I have probably told you countless times how I havent followed a recipe since I was probably a teenager, well that has not changed. I have read so many recipes in my life it is hard for me to convey that fact. I have over 50 cookbooks, several cooking encyclopedias and two Larousse Gastronomiques (old one and a new one) and stacks of mushroom reference books- I have been a 'foodie' since 1972. I can read the recipe off the back of a box of butter for cookies and have it memorized just that fast. So it isnt that I dont use recipes its that I dont need them to make delicious foods - I am an ingredient based cook and I let the food talk to me. In my teens I would hunt and fish a lot and cook whatever it is I hunted or fished. Quail, pheasant, catfish, deer, crayfish, trout (rainbow and cut throat) were always on my plate. When I was in my early twenties my specialty was homemade pasta dishes and of course chile (New Mexico, what can I say)- I have had my pasta maker since I was 21 years old - the same one. I only recently acquired the attachments for the Kitchenaid so now the whole pasta process is electric. Mid-twenties I moved to NY and I started getting into Mediterranean dishes heavy on the seafood, and of course chile (you can take me out of New Mexico but you cant take New Mexico out of me) So the recipe index in my brain has grown exponentially over the years and now add in all the food blogs I read and the food possibilities are endless.
A few days ago I made some blackened cod roe as an appetizer.
I havent been cooking much this week due to family being in town so I am starting to get anxious plus add this to the economic downturn and I havent been cooking for anyone else this week either. I have ants in my cooking pants. Stay tuned I have some fantastic dishes coming up showcasing truffles and truffle oil in all its glory, the Permit fish gets grilled and a brie gets special treatment all highlighting the fantastic spring vegetables we have available. You cant be more anxious than I am.
29 comments:
Jeez- I knew you had company, but wondered what you were up to... I'm taking turkey leftovers and trying to perform magic...
Hey Christo, you are a born cook and its very obvious that you dont have to follow any recipes and I always doubt you have a magic wand hidden somewhere in your kitchen...
Chile chile chile! Bring on more chile!
There are some things I can make without a recipe, that I just throw together. But they come no where close to the stuff you can cook.
And hey, did you know you can Codfish Sperm? I swear it's true. Look it up.
And I'm STILL wondering how the very first person found out you can eat fish sperm. I can't get the picture out of my head!!!!!!!
I will be patiently waiting. Half the week is over, so soon and very soon, you'll be cooking once again.
I havent cooked in a while either. I could use an hour in the kitchen!
I've been cooking up a storm since I know the hot weather will soon be here and the last thing I want to do is be in the hot kitchen. I'd rather spend my summers on the deck chilling with Prosecco and a hot grill.
buff: I could use some of that turkey right about now....
ramya: thanks ramya, and I will be trying those rice balls you posted in the next couple of days as well...
TBD: bring on the chile is right...life needs chile and chile is life
bina: that could be said about a lot of things but I have to agree that codfish sperm is an odd one...
jenn: I wanna make some napoleon thing out of sweet potato cakes - those look so good!
mo: I have cooked but its stuff in big pans that you glop out by the spoonful
dawn: Prosecco and a hot grill sounds like food porn and I want some
What an interesting picture! I've never seen cod roe before! Its great you're a natural cook! It takes talent to be that way!
ooh truffles- I can't wait!!
I don't follow recipes because I am incapable of it. No matter how good they sound, I just *have* to change it up.
tick tock tick tock tick tock..I am trying really hard to wait patiently...
My grandmother was that kind of cook, too. She could hear or read a recipe and know it with whatever alterations she thought it needed. She'd say things like it's too much flour for that number of eggs or whatever. She just knew what she was doing. Thanks for bringing up that memory. :-)
Bring the dishes on! I cant wait. I'm a reciepe rebel myself, read them for inspiration, remember what caught my interest and then cook and mix the way I want.
Stay cool Doggy. I'm waiting for the brie recipes. Cheese - any and all - another thing I couldn't do without.
Where do you get codfish roe in NY? I used love fried mackerel roe. My mom would sprinkle some salt and curry powder over it and fry in very hot oil..heaven!
I'm hungry for more flowers! But I'll look forward to more food talk from you too! Enjoy the family- you'll be back in the saddle/kitchen again soon.
well, the cooking pants sound like they've got some good ideas in the works ;)
Have fun with your family!!
I follow recipes for baked goods, but, of course, I always alter them. So is that really following them? I figure, you have to do whatever works for you! Hope the downturn doesn't cause you too much anxiety or hardship!
Can't wait to see what you post next!
you don't NEED redipes Dog!!! You're the MASTER!!!
I use recipes once ina while...I read them, then take what I like about them and cut out what I don't like.....
I will wait patiently for more of your deliciousness! :)
We're kindred spirits of a sort as I rarely follow a recipe either. I use them more as a guide. I'm also with you on the "not been cooking" couch, lately. Hope that will soon change for both of us.
Cheers!
Thanks for the history on you.. interesting..awaiting your return anxiously;)
Can't wait for your return...dying to see all of the beauty you have created.
I can relate to the lack of recipes. When my grandma passed my mom acquired all her old recipes. There was a ton of stuff we were dying to know the recipe for. Well grandma in her infinite sense of humor decided to forget ingredients or write bogus ingredients (i.e. her stuffed cabbage that I wanted to duplicate listed pine needles as an ingredient).
I took that as a message that use your brain and not a card.
I'm with you on the recipe index in my head and using no real recipes! I'm slowly getting back to cooking after vacation, and also with truffles :) Looking forward to your new dishes!
I love cod
I like this post. Did you ever read Nigella Lawson's take on "the tryanny of the recipe?"
dude. cod recipe? i need that shit. email it to me, lemme cook it and and totally blog that mo fo.
Can't wait to see what cooking dishes you come up with!
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