It has no business tasting this good casserole

[Kayelle]

Good try Chief but no cigar.

There are "rules" for successful baking. Rule breakers are not allowed.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Good try Chief but no cigar.

There are "rules" for successful baking. Rule breakers are not allowed.

Call me RRRRRebel! Now make sure to roll that rrrrrr.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

Call me RRRRRebel! Now make sure to roll that rrrrrr.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Having been married to a man with a thick Scottish accent, I have that rolled R down pat.

When my youngest daughter was just learning to talk, my husband had just been seriously injured on the job. So I went to work and he stayed home with the kids. As a result she learned to talk from him. She could roll her R's better than her father. It took me almost a year to get her to lose that Scottish accent. But she never forgot how to roll those R's.

 

[chiklitmanfan]

Chief Longwind: One can simply look at the ingredient list and know it will be delicious so it is the cooking technique that takes center stage.

Okay, I've never cooked cucumbers before (?!) and I think the missus and I would substitute condensed milk for the cream. The missus also does not eat beef so substitute ground turkey for ground beef. Have I ruined it yet ??

BTW, I love your recipes!

 

[CWS4322]

I'm in the cobble camp. I only follow recipes that I'm asked to test drive, then I follow them as written. However, when I look at the recipe, I will often think...it could benefit from a little "fill in the blank." So I will prep 2x the amount of ingredients and test drive as written and then make the additions to the second batch of ingredients and have friends over to rate which version they prefer.

My style of cooking is the same as many others, recipes give me ideas, but what is in my pantry, freezer, garden drive what is the end result. My grandmother wrote down the ingredients for many of the things she made, but not necessarily the amounts or how to assemble the dish or how long to cook it.

Perhaps because I grew up in a household where with a 7-day rotating menu that rarely changed...chicken on Wednesday night, but if it was duck or partridge season, duck or partridge substituted for the chicken), roast beef on Sundays, spaghetti on Mondays (sometimes subbed out for meatloaf or chili), steak on Fridays, hamburgers on Saturday, leftover spaghetti on Tuesdays, Spanish rice or stir fry on Thursdays, I hate eating the same thing over and over again. In the summer, we ate walleye instead of chicken and tacos instead of chili.

When I bake, I tend to follow the recipe pretty closely but I do substitute or add things. Rarely do the things I bake fail.

I play in the kitchen. It is where I can be creative.

 

[Andy M.]

...My style of cooking is the same as many others, recipes give me ideas, but what is in my pantry, freezer, garden drive what is the end result...

I find this both interesting and disconcerting. You find a recipe that looks good enough that you really want to make it. Then you don't make that recipe.

How would you ever know if your changes, based on what's available in your pantry or garden; or based on whim, make the recipe better or worse that the one that caught your eye in the first place?

 

[GotGarlic]

I find this both interesting and disconcerting. You find a recipe that looks good enough that you really want to make it. Then you don't make that recipe.

How would you ever know if your changes, based on what's available in your pantry or garden; or based on whim, make the recipe better or worse that the one that caught your eye in the first place?

I do the same thing. I see a recipe that looks good but it might have some ingredients that we don't like, so I plan a substitute, or when I taste it, it might not have enough flavor for me, so I add something - either more of an ingredient in the recipe or something else.

I may not know whether it's better or worse, but I will know whether we like it enough to make it again. Sometimes it's enough to get ideas about flavor combinations and/or techniques and then make it your own.

In fact, I did that tonight. I have a recipe for broccoli rabe in oyster sauce, but neither of us likes broccoli rabe, so I substituted green beans. I also added more sesame oil than the recipe called for. Yummy

 

[Andy M.]

I do the same thing. I see a recipe that looks good but it might have some ingredients that we don't like, so I plan a substitute, or when I taste it, it might not have enough flavor for me, so I add something - either more of an ingredient in the recipe or something else.

I may not know whether it's better or worse, but I will know whether we like it enough to make it again. Sometimes it's enough to get ideas about flavor combinations and/or techniques and then make it your own.

In fact, I did that tonight. I have a recipe for broccoli rabe in oyster sauce, but neither of us likes broccoli rabe, so I substituted green beans. I also added more sesame oil than the recipe called for. Yummy

I agree. I see that as different from what CWS said. Her changes seemed to be driven by what she had on hand rather than replacing something you don't care for with a preferred item.

I have no issue with using recipes as guidelines. When I prepare to make a new dish, I gather a half dozen versions of the recipe and compare the ingredients and quantities. Then I put together a recipe using some combination of ingredients and quantities from those six that sounds good. But in the process of doing that, I don't tamper with the basic flavors in the dish.

On a related note, I don't have a problem with writing down recipes so I can recreate them. That just makes sense to me. Especially if SO and I both really like it. I don't want to be disappointed because I can't make it taste as good the next time.

 

[vitauta]

We are free thinkers!

note to self: no more c&p-ing dawg's recipes.

 

[Dawgluver]

note to self: no more c&p-ing dawg's recipes.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

I have no issue with using recipes as guidelines. When I prepare to make a new dish, I gather a half dozen versions of the recipe and compare the ingredients and quantities. Then I put together a recipe using some combination of ingredients and quantities from those six that sounds good. But in the process of doing that, I don't tamper with the basic flavors in the dish.

