Following directions?
 

There was a interesting thread recently concerning following
recipes exactly. The results showed a division among those who
follow recipes, those who modify as they go and those, like me,
who follow directions once and then feel free to make changes.

Another aspect is cooking methods; does everyone follow them
exactly?

I discovered a long time ago that frozen bagels could be cooked
efficiently by nuking for 20-30 seconds per bagel, then placing
them in a cold oven and taking them out when the oven
temperature reached the recommended temperature for defrosting:
350F.

I like frozen French bread rolls whose recommended cooking
method is heat the oven to 400F, put in the frozen rolls and
cook for 8 minutes. However, today I tried the bagel method
without nuking. I put the rolls in a cold oven, took them out
when the temperature reached 400 and the results were
indistinguishable!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Following directions?
 

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
news:o41qj.9585$M71.2@trnddc08...
> There was a interesting thread recently concerning following recipes
> exactly. The results showed a division among those who follow recipes,
> those who modify as they go and those, like me, who follow directions once
> and then feel free to make changes.
>
> Another aspect is cooking methods; does everyone follow them exactly?
>
> I discovered a long time ago that frozen bagels could be cooked
> efficiently by nuking for 20-30 seconds per bagel, then placing them in a
> cold oven and taking them out when the oven temperature reached the
> recommended temperature for defrosting: 350F.
>
> I like frozen French bread rolls whose recommended cooking method is heat
> the oven to 400F, put in the frozen rolls and cook for 8 minutes. However,
> today I tried the bagel method without nuking. I put the rolls in a cold
> oven, took them out when the temperature reached 400 and the results were
> indistinguishable!
>
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not


I predict over 400 messages in this thread within 48 hours, resulting in
nothing conclusive. :-)

Following directions?
 

On Feb 5, 12:32 pm, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> There was a interesting thread recently concerning following
> recipes exactly. The results showed a division among those who
> follow recipes, those who modify as they go and those, like me,
> who follow directions once and then feel free to make changes.

You read directions when cooking? The next thing we'll hear is that
when driving you ask directions!

Actually I'm of the follow directions the first time, unless something
is obvioiusly a typo. Once when just learning to bake bread I
followed a recipe that called for 1 tablespoon of salt and, while very
dubious, I followed directions as I had never worked with rye flour
before. Now I use some judgement.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Following directions?
 

On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 10:08:08 -0800 (PST), John Kane
> wrote:


>Actually I'm of the follow directions the first time, unless something
>is obvioiusly a typo.

I do the same thing. My feeling is (especially if the recipe is from a
noted chef/cook) that the author may have some specific outcome in
mind, or a flavor combination that he/she is trying to achieve. If I
start messing with the recipe right from the bat, I may miss what it
was intended to be, and that intention might well be spectacular if
the directions are followed.

Christine

Following directions?
 

jay wrote on Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:20:22 -0600:

??>> There was a interesting thread recently concerning
??>> following recipes exactly. The results showed a division
??>> among those who follow recipes, those who modify as they
??>> go and those, like me, who follow directions once and then
??>> feel free to make changes.

j> Tastes vary.. duh.. so without tasting, many dishes are not
j> to my liking when a recipe is followed to the letter. Many
j> recipes to me, for example are TOO salty.

Could be! I wonder sometimes why chefs feel so strongly about
salt that they refuse to have it provided in a restaurant? It's
even a way to provoke an explosion by asking for it. On the
other hand, I've got to admit that a chef is usually right :-)
:-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Following directions?
 

Christine Dabney wrote:
>
> I do the same thing. My feeling is (especially if the recipe is from a
> noted chef/cook) that the author may have some specific outcome in
> mind, or a flavor combination that he/she is trying to achieve. If I
> start messing with the recipe right from the bat, I may miss what it
> was intended to be, and that intention might well be spectacular if
> the directions are followed.


I just wish they'd explain their reasoning in a sentence at the top or
in a side bar. One of the last times I tried following a recipe
exactly, the instructions said to boil the vegetables for 20 minutes or
until soft. As I was doing it, I was thinking "these aren't going to be
soft; they're going to yucky mush" And you know what? They turned out
to be yucky mush.


I wish I'd listened to my common sense instead of following
instructions. If the recipe writer had explained something along the
lines of how they were supposed to be very soft or mushy for a reason,
maybe something to do with authenticity or the way the flavors mix with
others, I'd have understood and altered the recipe accordingly. Now I
go with my common sense to start.


--Lia

Following directions?
 

