In article >,
Goomba38 > wrote:

> Scott wrote:
>
> > You hit the nail right on the head...but I'm starting to gain confidence.
> > I really admire people who can just 'whip' up a dish and know what and
> > how much spices and herbs to use in a dish. What hurts me is I'm not the
> > adventurous type...I like to play it safe.
>
> Why? What exactly is lost if you stray from a recipe? A few dollars at
> most if it is a *total* flop, which it rarely is? What you'll gain in
> experience and understanding of food far outweighs the risks to me.

Ah, but there's the rub. You are an experienced and confident cook and
like it that way. Who knows why he's not adventurous ‹ and does it
matter? Who knows what plays out in his head if he deviates from a
plan? Maybe he's got a real scary Be Perfect driver in his head. :-)
My sister was married to a jerk for way too many years ‹ he wouldn't eat
leftovers, he wouldn't eat chicken more than once every three weeks, he
wouldn't eat this, he had to have that, he wouldn't eat that. Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph! She had no incentive to deviate from a recipe ‹ he
might not like it and would make a stink. It was the price of peace in
the house. The asshole has been dead for several years now and she
still bears the psychological marks of life with him. I think I'm
veering off on a tangent here, Goomba, and you know I'm not attacking
you. (You do know that, right?) It's just that if Scott is thinking
about the slightest deviation from "a plan" I think we should encourage
his baby steps and not be too hard on him.

I'll get my asbestos undies out.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007