” About My Recipes “

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Dear Friend‘s,

Here is my answer to a question some of my new readers have once in a while :

I love the dish! But where is the recipe ?

To answer those questions :
The ingredient’s (except most standard seasonings) are usually pictured in the first (the Prep) picture..
The idea is to have you add as much /  little of one ingredient as you like :
Don’t like much garlic? Add less! Love garlic?  Add more.
In savory cooking, recipes are usually just guidelines, which you should interprete
according to your taste , preferences and availability. (Don’t like butter? Use olive oil !
Don’t like butter nor olive oil? Use Canola oil or peanut oil or whatever fat you like !
Prefer your soup / sauce thicker or thinner ? Add more or less thickener !
Don’t want fat in your food? Leave it out!
Most reader like this format, especially the once who have fallen on their butt
by following “EXACT” recipes to the dot, just to find out they don’t give you the pictured  result      : -(

And yes, many of my recipes have the approximate amounts printed   🙂

So please remember :
To truly learn a dish, one must understand what the temperature, moisture and time does to the ingredients. (Amongst many other things).

To quote Alton Brown:
“A home cook who relies too much on a recipe is sort of like a pilot who reads the plane’s instruction manual while flying.”
– Alton Brown


Cooking is a labor of love.
Do what makes you happy, as long as you understand the guidelines.   :-)

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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11 comments

  2. Pingback: ” About my recipes “ | hanssusser

  4. I can truly appreciate the idea behind this. Its like my martial arts instructor says, “once you have learned to do something well you reach a point where you have no idea what you are doing.” Granted cooking and fighting are two different beasts I completely understand why it is said. After twelve years in the kitchen I have no idea what I am doing I just do.

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  5. Hi Guy’s,
    I would also like to point out that I seldom post complicated, classic dishes which should adhere to set standards, ratios, measurements and – recipes.
    Again, since may I had over 40.000 visitors and only about seven or eight asked for more detailed recipes, which usually, when I find the time, I sit down and do answer with more detailed recipes, measurements included.
    I am trying to have a more open, relaxed cooking dialogue with mostly inspirational dishes which can be cooked by anyone following my mostly visual guidelines.
    For purely recipe oriented websites and blogs, there is a vast choice out there which in combination with my humle blog should satisfy most folk’s.
    So please bear with me and if you need more info about anything specific, just ask and I’ll deliver 🙂

    Life is Good ! Cheers !

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  6. Russell Ito •
    As Jacques Pepin says: A recipe is just a moment in time of how one person thought the dish should be made. Doesn’t mean that’s the only way. People have become slaves to their recipes, but the most important thing is to understand the idea(s) behind the dish, then to make those ideas/flavors your own.

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  9. Nailed it! We’re not talking baking here…

    P.S. Alton is my culinary hero and anyone who says bad things about Good Eats will most likely experience the ghost of Julia coming to their home and smacking them in the face with a wooden spoon…

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  10. Pingback: Recipes are Just Guidelines and an Excerpt from the Chefs Opinion Blog | Simply Sophisticated Cooking

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