On Tue 05 Feb 2008 11:16:00a, Christine Dabney told us...

> On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 10:08:08 -0800 (PST), John Kane
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Actually I'm of the follow directions the first time, unless something
>>is obvioiusly a typo.
>
> I do the same thing. My feeling is (especially if the recipe is from a
> noted chef/cook) that the author may have some specific outcome in
> mind, or a flavor combination that he/she is trying to achieve. If I
> start messing with the recipe right from the bat, I may miss what it
> was intended to be, and that intention might well be spectacular if
> the directions are followed.
>
> Christine
>

I do pretty much the same, although I will admit occasionally changing some
seasonings even on the first go 'round if I have strong preference.

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 02(II)/04(IV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
There's something fascinating about
cosmology. One gets such wholesale
returns of conjecture out of such a
trifling investment of fact.
*******************************************

Following directions?
 

Christine Dabney > wrote in
:

> On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 10:08:08 -0800 (PST), John Kane
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Actually I'm of the follow directions the first time, unless something
>>is obvioiusly a typo.
>
> I do the same thing. My feeling is (especially if the recipe is from a
> noted chef/cook) that the author may have some specific outcome in
> mind, or a flavor combination that he/she is trying to achieve. If I
> start messing with the recipe right from the bat, I may miss what it
> was intended to be, and that intention might well be spectacular if
> the directions are followed.
>
> Christine
>
>

Quickie green bean almondine...

Nuke enough french cut green beans for 2 meals (single person sized),
while that's cooking slice and pan fry a messs of button mushrooms, when
cooked to your liking combine both and sprinkle with sliced almonds and
penzeys toasted minced dried onions (not too much onion) as it's
flavouring is strong. Toss and serve.

Minced garlic is opptional and if used cook it with the mushrooms.

Notes consider adding red crush peppers.

This is the kind of recipe I follow. In fact it is the side for my lunch
and supper at work tonight.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

Following directions?
 

James Silverton wrote:

> j> Tastes vary.. duh.. so without tasting, many dishes are not
> j> to my liking when a recipe is followed to the letter. Many
> j> recipes to me, for example are TOO salty.
>
> Could be! I wonder sometimes why chefs feel so strongly about
> salt that they refuse to have it provided in a restaurant? It's
> even a way to provoke an explosion by asking for it. On the
> other hand, I've got to admit that a chef is usually right :-)

People have different tastes and their taste for salt sometimes depends
on how mcuh salt they have in their system. Salt tastes especially good
when you have been working hard and sweated out a lot of salt from your
system. Your body lets you know that you need more by developing a
positive taste for it. Something that tastes really good on a hot day
might taste way too salty on another day.

My wife tends not to use much salt when cooking things but then salts
the food on her plate. I tend to use more salt when cooking and rarely
have to add any.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that pork is a lot
better with lots of salt on it while cooking, and chicken also benefits
from generous seasoning.

Following directions?
 

"l, not -l" > wrote in message
...
>
> On 5-Feb-2008, "JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote:
>
>> I predict over 400 messages in this thread within 48 hours, resulting in
>> nothing conclusive. :-)
>
> You are so totally wrong and silly to believe that; your dog coughs up fur
> balls and you probably put catsup on hotdogs, you low-life twit. There
> will
> only be 394 messages and hundreds of conclusion, all jumped to by
> pea-brained food-snobs. ;-)
>
> If you live in one of the lucky states voting today - Happy Super
> Tuesday -
> and I truly hope you get less robot-campaign calls than I have already
> received today.
> --
> Change Cujo to Juno in email address.


I voted. I brought dice, a coin to flip, and one of those magic answer
8-ball toys.

Following directions?
 

One time on Usenet, "James Silverton" <not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not> said:

> There was a interesting thread recently concerning following
> recipes exactly. The results showed a division among those who
> follow recipes, those who modify as they go and those, like me,
> who follow directions once and then feel free to make changes.

Hmph -- I sometimes follow exactly and sometimes make changes. It
depends on the recipe and my mood.

> Another aspect is cooking methods; does everyone follow them
> exactly?

Nope. For one thing, I've got a spastic oven...

--
Jani in WA

Following directions?
 

