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Yes, I have always used what was called for and assembled as directed.
Today, I thought I would try straying from my philosophy and it backfired with lots of expensive ingredients at stake. I was able to retrace my problem, make some additions and get it corrected, but I swear I will never try this stunt again.

Making See's Fudge and thought I'd substitute cream for half of the evaporated milk. Wrong thing to try. My fudge was separating out the excess butter from the cream.
I was able to save all those valuable walnuts and chocolate by adding another half recipe of ingredients to my batch and omiting that portion of butter.
It set up and tastes fine.
But, I learned a lesson.

Lurah, Laughing here but glad you were able to rescue the project before it all went south on you taking those expensive ingredients down with them!

I am the complete opposite ~ I never follow recipes precisely which is why I can never exactly write one down for others who have tasted my food and want to make it for themselves. Seriously, I think that is why I am a really good cook and just a so-so baker...

Anyone else want to confess? Myself, I think good cooks are a bit lackadasical when it come to precision; great bakers do just the opposite! What do you think?

I always follow the recipe to the letter for baked items such as cakes, biscuits, etc. For other dishes, I follow the recipe the first time so I know what it is supposed to taste like and then go ahead and do my own thing with it after that.

Hello Everyone,
I don't always follow the recipe and therefore when a dish turns out really good, I don't remember what I did. But if I am trying a new recipe I do follow the recipe then the next time I will tweak it to my liking. My chili recipe is so far from the original, I wouldn't recognize the original if I tasted it. And mine is different almost every time I make it, cause I add this or take that out.

I was unfamiliar with the brand See's Fudge so looked it up and find that it is basically the same recipe on marshmallow creme jars. It is delicious.

What I found interesting though is that the See's candy dynasty is now owned by Warren Buffet.

http://www.sees.com/index.cfm/about_us/history

If it's a new recipe, I always follow the recipe (with the exception of any herbs in the recipe -- I use my palm to measure so it's not entirely accurate) and in baking I ALWAYS follow the recipe as to measurements and ingredients but may not as to things like nuts (it calls for walnuts, I have pecans for example) for baking is a science . . . and I don't want my baking to be a science experiment gone wrong!

I'm a little freer on subbing things for savory dishes -- an onion is an onion is an onion (whether it's red, white or green) . . . I have cream it calls for half and half (I use half cream and half water) or it calls for whole milk and I have 2 per cent.

Martha

I'm another who follows the recipe for baking and something as fickle as fudge. But for most savory dishes I consider the recipe a starting point and go from there.

So I don't have problems replicating a dish I make notes in my recipe organizer. In the King Ranch dish Tuesday I did not measure the sour cream, I added extra peppers and did not measure the shredded cheese for the topping. I also did not measure the green pepper and just used the half an onion I had peeled from the day before. Nothing major and I wouldn't even bother to record the changes.

quote:

Originally posted by MyLifeVacation1:
I was unfamiliar with the brand See's Fudge so looked it up and find that it is basically the same recipe on marshmallow creme jars. It is delicious.

What I found interesting though is that the See's candy dynasty is now owned by Warren Buffet.

http://www.sees.com/index.cfm/about_us/history

I came across See's Candy years ago on our first trip to Arizona - they have the best candy. One item they no longer carry that I used to always buy was their Coffee Nips - they were potent!

quote:

Originally posted by sms29s66:
I always follow the recipe to the letter for baked items such as cakes, biscuits, etc. For other dishes, I follow the recipe the first time so I know what it is supposed to taste like and then go ahead and do my own thing with it after that.

LOL! That is exactly my M.O.

quote:

Originally posted by sms29s66:
I always follow the recipe to the letter for baked items such as cakes, biscuits, etc.

Ditto...as far as the basic ingredients. I may make changes with certain additions; ie, coconut, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.

My mother never used a recipe for her cornbread. I tried that and it was different every time I made it. I started trying different recipes after about 20 years of mediocre cornbread - or at least I thought it was mediocre. When DH said, "I like this," I've stayed with that recipe ever since...

Meat, vegetable, side dishes however - I do whatever I want with them.

I'm like most of you. I don't vary much on baking. I might change the spices, use gluten-free flour or omit the nuts, but generally I use the recipe as written. Other recipes get made following the recipe the first time, then get changed and/or simplified thereafter.

Baking yes, I follow the recipe but otherwise no I often improvise.

I almost never follow the recipe, except when baking a cake.. but since I haven't baked a cake in probably 20 years!! the question is moot. (we REALLY don't eat cake).

As far as other recipes, I view them as guidelines rather than rules. even my fudge varies..

I use the old Hersheys back of the box recipe, and often dont have enough sugar or cocoa or butter or whateve.. just cook it longer or shorter.. things work out.
Other cooking, since I can taste as I read, I often make changes before I try a recipe..

For success in baking, I follow the recipe.
For other cooking, I treat it as my chance to be creative, so I love to come up with my own methods and/or ingredients.

More often then not, I follow NEW recipes the first time (especially if they are baked goods) and if I like it but feel it needs more flavor, color or texture I am apt to tweak it later. My family has always hated it though whenever I made changes to a family favorite declaring that I should not tamper with what they deemed as "perfection". Though I am blessed with such compliments, I can find these occassions frustrating as I feel they're stifling my creativity. Once in a while I'll sneak in a new ingredient and see if they detect a change. I know...I'm living on the edge.

I usually follow the basic recipe, but often change up or add seasonings, nuts, veggies, whatever.
DH follows the recipe EXACTLY the first time & then adds his own flair after.

I never vary my baked recipes, except to leave out something I don't like--coconut!!

For savory recipes, I always follow the original recipe exactly the first time, maybe substituting an ingredient I don't have on hand. Some recipes, like spaghetti sauce for example, have changed over the years, but I'm happy with the version I developed and never vary that recipe anymore.

There was a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore in today's paper that I plan to make tonight. Unfortunately, I don't have any peppers in the house (it calls for a red pepper), so I'm just going to make it w/o the red pepper. Hopefully, it will still be good with the fresh mushrooms, onions, chicken, canned tomatoes, wine, garlic, and various spices.

I think every recipe I have that I use & every cookbook that has recipes that I use have notes written on the sides...or added at the bottom. I usually do "something" to make the recipe my own!...both baking and cooking!

I might add that if you are like me, I research a lot of my recipes on recipe sites. I'll read the comments from the poster, the ingredients and instructions. If the recipe sounds good, I read most of the reviews to learn what others who have tried the recipe have to say. In many cases they have altered the original recipe to make the recipe more savory, sweet or spicy. Some alterations have to do with things like texture or appearance. They also point out where they felt there was too little or too much of an ingredient, if a liquid or dry ingredient needed to be increased or decreased, whether the yield was accurate or not, etc. etc. Of course tastes and ovens, stoves and cooking appliances vary, but this feedback helps me to determine whether a new recipe is worth experimentation or not and if a keeper, how I might tweak it. Once I try a recipe and like it I note the changes I've made.