cake. top
with the remaining chocolate truffle mixture. refrigerate until
chilled.

to serve, cut into squares and serve with a sprinkle of confectioners
sugar.

nutritional information: calories 163 (39% from fat); protein 2.4g;
fat 3.1g (sat 3.4g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.9g); carb 12.5g; fiber 0.5g; chol
78mg; iron 1.6mg; sodium 392mg; calc 16mg

This monstrosity of a recipe. It might even make a cake. But those ingredients will definitely not make something I’d want to eat today.

The fun part about the overfit network is that if I turn the temperature up too high it gets weird.

title: jack’s hot chicken salad
categories: salads, poultry
yield: 12 servings

3 (350 ml) dried hot chiles
4 skinless chicken breasts
(melted — about 1 pint)
1/2 to 2et cooking bagels
8 thick pastry sheets
1 lg onion
3 garlic cloves,large
1 ts garlic powder
1 c water

directions: place potatoes in a heavy pot over ham heat. add the
s&p. and bring to a boil over high heat, continuing to toss the last 2
minutes of cooking.

put the clam juice, wine and vinegar into a medium saucepan and
add the rice. bring it as the grain cooks. bring to its boil over
medium heat, then pierce it off with a knife; over low heat, simmer
for 15 min. until the flavors have blended. strain the fruits and
reserve the liquid.

cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces. wash these and peel
them.

after the couscous has cooled, the next day, rinse under cold water
and place in a dipping bowl.

meanwhile, rinse the chicken with a mixture of warm water and 1/4 tsp
salt.

drying liquid 1: sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the skin, each
one. lightly brown the spareribs in it in a little oil in a roasting
pan and add remaining ingredients. cover and cook over low fire for 1
minute per side.

flay the squid together.

Wow. I think I’ll just let that one stand on its own.

title: irregular beef
categories: main dish, beef
yield: 6 servings

1 lb ground beef, lean
1 md onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c water
1 large can tomatoes, chopped
1 cn salt cod use water pasta
-(no salt and tabasco)

in a large saucepan place 2 or 3 cups beef bouillon cubes; set aside.
cook sausage over medium heat until tender. remove, and drain pieces;
place in a greased 9-inch baking dish. sprinkle margarine on bottom
and sides. repeat two more or more. cover and bake at 350 degrees for
5 minutes. combine mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, pepper, curry
powder and salt, using the metal blade. on a baking sheet, place a mixt of
the eggs, salt and pepper, and the beaten egg abert to the meat
mixture. fill each scallop mixture with the egg mixture and then top
with 1 t of parmesan cheese. bake at 500 f for 45 mins. or until
beginning to bubble.

Ok, I think we can ignore the recipe and just go from the instructions here. This will definitely make some irregular beef.

Just to compare, here’s the non-overfit network at a high-temperature:

title: home-made maple pineapple jam
categories: relishes
yield: 1 batch

1/2 lb plain flour
salt
1 tb peanut oil
1 c sliced fresh cooking apples
1 ts instant coffee
2 oz self-raising flour

divide egg whites equally among oiled serving dishes. place your
finger and chopped mint in a hot water bath and refrigerate overnight.
when it comes out clean, toss it over in a 900′. in order to melt the
caramel thermometer, pour in the banana sauce. serve in ice cream
refrigerator. the recipe was doubled…yeast! place the kebab in a deep
1 quart or tiled container and let stand at room temperature. when
firm it is done at its way folks, but not enough to within another.
pour into container and freeze up to one month.

Mmm, maple pineapple jam sounds good. But the instructions… You have to refrigerate your finger overnight and melt a thermometer.

Later on we get cool stuff like:

cream butter and sugar, heat to medium. add banana, eggs, vanilla,
cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon rind; beat at low speed until fluffy,
whirl in dry ingredients, no longer, add cream cheese and beat until
smooth. stir in currants. drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2″ apart,
3 inches apart. be careful not to knock some of the rest of the
cookies.

The beginnings of a tasty sounding banana cookie.

title: freezer mix jelly
categories: relishes
yield: 1 servings

1 1/2 c instant mashed potatoes
1 pk unflavored gelatin
3 c cranberry juice
1 pk cream cheese (7 oz)
1 1/2 c mayonnaise
10 oz feta cheese

blend sugar and vermicelli til smooth. place in ice-water bath; mix well
and pour over salad.

A… thing.

steam the oranges for 4 minutes. into a blender, combine the flour,
salt, and corn meal. process for 30 seconds. add the butter and
margarine, and pulse for about 5 seconds. add the pureed apples
and the margarine. process on low the bowl until the mixture is
combined evenly. add the remaining 1/2 cup mashed bananas.

Some kind of… fruit cake?

In summary, I’ve gotten really astounding results and the number of actually somewhat cookable recipes has gone up immensely (I think?). I’m definitely putting a lot more thought into the idea of cooking some of these and making an RNN cookbook.