I was making the Etouffee tonight, and remembered from reading Judy's posts, that she uses pork in some of her recipes. I had a whole pork loin I was slicing into chops, the thick end into roast, and decided that I would cube some of it for the Etouffee. Tomorrow we will find out if it was a good idea or not! What do you do??
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I like to try new recipes, but I usually do something different. Years ago, when I first married, I didn't understand the concept of "if you don't like the ingredients, you won't like the result". So, now, if I see an ingredient I don't like, I change it. I do the same with quilts.
I often follow a recipe for a while, then after I've made it enough to understand how the flavors work, I start varying. I'm not too brave yet, as I have a giant flop every few tests, but that's okay!
Well, tonight I made Swiss Steak using deer steak instead of beef. Does that count. It turned out good too.
Good Question! I can follow recipes and patterns when necessary but I do like to do my own thing once I have an understanding of the process... interesting correlation between the two.
whoa, you put pork in Etoufee'?
ummm, ick. let me know. I'm a "purist" when it comes to Cajun cooking--which is kinda an oxymoron. Cajuns cooked whatever crawled through the backyard that day, which is why we now have turtle soup, crawfish made any way you can think of, gator tail, frog's legs. etc. But still, I don't think I"ll be putting pork in Etoufee' any time soon. So far as any other meal, I make it by the recipe the first time...improvise from then on. Quilting is about the same...but a lot of time I think up the quilt myself then look for a pattern to help with the details.
If I don't plan a meal out, I end up with a dish that sounded good, but by the time I substitute something else for 2-3 ingredients I don't have, neither of us likes it. It might have been a good recipe, but not after I finish improvising. I admire people who can just "whip things together" and it comes out great.
Same with quilts, come to think about it. I need to use a pattern first, because I can't visualize in my head what something will look like. I think I can, but it's rarely as pretty as what's in my mind.
Once I've done it, it's easier to substitute or change.
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