So...as I mentioned before, I will write about anything on this thing.
Well, I was cooking for my wife's birthday the other day and I realized there are two kinds of people in this world - those that follow the recipe and those that will stray from it. The latter could be considered a "whisktaker"...yeah, bad I know, but you know who you are.
"This Jello recipe calls for 7-up so I really can't put Sprite in it".
Or
"This Chili recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder, but I'm going to put in 1 Cup of Chili Powder and 4 Tablespoons of cayenne pepper".
I'm a guy so I don't want to create the guise that I cook all the time. I don't. I enjoy it, but my wife definitely gets the credit in the kitchen. 100% of it. Now, when I do cook/grill/pick up take out, it usually turns out to be a braggable offense, where those who are dining with me go back for 2nds. By the way, 2nds is the true indicator of good food. 1sts are simply a guests way of saying, 'thanks for cooking this crap, I'm just eating it because you served it". 2nds mean, 'Mikey really likes it!".
Now back to my wife's birthday dinner and whether or not I follow the recipe. Those of you who know me would absolutely guess that I don't follow the recipe or that I'm not afraid to stray. It's actually a pretty good parallel to life. If you follow the recipe, you lick your envelopes up and down not one scooby doo lick from side to side. Simple, I'll follow the recipe until I read the word 'measure'.
I have to step back and give you the menu for the night: crab stuffed chicken with grilled asparagus and mushroom risotto and an appetizer of coconut shrimp with teriyaki scallops - all grilled. Do you think Chef Gordon Ramsey would be impressed? I'd love for that guy to yell at me with a profanity laden tirade.
Now buying the ingredients. I'll skip past the part of the obvious and get to the coconut shrimp. The intention was to get Malibu Rum, marinate the shrimp in it, grill it, enjoy as that is what the suggested recipe called for. But then as I was shopping at 2 am, I realized grilling rum would be the equivalent of drinking an O'douls for the "beer" flavor. The alcohol would be cooked away and I'd be left with the coconut flavor, still the clear goal here. BUT could I obtain it by straying from the recipe. Malibu Rum = $17 for a 750ml bottle = grill = waste of alcohol. Then I spotted my answer and heard the Harlem Boys Choir singing in the background (I was at Wal-mart, so it could possibly have been Martha and Joan in Aisle 4)....Pina Colada Mix. Pina Colada Mix = $2 = no alcohol waste = the fun of straying from the recipe. Long story into a long story with a one word closing - HOMERUN!
If you love shrimp and love pina coladas...marinate your large shrimp in this stuff for a couple of hours. Grill it directly on the grill and the pina colada mix in its coconutty creaminess, keeps the shrimp moist and absolutely mouth watering and it's thick enough to coat evenly. There is no breading, so healthier for you (I have no proof of this). AND you can use the leftover Pina Colada Mix to make yourself (and your guests) a little frozen totty. Butterfly the shrimp though and you may just be a culinary hero/heroess.
And if you haven't strayed from the recipe, do me a favor and try it sometime. If it works, you take the credit. If it doesn't, blame it on some guy who runs a purse business. But I can tell you, once you stray from a 1/4 cup of this to 1/5 flask of that, you'll never need the 3 x 5 card again.
Scott "Flay"
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ok, that sounds really yummy. we love watching Hell's Kitchen too - I don't see how he can be so nice during the rewards and such a meanie in the kitchen, but he is the famous one!
ReplyDeleteI rarely follow the recipe, but I have NOT had quite the success you have seemed to have had!
I think the happiest 'screw this, I am NOT going back to the store for a 3rd time in this rain, so I'm using what I've got' moment was having to trade vanilla extract for almond extract and then orange extract (cause I didn't have that much almond left either)...oh my goodness, it was delish and made our cutout cookies the talk of the party :)
I'm not a big recipe follower either. I'll add my own ingredients, take stuff out. I think its more fun to call it your own then! Anybody can follow a recipe (or so they say lol), but it takes a true oven master to stray away from the norm =P
ReplyDeleteOkay so I was craving tamales like crazy one time. I googled how to make tamales and oh my, is it time consuming and with such odd ingredients! I wanted to cook with what I had in the house so after a little messing around, I made what I coined "Tamale Balls." Corn bread, ground beef and some seasonings rolled into meatball sized balls and dropped into a boiling pot of v-8 juice and spicy seasonings. Cook for a bit and Voila! "Tamale Balls" =] Serve them over yellow rice; it is finger lickin' good!
My husband says thats the diffrence between a cook and a chef lol. He follows recipes on everything even mac and cheese lol. I on the other hand look at a recipe and add a dash of this and a sprinkle of that lol...
ReplyDeleteAlthough my DH is a wonderful cook by all means.
I think the only time this back fires is when making salsa. Sometimes its so hot and other times not kick at all.
I think its awesome you made your wife dinner 1st off, I am sure she was very happy on her bday. Then stepping out of the box high five for Scott.
I wish I had a funny story...
Great Idea! Maybe you should draft a cookbook written by a man who runs a purse store! I'm a cook with out a recipe type! Thanks for the stories!
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer in straying from the recipe. I think you almost have to due it based on personal taste and what's lying around in the kitchen (or on sale!). I've also found that when I first started cooking (and followed recipes), things didn't always turn out so great. Now I know what I like. I also know what to look for, especially when it comes to timing (like how long to cook or bake something).
ReplyDeleteAnyways, your shrimp sound delicious. Wish I could get my hands on some pina colada mix. :)
LOVE this! Straying from recipes (and tasting along the way) is where you find the true gems in all things food whether in the kitchen or for the grill. KUDOS and thanks for sharing the info!
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