On Feb 5, 1:58 pm, Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
> On Tue 05 Feb 2008 11:16:00a, Christine Dabney told us...
>
>
>
> > On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 10:08:08 -0800 (PST), John Kane
> > > wrote:
>
> >>Actually I'm of the follow directions the first time, unless something
> >>is obvioiusly a typo.
>
> > I do the same thing. My feeling is (especially if the recipe is from a
> > noted chef/cook) that the author may have some specific outcome in
> > mind, or a flavor combination that he/she is trying to achieve. If I
> > start messing with the recipe right from the bat, I may miss what it
> > was intended to be, and that intention might well be spectacular if
> > the directions are followed.
>
> > Christine
>
> I do pretty much the same, although I will admit occasionally changing some
> seasonings even on the first go 'round if I have strong preference.

Come to think of it, I don't like nuts in most things so I'll
automatically drop them for most recipes.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Following directions?
 

James Silverton wrote:
> There was a interesting thread recently concerning following recipes
> exactly. The results showed a division among those who follow recipes,
> those who modify as they go and those, like me, who follow directions
> once and then feel free to make changes.
>
> Another aspect is cooking methods; does everyone follow them exactly?
>
If it is something baked as in a pastry or cake, I will almost always
follow the recipe pretty closely until I am familiar with the results.
If it is something else I may add extra spices or change ingredients a
bit.

Cooking methods are something else I've played with recently but
probably not that dramatically. Subbing a pressure cooker or dutch oven
for a slow cooker for example.

--
Queenie

*** Be the change you wish to see in the world ***

Following directions?
 

James Silverton wrote:
> There was a interesting thread recently concerning following recipes
> exactly. The results showed a division among those who follow recipes,
> those who modify as they go and those, like me, who follow directions
> once and then feel free to make changes.
>
> Another aspect is cooking methods; does everyone follow them exactly?
>
> I discovered a long time ago that frozen bagels could be cooked
> efficiently by nuking for 20-30 seconds per bagel, then placing them in
> a cold oven and taking them out when the oven temperature reached the
> recommended temperature for defrosting: 350F.
>
> I like frozen French bread rolls whose recommended cooking method is
> heat the oven to 400F, put in the frozen rolls and cook for 8 minutes.
> However, today I tried the bagel method without nuking. I put the rolls
> in a cold oven, took them out when the temperature reached 400 and the
> results were indistinguishable!
>
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

I'm horrible about following directions. I like to use recipes as
inspiration points, so I'll often look at several recipes for something
and pick out the parts that sound good to me and combine them into my
own recipe. Of course, since I almost never write anything down, I can
never replicate something that turned out really well.

Following directions?
 

On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:26:46 GMT, "James Silverton"
> wrote:

> jay wrote on Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:20:22 -0600:
>
> ??>> There was a interesting thread recently concerning
> ??>> following recipes exactly. The results showed a division
> ??>> among those who follow recipes, those who modify as they
> ??>> go and those, like me, who follow directions once and then
> ??>> feel free to make changes.
>
> j> Tastes vary.. duh.. so without tasting, many dishes are not
> j> to my liking when a recipe is followed to the letter. Many
> j> recipes to me, for example are TOO salty.
>
>Could be! I wonder sometimes why chefs feel so strongly about
>salt that they refuse to have it provided in a restaurant? It's
>even a way to provoke an explosion by asking for it. On the
>other hand, I've got to admit that a chef is usually right :-)
>:-)
>
> James Silverton

i think if a chef wants to be a prima donna he should have taken up
ballet.

your pal,
blake

Following directions?
 

blake wrote on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:03:53 GMT:

??>> jay wrote on Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:20:22 -0600:
??>>
??>>>> There was a interesting thread recently concerning
??>>>> following recipes exactly. The results showed a division
??>>>> among those who follow recipes, those who modify as they
??>>>> go and those, like me, who follow directions once and
??>>>> then feel free to make changes.
??>>
j>>> Tastes vary.. duh.. so without tasting, many dishes are
j>>> not to my liking when a recipe is followed to the letter.
j>>> Many recipes to me, for example are TOO salty.
??>>
??>> Could be! I wonder sometimes why chefs feel so strongly
??>> about salt that they refuse to have it provided in a
??>> restaurant? It's even a way to provoke an explosion by
??>> asking for it. On the other hand, I've got to admit that a
??>> chef is usually right :-) :-)
??>>
??>> James Silverton

bm> i think if a chef wants to be a prima donna he should have
bm> taken up ballet.

Perhaps you are right Blake but a lot of those in expensive
restaurants are just that :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Following directions?
 

blake murphy wrote:
> i think if a chef wants to be a prima donna he should have taken up
> ballet.

You do have a knack of hitting the nail on the head m'dear:))