Are you a recipe "tweaker"?? Can't leave well enough alone?

[NMDemDist2]

I do it all the time :spank:

as shown in this thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x2122

and right now I have a tuna casserole in the crock pot that called for 2 cans of cream of chicken (i subbed 1 can of cream of mushroom) and frozen peas (which I was out of) so I cut up a fresh zucchini

she says to put potato chips on top, but I'm gonna use bread crumbs and cheese

I just so rarely make dishes exactly by the recipe (except baking of course)

share your disasters or excellent results, or do you cook the dishes as recommended?

[bearfan454]

1. Almost every recipe.

For instance when I make hamburger helper I have to add green pepper or onion to it just to make it different. I like to put cayenne pepper on top of the hamburger helper on my plate too. Mrs bearfan laughs about it. She says I simply cannot follow a recipe exactly.

[NMDemDist2]

2. hubby says the same about me, tells me once in a while to quit

"winging it" on his classic favorites

but i do it anyway LOL

[Mrs. Overall]

3. I tweak spices constantly--

I double, triple, quadruple the amount of spices called for in many recipes. I have a great Morroccan Lentil Soup recipe and I have tripled all of the spices and then added a few the recipe didn't call for.

I also usually double or triple the amount of spices called for in pumpkin pie and throw in a shot or two of brandy--yum!

And I always up the number of garlic cloves in any recipe as well.

My mom's winning tweak is playing with the classic Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar. She has always put in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. You get a much richer tasting cookie.

I rarely make anything exactly by the recipe.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Recipes are simply a guideline

Cooking should be fun and so should eating. I always look at recipes as nothing more than a guideline (except for any Asian recipe as I have no real understanding of those cuisines). I regularly do such things as take soup recipes and make them into pasta sauces. Or take a chicken recipe and use salmon instead.

The only recipes I faithfully follow, even to the point of measuring and weighing is for bakery items. Since baking is as much a chemistry experiment as it is cooking, I don't screw around with them too much.

Sparkly and I have a bazillion cookbooks. Our theory is that if we get even one recipe out of them, they're worth it. They get read and reread many times. But only as inspiration ...... hmmmmmm ....... we have this fresh tuna. What can we do with it? Wait, wasn't there that smoked duck recipe we saw in the XYZ cookbook? That looked good. Look it up .......


And aWaaaaaay we go!

[merci_me]

5. One of my favorite tweaks

is stuffed green peppers. I don't really have a recipe to begin with, I just make it. But several years ago, not having peppers that were really big enough and not being in the mood to blanch them, I decided to cut them into chunks and using my basic stuffed pepper ingredients, I made a pot of soup. I added more sauce and some stewed tomatoes to make it soupy but thick.

Now it's one of our favorite meals and happens more often than fooling around making pretty peppers all standing in a row. We always liked the stuffed peppers better the next day anyway, so now we start with them looking like leftovers.

A bowl of THICK "stuffed" green pepper soup and a big slice (or two)of crusty bread, slathered with butter makes a wonderful winter evening meal.

Mary

[mourningdove92]

6. Around my house we call that "creative cooking"

translated...I just KNOW that I KNOW better than the folks who originally wrote the recipe...so I just have to add this or that.

Of course, lots of times its a matter of not having everything the recipe called for. Of course, I would never let a little thing like that get in my way. Besides, when in doubt...add garlic.

[Baja Margie]

7. That's what makes a good cook,

a little of this and a little of that !

[Mr. McD]

8. A recipe is only a guide.

I make very few recipe's as there written. For example I almost always double or triple the amount of garlic in a recipe. They rarely call for enough.:) :) :) :) :)

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Ahhh Garlic ..........

I'd make garlic jello if I didn't think people would look at me strange!

Never too much garlic ..... ain't possible!

:hi: