Have you ever changed direction mid-cooking?

[larry_stewart]

I was in Philadelphia last weekend for the Philadelphia Flower Show ( Has absolutely nothing to do with this story). With time to kill, we were walking the streets, window browsing ... Came across an India Restaurant which was closed because it was early in the morning. In their window, they had a television showing preparations of Indian dishes ( from start to finish). It caught my interest , so I stuck around to see what was next. Turns out they were making a Daal ( a version I wasn't familiar with), so I started to jot down the ingredients and pay attention to the technique ( ingredients were shown visually, along with approximate measurements , but not exact). Anyway, I couldn't wait to get home and try it.

Tonight I was in the mood for Indian food, so I went back to my notes ( and pictures I took when they showed a bunch of the ingredients) and started cooking. As I got done with the initial sauce ( onions, tomatoes, cumin, garlic paste, ginger paster, crushed tomatoes , turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, Chunky Chaat ( had no clue what this was, but found it in a local Indian store ( a spice blend)) salt .... When I tasted it, it tasted so good, I decided not to add the lentils, but go a different direction. I tossed in some kidney beans, peas, cauliflower, potatoes an eggplant. I was so happy I did, it was probably one of the most authentic recipes ive made ( or at least tasted pretty close to things I order at the Indian restaurant when I go).

Glad I decided to change directions.
And yes, I quickly wrote down what I did so I can repeat it in the future.

 

[larry_stewart]

And to give you and idea of what I mean by approximate measurements , this is what I was dealing with.

 

[CWS4322]

All the time. I am "what's in the freezer, what's in fridge, what's in the pantry, what's in the spice cabinet, what's in the garden" kinda cook. Rarely do I go to the store to specifically buy ingredients.

 

[GotGarlic]

All the time. I am "what's in the freezer, what's in fridge, what's in the pantry, what's in the spice cabinet, what's in the garden" kinda cook. Rarely do I go to the store to specifically buy ingredients.

Me too.

 

[larry_stewart]

All the time. I am "what's in the freezer, what's in fridge, what's in the pantry, what's in the spice cabinet, what's in the garden" kinda cook. Rarely do I go to the store to specifically buy ingredients.

Im 50/50
Many times I just see what I got and do what I can ( with some kind of general direction in mind), but in this case, I was determined to replicate what I saw, but after tasting as I was going through the process, I decided to take a detour. Even when I do kinda wing it, I usually have the ingredients in front of me and know what Im going to do. In this case, literally right before I was to add the lentils in ( which were already precooked, thats when I ran to get the peas ( which were in the freezer), the eggplant ( which was dehydrated from the summer), a potato ( which was sprouting eyes from last years harvest) and a left over piece of cauliflower from the vegetable drawer in the fridge. A total last minute diversion.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

When we kids were little, about the only thing my dad could be trusted to grill without burning were hot dogs. He got tired of 'dogs real fast. My mom made hamburger hot dogs, rolled them in corn flakes or Wheaties, I forget which. For some reason Dad managed to make these ok. Up to that point if he grilled regular burgers, he turned them into fiery hockey pucks. Well, dad's cooking improved and now every once in awhile I will grill hamburger hot dogs just because.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Geez, I'm trying to think if I've done that before Larry.

I can say that I've gone it a totally different direction
when I've messed everything up and its just not worthy
of feeding to my family, but half way through and go
with other ingredients that are the main components?
Hmmm, I don't know to be honest.

I can say that as I gather my mise en place and I
don't have what I thought I did, then yeah,
I change direction completely though.
I'm not one to run out to get just one ingredient,
that's when I change directions.

I too make notes as I go along, if I'm following
a recipe, like, "... this was real tasty, let's try it
with such and such next time."

 

[cjmmytunes]

All the time. I am "what's in the freezer, what's in fridge, what's in the pantry, what's in the spice cabinet, what's in the garden" kinda cook. Rarely do I go to the store to specifically buy ingredients.

I am the same way - i can't see going to the store or just one thing when I have something else that will work just as well.


Except coffee - must have coffee.

 

[Just Cooking]

I have done so..

I can't pull an example of the top of my head but, I do know that I have changed direction, mid prep, when a different application or ingredient popped into my mind..

Ross

 

[Kevin86]

Sometimes I really get in the mood to do some recipes and I follow them exactly and love trying new dishes. Other times I get part way and drift sometimes I read the headline or title and think mmmmmm ok then just go where my brain goes. It all depends on the day I guess.

 

[taxlady]

I have done so..

I can't pull an example of the top of my head but, I do know that I have changed direction, mid prep, when a different application or ingredient popped into my mind..

Ross

Same here.