Recipe invention?

I very rarely stick to a recipe I see them only as a guide of what goes together. When preparing a savoury meal if I have an abundance of something it goes in a recipe. If I haven’t got greens in say for a soup I use lettuce onion tops celeriac or carrot tops from my garden.
I put grated veg in cakes too even if it’s not in the recipe. If I make a casserole and it looks a bland colour I will add greens or a little marmite to give colour. I tried putting a touch of vanilla in a really pungent fish dish and it worked done it ever since. I like strong robust flavours in stews casseroles or curries I add extra chilli herbs or garlic to add extra flavour.

I made chocolate brownies last year and had found a bottle of Chocolate Curaçao in the cupboard, I pierced the brownies as they came out of the oven and drizzled over the chocolate liqueur, it puts chocolate brownies on another level.

Using what I've got in the kitchen is my usual way of cooking. For supper last night we had chicken mince meatballs spiced up with onion, red pepper, basil, sumac and smoked paprika with spaghetti coated with a sauce made from the remains of some home made pesto mixed into some garlic mayo that I'd made using some left over silken tofu. OH often asks me what his meal used to be as I hate wasting food. With a salad it was a very tasty meal and there's some left!

Thought of this thread when making dinner. Asparagus season. Stir fry of asparagus, shiitake, tofu - change veg, same ingredient amounts.

Bread - baked using the usual cups, rice - cooked as usual on the bag directions, salad - tahini dressing with measured ingredients.

Foxygloves Do you ever “invent” a recipe or recipe variation by accident? have you ever found an accidental ingredient is an improvement?

Recipes are ratios. Correct ratios matter, especially the teaspoons.

I daily use the same proportions of flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water - for bread. Dinner rolls, tortillas, naan, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, cakes, pies - all flour products - need correct ratios.

I may change/omit herbs and spices, add nuts, pulses or tofu, find substitutes for milk, eggs, meat, poultry or fish - I do follow basic recipes.

We've a million cookbooks, use them all. There are many GN food/ recipe threads - I suppose somebody reads those posts and follows.

I'm the same, Fleurpepper - I tend to make things up as I go along and adapt dishes depending on what's in season, what I have in the fridge or cupboard, if we have an excess of stuff growing in the garden and so on. That trifle sounds absolutely delicious, by the way - full of the things I love most!
I do tend to follow the basic recipes when I'm baking, although even then I might substitute some ingredients, but other than that, I often 'wing' it and see what happens. I've never really had any complete disasters. One real success was a spicy pork mince dish which turned into a proper family favourite. My Black Forest jam was also a real hit.

I do all the time. To be honest, I very rarely follow a recipe. Look at it- then realiseI haven't got such and such, and use something else, or far too complicated and fussy- and think 'life's too short' - and tend to use what I've got to hand, foraged, grown in garden, or lurking in larder, frige or freezer.

My most successful invention which all family and friends love, it Black Forest trifle, with dark chocolate and black cherries and Kirsch.

Most of my 'inventions' have no name and no recipe, just 'instinctive'.

W hen we worked in a restaurant together my friend used to make lovely chocolate slices with chunks of apple and walnuts. One day they came out looking a bit flat and odd and she realised she had left out the baking powder. We rechristened them Continental Slices and they sold like hot cakes (sorry!)

Invariably, if someone asks me for recipe, it will be 'Well, the recipe says this, but I add such and such etc'.

I am always varying recipes, I doubt I ever make a recipe precisely as given. I substitute ingredients, leave them out or put in more than required, depending on availability.

Isn't doing this at the heart of all cookery? recipes are subservient to the food stuffs available to make them from, not the other way round.

Quite a few ‘inventions’ here - aka concocting a meal out of whatever there is/needs using up, in fridge/cupboard/freezer.

Last night it was a few bits of leftover Christmas turkey, in a sauce with onion and lots of mushrooms, leeks, celery, a stock cube, and a splash of white wine. With mash.

Dh pronounced it delish, but then he’ll be appreciative of just about anything! It’s one reason I’ve hung on to him. 🙂

I 'Grow my own' Courgettes (I love courgettes) and consequently, use them in a variety of dishes. My best 'invention' is Spanish omelette using sliced courgettes in place of potatoes. Totally delicious, lower calorie and only costs me the price of two eggs and a sprinkle of herbs.

GrannyGravy13

Most things that come out of my kitchen are an invention unless I am adhering to a recipe 🤣

Most things which come out of my kitchen are an invention even if I am adhering to a recipe!

I don't think I really invented it, but I was delighted when one day I added some veg to pasta in cheese sauce. Nowadays there is always more veg than pasta and it's lovely.

Mollygo

Foxygloves

Don’t worry- you wouldn’t have any port or Marsala to “use up” if you were!

That’s like saying ‘left over wine’. We either don’t have wine or there’s none left over.
My Sis in Law has a different attitude. She’ll open a bottle to cook bœuf bourguignon, then share the left over wine!
Re inventing by accident, I thought I was being adventurous adding some ‘left over basil’ to my fish dish and it worked well. Then I discovered there are lots of recipes that do that.

A proper French recipe uses at least one whole bottle!
Minus a glass for the chef of course.

Foxygloves

Don’t worry- you wouldn’t have any port or Marsala to “use up” if you were!

That’s like saying ‘left over wine’. We either don’t have wine or there’s none left over.
My Sis in Law has a different attitude. She’ll open a bottle to cook bœuf bourguignon, then share the left over wine!
Re inventing by accident, I thought I was being adventurous adding some ‘left over basil’ to my fish dish and it worked well. Then I discovered there are lots of recipes that do that.

Most things that come out of my kitchen are an invention unless I am adhering to a recipe 🤣

Don’t worry- you wouldn’t have any port or Marsala to “use up” if you were!

I was making meatballs with orzo and realised we did not have any Martini Rosso so I used Marsala instead said nothing to DH and it actually tasted better. I often use up bits of port or Madeira in stewed plumbs or Marsala in peaches/ nectarines.
We sound like alchacolics.