Some have asked

Ok, so these "recipes" you post on your blog are cool, but why not post the full recipes, complete with measurements, order, etc.? I want to recreate what you're making, in exactly the way that you're doing it!

Well, I'm flattered, I really am. My too-tired brain is recalling something about imitation, sincerity, and flattery, but I'm having trouble putting together the exact phrase. You know what I'm talking about.

The truth is that for the vast majority of the stuff I make, I have no idea how much I put in there. There are only a very few times I cook by recipe any more:

• Baking. I am nowhere near good enough with combinations of flour and salt and yeast and eggs and la la la to be able to visually determine the difference in the batter between a brownie and a cake. For years, I've cooked multiple times a week, but only baked once every few weeks. It's why I'm so incredibly impressed by really good bakers--their talents are so far outside the realm of what I can do, I can't help but gawk at phenomenal cakes, pies, etc. Kinda like when I watch a symphony. I won't be re-creating that stuff any time soon.
• The first time I make something in a genre I've never made before. I am ashamed to say that until Iron Chef, I had never once made a pesto. Ever. And actually, sous chef Jazmin made the pesto that night. So I still have not made a pesto. An embarassment for a gourmet cook indeed, but you can bet the first time I make it, I'll be working from a recipe. These instances are thankfully few and far between, as I'm trying to eliminate as many of them as quickly as possible.
• When I create a meal I love so much that I have to record exactly what I did so I can do it again. There are two levels of meals that I love--meals that are so great they really should be done identically, if at all possible (my Jack Daniel's Salmon, for instance)--and meals that are so good that I'd like to remember what I generally put in it. Last week's chicken noodle soup, for instance.

Other than this, I cook by sight, and usually off the top of my head. Recipes will give me inspiration, but most of what I create now is completely and totally impromptu. I don't say that for you to be impressed--you really shouldn't be. It' just easier to cook by sight and, once you know your spices and their power and relationship to other spices, it's only natural. I'm 100% sure you could do it. Sigh, yes yes...even you. It just requires a bit of playing around.

That being said, I'll do my best to give a bit more accuracy in my posts from here on out. So if you aren't really pulling my leg about re-creating some of it at home, you should be able to pick up anything I put up in the future.

Happy Thursday!!