How to Use my “Recipe Templates”

A big factor in people deciding that “cooking is not their thing” is the trouble of selecting and following recipes.  Even when a recipe is carefully tested and the cook is relatively skilled, things can fail when adjustments are not made on the fly.  This is incredibly frustrating, especially when the food and time essentially goes straight in the trash.  Being able to adapt to changes is an incredibly important part of making cooking enjoyable and successful , and traditional recipes will never help you do that.

When I describe something that I have cooked, I want you to feel like you are in the kitchen with me.  I don’t think the traditional “ingredients” and “instructions” model will work here- that’s also not how I cook, which would make this blog a little tough to create.  Instead, I want to take you through, motion by motion, what I am seeing, tasting, hearing, feeling, and smelling while I put a meal together.  That is how you break free from the rigidity of instructions and gain confidence in your own skills.

Usually, I use a real recipe for inspiration, a kind of starting point for whatever I think I’m going to make.  I think this is a good idea for beginners as well, because having a little concrete instruction can take some of the fear-of-the-unknown away.  If the recipe is available online, I will do my best to link to it in case you’d like to refer back to the original post.

Next, I’ll let you know what kind of adjustments I decided to make- did I switch out brown rice for farro, double the amount of vegetables, go from 4 to 2 servings, or leave out a spice I ran out of?

Then, I’ll go through a step-by-step “immersion” lesson on how to prepare the food, which may include details like this, if I find them relevant:

• I will put any ingredients I used in bold and I will do my best to list things you could use as substitutes (though that may have to wait for ingredient-specific posts).  If necessary, I’ll give approximate amounts, but I never measure anything so take that with a grain of salt (ha!).
  • If I use or suggest substitutes, I will guess how the dish may change so you can judge whether you will like it or not.
• I’ll explain what to listen/look/smell/taste for, if applicable.  Very basic techniques like boiling pasta or slicing a carrot will have to wait for their own posts- I can’t write that every time!  Websites like seriouseats.com are also great resources for those basic tasks.
• If things take only a few seconds, I’ll mention that.  If they take a long time, I’ll give suggestions for how to use that time efficiently (like cleaning up or prepping other ingredients).

Over time, this format may evolve- feel free to let me know in the comments or email what you find the most and least helpful.  Essentially, I want these templates to feel like I’m standing there next to you in the kitchen, with the recipe memorized for you, and I’m guiding you how to most effectively create a meal with whatever tools, ingredients, and skills you have at your disposal.  I can’t wait to jump in and get started!

P.S. That fish pictured above is bluefish, an underutilized (read: cheap and environmentally friendly) fish in New England that is notorious for being too oily-tasting.  My friends and I countered the oilyness with some chili pepper, salt, acid (vinegar or lemon, can’t remember which), and sliced bell and hot peppers.  Roasted on aluminum foil at 425F until the fish felt firm but started to fall apart if poked (maybe 15 minutes?) and the peppers were wilty and starting to brown.  Perfection, and not one bit oily.