I do this same thing a lot.

On a related note, I don't have a problem with writing down recipes so I can recreate them. That just makes sense to me. Especially if SO and I both really like it. I don't want to be disappointed because I can't make it taste as good the next time.

I'm learning to do this. The hubby gets really annoyed if I make something we really like and don't write it down. I've also gotten better at estimating measurments for things I've added to new recipes.

Dad, what would you recommend I sub out for the cheese powder? Also, do you think I could just leave the peas out or should I replace them with something? I have this weird aversion to peas in a creamy sauce. Something about the texture makes me feel twitchy and makes the muscles under my chin feel weird.

 

[Kayelle]

I do this same thing a lot.



I'm learning to do this. The hubby gets really annoyed if I make something we really like and don't write it down. I've also gotten better at estimating measurments for things I've added to new recipes.

Dad, what would you recommend I sub out for the cheese powder? Also, do you think I could just leave the peas out or should I replace them with something? I have this weird aversion to peas in a creamy sauce. Something about the texture makes me feel twitchy and makes the muscles under my chin feel weird.

In case I haven't said so before...I so enjoy your relationship with your Dad...it's a wonderful heartwarming thing to behold.

 

[CWS4322]

I agree. I see that as different from what CWS said. Her changes seemed to be driven by what she had on hand rather than replacing something you don't care for with a preferred item.

I have no issue with using recipes as guidelines. When I prepare to make a new dish, I gather a half dozen versions of the recipe and compare the ingredients and quantities. Then I put together a recipe using some combination of ingredients and quantities from those six that sounds good. But in the process of doing that, I don't tamper with the basic flavors in the dish.

On a related note, I don't have a problem with writing down recipes so I can recreate them. That just makes sense to me. Especially if SO and I both really like it. I don't want to be disappointed because I can't make it taste as good the next time.

FWIW, what I have on hand, happens to be what I like. I don't think people keep food items on hand that they don't like...at least, I don't. One of my favourite chefs to watch on TV is Micheal Smith. I cook like he cooks. I start with the main protein and decide what to do with it. I just don't have a chalkboard in my kitchen. I never did like colouring inside the lines. I don't like cooking inside the lines, either.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I do this same thing a lot.



I'm learning to do this. The hubby gets really annoyed if I make something we really like and don't write it down. I've also gotten better at estimating measurments for things I've added to new recipes.

Dad, what would you recommend I sub out for the cheese powder? Also, do you think I could just leave the peas out or should I replace them with something? I have this weird aversion to peas in a creamy sauce. Something about the texture makes me feel twitchy and makes the muscles under my chin feel weird.

For the cheese powder (which you can purchase online), you can use shredded, aged cheddar. Simply remove the mixture from the heat before adding the cheese. Then slowly add it as you stir it in. For the peas, you might sub pearl onions, and maybe some diced carrot.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[pacanis]

I agree. I see that as different from what CWS said. Her changes seemed to be driven by what she had on hand rather than replacing something you don't care for with a preferred item.

I have no issue with using recipes as guidelines. When I prepare to make a new dish, I gather a half dozen versions of the recipe and compare the ingredients and quantities. Then I put together a recipe using some combination of ingredients and quantities from those six that sounds good. But in the process of doing that, I don't tamper with the basic flavors in the dish.

On a related note, I don't have a problem with writing down recipes so I can recreate them. That just makes sense to me. Especially if SO and I both really like it. I don't want to be disappointed because I can't make it taste as good the next time.

Same here. Find some recipes you like, then combine them to remain as true as you can using what is available or what methods they are calling for, but still be able to be called "Carl's mook" and have it taste like Carl intended it to taste.
Not that there's anything wrong with throwing something together.

 

[pacanis]

FWIW, what I have on hand, happens to be what I like. I don't think people keep food items on hand that they don't like...at least, I don't. One of my favourite chefs to watch on TV is Micheal Smith. I cook like he cooks. I start with the main protein and decide what to do with it. I just don't have a chalkboard in my kitchen. I never did like colouring inside the lines. I don't like cooking inside the lines, either.

Agreed. But they do acquire the ingredients when following, or trying to duplicate, a recipe. There are many things I do not keep on hand because they would spoil before I found a use for them. I simply do not use/eat them often enough to stock.

 

[Kayelle]

It all comes down to this for all of us....."I'm the boss of my own kitchen, and there's no cooking police to tell me I'm wrong." Simple.

 

[Andy M.]

It all comes down to this for all of us....."I'm the boss of my own kitchen, and there's no cooking police to tell me I'm wrong." Simple.

No one is saying differently, Kayelle. We're just discussing the pros and cons of each style.

 

[Dawgluver]

Same here. Find some recipes you like, then combine them to remain as true as you can using what is available or what methods they are calling for, but still be able to be called "Carl's mook" and have it taste like Carl intended it to taste.
Not that there's anything wrong with throwing something together.

I want the recipe for "Carl's mook."

 

[Kayelle]

No one is saying differently, Kayelle. We're just discussing the pros and cons of each style.

Yes, I understand that Andy. I'm just putting in my own two cents into the "discussion". It's just not likely anyone is going to change their style of cooking when all is said and done.