Here's my random creation of the week.

<a href="http://s800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/jylmks/?action=view&current=a51137b7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy282/jylmks/a51137b7.jpg" border="0" altU="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

Chicken breast, cubed, seasoned, deep fried, lightly dusted with white sugar, tossed with very ripe plums. Sounds bizarre but one child and one wife said it was great. The other child disagreed. If I make it again, I'll just pan sear the chicken. Deep frying resulted in too much cooking and not enough browning. Plus I have blisters on my arm from drops of hot oil.

Dinner was: said chicken; vinegared onions; carmelized carrots; plum slices fried in butter; saffron rice; Pinot noir. Fortunately my blood sugar is under control.

One thing I have always wondered is why so many of you guys "invent" things to cook. Given the hundreds of excellent cookbooks out there, plus the near limitless availability of recipes on the internet, why not pick a long-established recipe and make it? Why so many Franken-dishes?

I'm reminded of the pie that Livi made the other day, shown in another thread. He takes a recipe from a cookbook and substitutes anchovies and onions for whatever was supposed to be in there... Anchovies? Onions? FIVE onions, in one "pie"?

JR

It often boils down to what you have at hand. When I do a recipe search, there are always those pesky ingredients that aren't in the fridge. Or that spice that is out of stock. So I substitute. Or I combine 2 recipes. Or flat out wing it. This leads to at least one throw-away dinner per year (I had one 3 nights ago) & several edible fails, but also some successes that surpass the original. I will often net search for recipes with 2 unconnected ingredients & it leads to some interesting combinations.

I have been the principle cook in every household I have been in since I was 20. So at 57, I am seriously bored with dozens of great recipes that I have made for years & I am always looking for a different twist.

Ian

I probably have something like 10,000 recipes in the cookbooks on my shelves, so I doubt I'll ever get bored. Lately, I've been trying to refine some of the recipes that I have cooked before, using ideas that I get from one chef or another.

I'll admit that I have a very well stocked pantry, which is essential. If I need something that I don't have, I just head to the store. Usually, if I'm planning on cooking anything interesting, I'll have already made a trip to buy the ingredients. I tend to shop frequently, with specific meals in mind. I almost never subtitute anything. I've been wanting to make a batch of Cacio e Pepe and I've been waiting for several days, as the best cheese is sold on the other end of town and I won't substitute the typical crap "pecorino romano" sold in a grocery store. I'm headed that direction today for something else, so I imagine that will be tonight's dinner.

JR

I have about 5 cookbooks that I use & 20 that just gather dust (including The Joy of btw). I also keep a recipe box for some tried & true & I have have a large binder that I have been organizing for years with my gold standards & internet-sourced variations & 'possibles'. Most of my recipes have written personal comments I have documented with suggestions & successful mods for next time.

I am not a by-the-meal shopper. I stock up weekly & use what I have.

Ian

Necessity is the mother of invention. That's the situation here sometimes, I get home, wife says I'm cooking dinner, kids are asking "where's dinner, Daddy", and the refrigerator has a bit of this and a bit of that. Yes, I always have stuff on hand to make some basic dishes, but I'm bored with making them. So the random stuff happens.

Actually, boredom is a big factor. I get interested in certain stuff, right now it is Indian food, but call it XYZ. The family doesn't necessarily want to eat XYZ 24 x 7, or even at all. But I don't necessarily want to make some standard dish I've made too many times. And I'm not likely to hunt up a recipe that isn't XYZ and that doesn't interest me, just to feed the family. That's not my job description - nor is ironing shirts - that stuff is my wife's job, although apparently no-one told her, or maybe I was supposed to get it in writing, because as it turns out I do most of the ironing too.

So the family can either enjoy some more XYZ, or endure some random invention, or feed themselves. Left to myself, I'm happy to eat tuna from a can, day after day.

Sometimes I can't be so doctrinaire. When I was into cooking spleens and pancreases from the Chinese market, I had to make a steady flow of family-friendly meals too. Once they figured out what the mystery meat was, they wouldn't touch it.

This I couldn't do. Even when I was single for several years a couple of decades ago, I would make good dinners for myself at least 2-3 times a week.

I also have a chest freezer which simplifies choice. At any point in time, I will have beef & pork ribs, beef & pork roasts, pork tenderloin, boneless loin, rib & strip steak, ground beef, numerous chicken options & probably King Crab legs, Italian sausages etc etc - all in stock. Mainly a 4 legged diet due to the family.

Ian

:)

Yes, I probably ironed that shirt.

I don't cook, I only brew beer and mead. My wife takes a basic recipe, tries it, then modifies to suit our tastes and preferences. Beth is truly gifted at taking a dish, "deconstructing" it, then making it her own!

Last night's dinner (really more drinking than dinner) party - this gentleman is pouring us all a 1975 Sauternes


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1320890135.jpg


will be suffering thru a white burgundy tasting with So. American food tonight...

Now that is my kind of dinner!

It must be a struggle.

yeh it was -- nothing by 1er Crus -- you'd think they'd have had at least ONE DAMN Grand Cru, but nooooo


OTOH, the food was good but the guy who likes to take pics of his food couldn't make it so no pics fer y'all

Just to split hairs, there are no Grand Crus in Sauternes. Just premiers superieur, premiers & deuxiemes.

To stay on topic:

Tonight's dinner: A big batch of homemade spaghetti & meatballs.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1320955811.jpg

Ian

thx for the pic of the gorp - that's a favorite backpacking food

BTW, the 1er Crus comment was about the Wed. dinner with Chass-agonies Mount-ratchets, not the Tues. night dinner that ended with the Sauternes.

Gorp? This ain't no birdseed crap. It's stick to the ribs winter comfort food. I lied about the homemade part, though. I cheat & use 1 large can of Primo spaghetti sauce (not sickly sweet like most) + 1 large can of tomato sauce + spices. Simmered for 4 hours. Cool for an hour. Heat & serve with garlic bread.

Ian

Pre-cheese fondue pic - will make u all hungry...

http://up.picr.de/8787627itw.jpg

Not a great picture, but the meal was very good. Homemade pita bread with kafta (spiced ground beef). Served with Valencia rice. Very yummy.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1321836923.jpg

Ian

Ian,
Try making the kafta with lamb, it's an excellent way to serve lamb, the spices really kick up the flavor! Beth makes hummous with chickpeas or Navy beans and that is really good with it, too!