Poll Question- What type of cook are you?

[celiacmaine-iac]

Just curious what people's cooking styles are here. My family's favorite thing to do when I've made something new is to ask me if I followed the recipe. I usually say, "Well, kind of...", and they all start laughing because they knew they answer already. Funny, funny people! Call me Rodney, because I get no respect.
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Steph

[cruelshoes]

I usually start with my trusty red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and go from there. I do try to remember what I did in case I come up wth something really delicious. It happens occasionally.

Honestly, I am not even making flour mixes anymore. I just have an idea of what properties all my flours have and mix and match depending on the recipe. It really doesn't take much more time than making a flour mix.
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-Colleen

Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handcart?

[celiacmaine-iac]

Colleen-I can't wait to get as brave as you are with GF baking. I tend to stick to using a flour blend. I am pretty comfortable converting old recipes, and succeed most of the time.
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Steph

[aklap]

I see baking and cooking as two separate entities. Making pizza crusts is about the extent of my baking abilities.

Baking is more of a science where [unless you know how things fit together] you need to follow the script. Like C, Peg will mix and match things in baking like a mad hatter 'cause she knows what's what.

Cooking is much less precise, much more forgiving if a recipe/science isn't followed. Certain things I'll follow recipes, other things I'll put in whatever's laying around. Just depends...
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[rpf1007]

I was thinking the same thing Al.

With cooking, I tend to use a recipe as a guide and then kind of do whatever I want...with baking...I follow it as strictly as possible. I also hope some day I can be as knowledgeable about all the flours and their properties to be able to mix and match depending on the recipe.
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Rachel

[jeant]

I also follow recipes more closely when baking.

For cooking, I tend to get an idea of what I want to make and then combine two or three recipes by picking and choosing based on what ingredients I have on hand.

With things like stir-fries and fried rice, I typically don't use recipes. For my tried-and-true favorites that I don't know by heart, I use recipes.

[luvscowznh]

With baking, I follow recipes or use a mix. With cooking, I use recipes as a jumping off point and go from there. We have a TON of cook books, but rarely use them.

--Manda
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[mom2cassie]

I selected using recipe as a jumping off point b/c I do that most freqently. But I also do alot of "using the schwartz" cooking. I occasionally do follow a recipe exactly as listed, but that is rare... usually involving a new baking recipe. But even those will usually end up being adjusted! I just seem to have this incessant compulsion to make every recipe "better". LOL

Lea

[cardine45]

When it comes to cooking, I use the recipe as a starting point, and figure it out from there. If it's the first time I've made it, and I'm really unfamiliar with it, I will usually follow a recipe.

Baking is a whole other story. I always follow the recipe exactly unless I'm adding things such as chocolate chips. I dream of the day I can figure out flours and substitutions easily on my own. I'm gonna spend my winter baking away, so hopefully I'll get a good start.

[Torrey]

Hee hee--I don't cook at all.
Plus, with working in (and commuting to) the city, the *last* thing I want to do once I get home is cook! Sometimes, I'll have some Lundberg risotto or Annie's mac & cheese, if I'm feeling somewhat inspired. If it's not ready in 20 minutes or less, I find something else to eat.
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~Torrey

August 24, 1975
GF BD July 12, 2004

[mom2cassie]

[ostrich]

It depends on what I'm doing. Even in some baking recipes I'll keep the basics the same (flour, water, eggs, etc) but will adjust the optional items (spices, chocolate chips, etc). When I'm cooking I always use the recipe as a base point and go from there.

DH, OTOH, follows recipes to the letter. I told him he'd make a better baker than a chef.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain