Quote:
Originally Posted by Potironette
I don't cook and I don't plant ><'. Sometimes I feel I shall never be able to cook because I simply refuse to follow recipes. One look at a recipe and I close the book/tab/whatever I'm reading. So I just boil and toast and fry random stuff x'D.
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That is cooking right there. Recipes are generally more important for baking since there are special things that need to happen, but cooking can be as hit or miss as you like, just learn how to not make things dangerous, like cooking chicken properly, or ground meat.
Make something, taste it, add a thing, taste it again, add another thing, etc. I've learned more by experimentation than by following recipes, though I use them for a base.
Want something more sweet? Add brown sugar.
Want something more salty? Salt or maybe soya sauce.
Tangier? Lemon, vinegar, etc.
Not sure but needs something? Ketchup. No, really, a little packet of ketchup works great for balancing things.
I fried some duck the other day for my sister, and made a pan sauce with Brandy, blackberry jam, orange juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, the duck fat that was left in the pan, and a little bit of clarified butter because my sister keeps it around. Was quite sweet but tasty!
I attempted stew recently (failed because I overcooked it into more of a paste but it still tasted more or less the same). The base was a can cream of chicken soup with salt and pepper (always those), some Worcestershire sauce, a little goat's milk, and parsley.