Maybe it’s the way I grew up cooking with my dad, or maybe it’s because the inside of my head resembles a Jackson Pollock painting, but I have never been one for using recipes. Actually, using a recipe can cause me stress which is why baking is at the bottom of my skills list. Being constricted to a set of instructions and ingredients feels like someone is putting a heavy gray blanket over my abilities.
…I should probably examine this further but that’s for another day, maybe not on my public blog.
That being said, I love to use recipes for inspiration. I regard ingredient lists as suggestions, or I’ll read over techniques that I may not be familiar with and then I’ll try it on my own. Basically, I use cookbooks as a guide, rather than as a rule.
When I’m teaching a new student, the first question I get asked is “Will I receive the recipes before our lesson?” And my answer is always no, which really freaks some people out. I personally believe that you should cook with your senses- learning to know when something is done based on sight or smell, understanding what seasonings you need to add based on the taste, gauging oil temperature based on the sounds you hear.
I know this can seem intimidating but here’s the thing: the more you learn to use your own perspective and senses, the better you’ll be in the kitchen. Following a recipe is a great way to start but if you are only following instructions, you’re cooking someone else’s food. What if you like things a little more acidic or less salty than the recipe dictates? Do you know how to alter those measurements without the fear of destroying a dish? Or better yet, if you do take a wrong turn, do you know how to recover a meal so it’s not just edible but enjoyable? Like going to the gym, learning a new coding software, or applying liquid eyeliner, cooking just takes practice.
There are some brilliant people in the world who can develop recipes down to the exact measurements of one spice over another, and I am very grateful for those folks. That’s why I listen to the Bon Appetit Foodcast and read Serious Eats- their minds are fascinating and I respect their skill. I’ll be honest and say I am not one of those people. Actually, if you’re someone who has asked me for a recipe of mine, you’ve probably faced the frustration of me answering “uh, well here are the ingredients I used but I don’t know how much was in there.” But that’s how I learned- my dad taught me to keep adding until it tasted right and that’s still how I operate.
There are staple dishes I make every week and I still could probably not tell you how much of anything is in them. If I’m making cacio e pepe, I may use more or less black pepper depending on my mood, or I end up including more pasta water than usual because it’s a hot, dry day and my butter isn’t emulsifying with the cheese. Even my matzo ball soup tastes slightly different every time. Maybe someday I’ll start measuring so I can pass on these dishes to my students but honestly, probably not.
Who am I to tell you how much cayenne pepper you like in your taco seasoning? Maybe you are sensitive to black pepper and my cacio e pepe would actually destroy your insides? I can probably tell you how much to start with but that will also be an estimation. You all probably think I’m insane but it’s like learning a language: immersion. When you’re in the kitchen, you have the ability to taste and add and subtract and combine. You’re in there, for better or for worse, creating and immersing yourself in the experience- how could it go wrong? Seriously, I’m asking.
What is the worst thing that will happen if you don’t use a recipe or if you deviate from the recipe you were planning to use?
I could probably keep going forever on this topic- feel free to reach out if you want to talk about it too- but I’ll just leave you with that question to think about the next time you’re in the kitchen.
