For some time I've had a mental road-block when it comes to getting a bit creative with cooking. I've learned to follow a recipe and get the result I'm supposed to, but I can't really think up of anyway to spice things up myself. The problem, as far as I can tell, stems from the fact that I haven't got a clue how to make a basic dish.
As a good example, I can tell you a dozen different homemade rubs to spread on ribs, yet until I asked a someone at work I had no clue you could actually cook good ribs without a rub. May sound stupid, but no one (at least as far as I can tell) mentions cooking ribs without a rub because its just a basic non-nonsense dish. Likewise, I learned how to make potato salad by taking dozens of recipes I found and then cutting out all the ingredients that weren't common between them because I couldn't find a simple recipe anywhere.
Am I just missing some obvious source of information with that in it, or does everyone assume that you know that to start with? Or that you have someone to ask to explain that?
As a good example, I can tell you a dozen different homemade rubs to spread on ribs, yet until I asked a someone at work I had no clue you could actually cook good ribs without a rub. May sound stupid, but no one (at least as far as I can tell) mentions cooking ribs without a rub because its just a basic non-nonsense dish. Likewise, I learned how to make potato salad by taking dozens of recipes I found and then cutting out all the ingredients that weren't common between them because I couldn't find a simple recipe anywhere.
Am I just missing some obvious source of information with that in it, or does everyone assume that you know that to start with? Or that you have someone to ask to explain that?