Query Builder

Supercook has an innovative query-builder for finding recipes (click to see full-sized image).

I enter ingredients I have on-hand in the upper-left green box, which are displayed below in the tabbed area labeled "Your Kitchen."   The search results on the right displays recipes with the ingredients I've specified (in this case chicken, lettuce, and salsa).

What's interesting is display below my list of ingredients - it suggests other ingredients I might have on-hand (or could easily buy).  These appear in a tag cloud so I can see which ingredients will yield the highest number of recipe options. For example, if I added the ingredients "cheddar cheese" and "tortillas" to my chicken, lettuce, and salsa, I go from being able to make 1 recipe to 5 recipes.

Though this example is food-specific, it seems this approach could work for other items that have a standard set of attributes.