Variations on Recipes?

I frequently modify recipes and use what I have on hand. For example, I wanted to get rid of two really thick pork chops in my freezer. Naturally, I thought of stuffing them, but I wanted something else besides a carb-heavy, bread-based stuffing. I discovered a recipe: panko-encrusted pork chops stuffed with cream cheese, parmesan cheese, green onions, bacon, and garlic.

On hand, I had a large cream cheese ball with green onions and covered with sliced almonds. So I used that, a crumbled slice of bacon, parmesan, and a chopped baby portabello for the stuffing. My panko crumbs were rancid, so I used a flour-egg-cornmeal breading. Fried to golden brown on top of stove, finished in oven. Pretty good.

How 'bout you?

[Robin Garr]

Larry, I do it all the time! If I see a new recipe I'll generally review it to get the gist of it, then throw together something on the fly that it inspires in me. I don't believe this is a bad thing.

Absolutely. I adapt recipes all the time. I am willing to swap almost any green herb for any other green herb, interchange varieties of cheese, varieties of broth, of pork products, of pasta shapes, firm vegetables, sausage types, dairy (within reason), pickled vegetables of all kinds with each other, nuts, seeds, jams, dried fruit. It's part of the fun to figure out how to work with things a little different from the previous time.

And, as you might expect, I'm a master of substituting fennel for onion. ::pumpkin::

I would never try to substitute for eggs - they seem near-magical in their properties. Not sure I can think of too many others, though.

I would never try to substitute for eggs - they seem near-magical in their properties

I agree, but I do keep a box of egg substitute in case I'm an egg or two short of eggs in a recipe, e.g., waffles and the like. FWIW, I also have powdered whole eggs, which I use on occasion to brush on certain breads to increase browning. I imagine the powdered eggs would also work in waffles, etc., but have never used them.

[Robin Garr]

I would never try to substitute for eggs - they seem near-magical in their properties

I agree, and in this happy age when such things are possible again, I won't use anything but farm-grown (or neighborhood-grown) organic, cage-free, etc. It makes a difference.

That being said, Just Egg, a vegan product from the folks who made Just Mayo (which was amazing), is said to be a remarkable substitute in the egg-replacement department. I haven't tried it - no need - but just putting that out there.

I see many recipes that are spoiled by the inclusion of one or two ingredients that aren't going to work well.

For your pork chops, I'd have stuffed them with pecorino and prosciutto!

For your pork chops, I'd have stuffed them with pecorino and prosciutto!

Go ahead, but I didn't have any. I used what was on hand, and I'm loathe to go out once I'm settled in.

Besides, around here, meat and cheese counters are rather bare. Even the meat/seafood deli sections are completely closed down. I took my wife on a tour of a local grocery store when she picked up a prescription. Since I'm the shopper, it really opened her eyes: empty of TP, of course, fresh veges in limited supply, eggs way down, any milk product almost nonexistent, cheese shelves almost bare, meat and even bacon in limited supply, virtually no bread (luckily, I make my own), reduced stocks of soup, no certain cleaning and hygiene products, and the list goes on. I did buy her a yellow rose, though, that we might have to eat.

But, I'm like a Mormon squirrel and have always stashed food. So we can for a long time on home supplies. Howzit where you are?

I'm loathe to go out once I'm settled in.

I get that, Larry. Me too.

We will be OK - a freezer and a half full of food, so we can avoid shopping for awhile and see how things go.

Being a squirrel, my freezer is always so full, I couldn't buy an extra pound of butter.

Neighbor says flour, sugar, rice, beans, and pasta are all gone. Luckily, no such shortage at my house. And lots of gun and ammunition buying here with people fearing their neighbors will invade and steal their supplies. Sick. OTOH, I have a .50 caliber machine gun pointed at my rear door, a 20mm AA gun facing my front door, and several bazookas in our bedrooms. No one's stealing our four rolls of TP.

...and several bazookas in our bedrooms.

Don't you find those uncomfortable to sleep on? It would seem simpler to just keep a mortar by the bedside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK57QCYF4Ug&t=107

The Great Race is one of my faves, I saw it when it first came out, and it was so funny I went home with sore ribs.

Bazookas are even more essential now. I found TP today at Dollar Tree and now have 8 more rolls. I was in Sprouts today and saw a woman with four or five 5-gal carboys of water. Her faucet must not work. Grocery stores here all have huge swaths of empty shelves of just about anything you can think of. We have no school, no movies, no libraries, no gyms, no restaurants, no nothing. Now I'm stuck at home with my first wife, but I keep her at least six feet away. (The hallway sex joke comes to mind here.)

How 'bout you?

Yes, I'll vary a recipe.

Jamie Oliver's 'Jool's Favourite Beef Stew' calls for Jerusalem Artichokes but as I have not seen them in the shops since I've been making the stew I've never used them.

There's probably not one dish I've cooked initially from a recipe that I've not been changed over time, from ingredients to method of cooking.

It's also easily noticeable now, thanks to Web, how famous chefs change their recipes on different sites/books

Ever hit a recipe where you see an ingredient that just makes you wonder what they were thinking? I might give it a try once the way it was written to see if it is me that is missing something, and once in awhile again with reduced amounts of the questionable ingredient, but often I will either discard the recipe or just cross out the ingredient if it has merit otherwise without that ingredient.

Last one I went through that process with was a seafood recipe that included vanilla - it just did not work!

Bill, yes, absolutely! I very often toss out ingredients that don't suit me, or are in the wrong quantity, or are mentioned in the "Ingredents" but not in the "Directions", etc.

Lobster with Vanilla is a tried-and-true dish from the Nouvelle Cuisine but I think it needs to be done very carefully... and, anyway, I'm happy with drawn butter so pfft on making 'boil' complicated!

[Robin Garr]

I forgot to add earlier, having moved away from animal flesh several years ago, I've become surprisingly good at taking the meat out of all manner of recipes while compensating for the flavor difference with other flavors. Key being lots of umami. Obviously this won't work for roasts and chops but you'd be surprised how many dishes it is possible to modify through omission or substitution.

I'm an umami fan. What are some of your sources of umami? Have you used plant-based faux meats for anything?

[Robin Garr]

I'm an umami fan. What are some of your sources of umami? Have you used plant-based faux meats for anything?

Larry, for umami, tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and to a less intense degree, onions and garlic. Mix red and black peppers. Those are the first that come to mind.

I'm willing to use the faux meats - they're getting better and better, and it's nice to have something that resembles foods I like but have decided not to eat. But I could easily get by without them. I like tofu, like seitan, and love beans, especially since I'm a serious geek in the Rancho Gordo community. Probably get most of my protein from heirloom dried beans, really.

Some of the things I use for umami include tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, good high-protein N40 or 45 fish sauce, mushrooms, aged cheese and rinds, liquid smoke, and even "truffle" powder. At least that's what I can remember.

Vegemite, the ultimate in umami
Also miso

[Robin Garr]

Vegemite, the ultimate in umami

When I visited Oz, Barb, I came to like Vegemite once I learned its secret: less is more. Just a bit, spread thin on buttered toast!

I didn't think of Marmite, which is similar to Vegemite. I have several jars. I love the stuff.

[Robin Garr]

Uh oh! Don't tell an Australian that Marmite could ever be substituted for Vegemite, mate!

I didn't think of Marmite.

I try not to think of it either - never really managed to like it, although I didn't have as much problem with Patum Peperium, a Gentleman's Relish, an anchovy derived product rather than a yeast sourced one like marmite/vegemite. I am OK with the beef sourced Bovril - can take it or leave it.

Maggi seasoning is very popular in Thailand.

-Paul W.