Cooking - Part 2 (Follow the recipe)

[Pacion]

OKAY! Hands up all those who will faithfully follow a recipe down to the photograph, if there is one? It does not have to be anything fancy, even boiled eggs, is fine :lol:

I am really bad with it. I don't if it is boredom or 'lack of discipline' but, by the time I am making something for the first :lol: or second time, I want to add something else - and pray that it works :lol: But have yet to try and jelly and banana sandwich :lol:

I also cook with next to no salt but lots of pepper/other seasonings :banana:

[peachexploration]

Here's one. It's a pain to make but the result is phenominal. Follow it to the letter. :lol:

Sour Cream Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Preheat oven to 325° F. Generously grease and flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. In a very large bowl, cream the butter until it has reached the consistency of heavy cream. Slowly add the sugar (1/4 cup at a time), beating well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the sour cream. In a bowl sift together the flour, soda and salt. Sift the mixture 3 times. Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the creamed butter mixture, blending well, with mixer at lowest speed. Add the flavorings. Bake 65-70 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to continue cooling.

[pygmalion]

I make a mean sour cream pound cake. My input? And this to the recipe. Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature before mixing the cake, for best results. 8) Yum!

[pygmalion]

Uh. I guess that means no, I don't follow the recipe to the letter, pretty much ever. I keep a well-stocked kitchen, but what the heck! If I don't have every single thing on hand, I make substitutions.

[peachexploration]

I follow my own recipes to the letter if that makes sense. I'm forever testing recipes, arranging them the way I want them and then after that recording them so that when I make it again, it is exactly how I want it everytime. When catering, you have to be a little more consistent. Especially when your customers have favorites. :D

[pygmalion]

True, peach. Since it's just my own kitchen, a lot of times, I'll stand in the middle of the kitchen and think, "Hmm. What do I have a taste for?" Then make it, or make up a recipe. I don't need to document anything, since it's just for me. 8)

[tsb]

cooking is like dancing. certain aspects of technique & composition allow for deviation for personal taste, while certain principles should be observed at all costs. i imagine that we can all think of examples...

[Sagitta]

Never ever follow a recipe from start to finish. I always do my own thing, add my own pizzaz, if you know what I mean?! :wink: :)

[danceguy]

add my own pizzaz

Hey Sagitta, I make my own pizzas too! Nothing beats fresh herbs from the garden baked into the crust of a REAL pizza with hunks of salami and pepperoni...man oh man, that's livin'! :D

SG

[Pacion]

:roll: Scorpion, do you have food on the brain? :nope: pizzaz does not equal pizza! :wink:

[tj]

Similar to tsb's dance analogy...

When first trying out a new recipe, I will try to follow it exactly. I want to see if there's something in particular with how they're doing it.

As I get more familiar (advanced), I'll start "playing" with it, and modifying to my own preferences.

Just like dancing!

[ShyDancer]

Who needs recipes!? :lol: :lol:

I cant ever remember using one... my Grandmother and Mother taught me how to make anything and everything.

If I so have the desire to try something new (not often as I am the worlds fussiest eater) I get my SO, a chef, to make it! Or I go out and buy it :lol: :lol:

[voilsb]

Recipes have two purposes:
1) Help people who can't cook make *something* edible.
2) Provide ideas and guidelines for people who can cook.


To follow a recipe to the letter is like ... dancing to a metronome versus a great band or exceptional DJ.

[peachexploration]

I think I totally misunderstood this thread. :? :lol: :D

[MacMoto]

I remember one of the TV chefs (Jamie Oliver I think) saying you must measure ingredients when baking (breads or cakes), because there's a bit of science involved. Otherwise, just go with your tastebuds.

[tsb]

Recipes have two purposes:
1) Help people who can't cook make *something* edible.
2) Provide ideas and guidelines for people who can cook.

To follow a recipe to the letter is like ... dancing to a metronome versus a great band or exceptional DJ.

I remember one of the TV chefs (Jamie Oliver I think) saying you must measure ingredients when baking (breads or cakes), because there's a bit of science involved. Otherwise, just go with your tastebuds.

i know that there are a lot of people who are good cooks but they don't necessarily understand how & why the techniques they use work. personally, i like to understand how & why - because that helps me understand what shortcuts i can (& can't) make. for example, in cakes, fat is added to destablize the structure of the gluten. but you can achieve the same effect by substituting fruit puree(s). both contribute a 'mouth-feel' what foodies describe as 'go-away', which is what allows a solid mouthful of food to dissolve to a comfortable mush.

what lard/oil/shortening do is coat the gluten strands in the dough with fatty acids so they slide by eacn other. there's still some speculation as to precisely what the puree does, but what makes sense to me is (besides the obvious viscosity & body) that because it contains plant structural material that also contributes to the structure without strengthening it.

but since there is no lubricant effect, i take steps to minimize gluten buildup by avoiding overmixing - hand mixing more like a muffin dough & beating the eggs separately. do note that these cakes are definitely dry if overcooked. but on the flip side, they seem to get moister (like a fruitcake) as time passes.

if you want to experiment, i suggest starting with a chocolate cake mix & substituting baby food prune puree. and of course, this also works well when you've already got a fruit or vegetable flavoring like carrot cake.