MAKING A RECIPE YOUR OWN

How many times have looked at all the different recipes we keep in our repertoire and we say “I would love to make that if I only had ……. in the house”, or how about: I can’t make this because I am missing….  Cooking is not about following a recipe, item for item, it is about being creative and using basic knowledge of food and techniques to create dishes that work well together and taste good. 

Cooking is the simple process of melding different flavors together to turn out a marvelous master piece that will have family and friends saying “ooh, ahh,” and begging for the recipe, wanting to know how to recreate that dish which you just invented.  So what if your recipe calls for ground beef and you only have ground turkey or chicken?  Try swapping the turkey or the chicken for the beef; if the recipe calls for shallots and you only have green onions, swap it out.  I can assure you, you are not going to kill anyone by swapping out a few ingredients.  If the Linzer cookies you want to make call for red raspberry jam and you have a coupon for apricot jam, go ahead and swap it out.  I promise you the cookie police will not be knocking down your door.

Part of the process of cooking and creating masterpieces in the kitchen is learning to be creative; experimenting with different tastes and textures and using items that you are not familiar with or haven’t cooked with before is never a bad thing. Stepping out of your comfort zone is progress and a learning process.  Yes, it’s a learning process, and you have to be willing to take the first steps in creating your own culinary adventure.  I am not saying that every time you swap out one ingredient for another it is going to work, or that you’re going to have a hit on your hands, but in most cases swapping out one ingredient for another could not hurt and will work every time. You should take a base recipe (the idea and the concept) and make it your own.

Remember one very important thing: each and every one of us cooks not only to survive and because our families have to eat, but we also cook because we all have a passion and a love for food.  We have a need to be proud of what we have accomplished no matter how much we complain about being in the kitchen.  Anyone can cook and put a meal together; it takes a real talent to save money on groceries, put food on the table night after night for more than one person (something that everyone will eat), and to have everything come together like symphony.  YES WE ALL ARE TALENTED MASTER CHEFS , so try experimenting a little and see what you can come up with.

Finally if anyone disagrees with you or your talent, point them in the direction of the kitchen and let’s see what they come up with.  I promise you they will be singing a different tune after spending a little time in the kitchen cooking a meal.