Yes, there is a way to examine an item before you craft it! Due to poor design on SOE's part, not many people know about this incredibly useful option. To do this, first examine the recipe. At the bottom of the recipe, there is a pic of the item. Right click this, and choose examine. There you have it! You can now see what it is before you make it!
Why SOE did not make this option more apparent is beyond me, unless they wanted to give it more of a mysterious, experimenting feel, while still offering the ability to check it, for those that played around with it long enough to find out.
I know a lot of you already know this, but I have run into a lot of people who did not. Heck, I didnt know it until after level 20 hehe...