I'd love to be one of those cooks who never has to consult a recipe. But when I do need to follow a text, I want to do so in a way that is convenient, legible, accessable yet out of the way of mixing bowls, chopping boards and the like.
Here's my solution (pictured above). I use a litttle page holding device called the Page-Up paper holder, found in many office supply or stationery stores. (A close-up image appears at the end of this post). The page is held aloft on the counter top, and is barely as wide and deep as the page itself, thus freeing up valuable counter space.
While this will work with most normal-weight paper, I keep my recipe pages in clear plastic sleeves, to protect them from wear and the inevitable splatters of batter, grease and smudgy fingers. The plastic sleeve adds enough structure to aid in holding the page firmly in place. When I am done with the recipe, I simply return it to my recipe binder (which will be the focus of another post soon).
In the past, I have tried the acrylic shields that will hold an entire recipe book. In practice, I found them unweildy, not fully protective of the book, too small for some of them, and a real hassle in the case of recipes that required the turning of a page in the cook book. Other than that, they are fine. (rim shot). Oh, and they take up WAY to much counter space. I try to keep my recipes to one page, but should it continue to the other side of the page, it is easy to turn around the clear plastic sheets and view the other side.
So there you have it. This system works well for me. Got an idea or trick to share for holding your recipes? Leave me a comment! Better yet, take a picture and blog on it, and I'll post a round up of ideas here on this blog for all to enjoy. Who knows, maybe you'll convert me to your method.
My little holder is s sporty leopard print style, but you can find them in solid colors and other designs to match your decor here.