SC - Romantic Food

[MsGreyPaws@aol.com]

I first learned to cook from my mother, was a TLAR cook. (TLAR is a
borrowed military acronym for That Looks About Right)  She eyeballed
measurements more than exact measure. Sometimes the food turned out a
little better if one toyed with the exact amounts, but too small to
_not_ be cumbersome in the written recipe.

Years later, trying to train dishwashers and busboys to be prep cooks,
it occured to me to advise them that one cooks _food,_ not the recipe.
They would get fixated on following the recipe to the letter, even if
the food was too wet, or dry, or not emulsifying, or too much or little
seasoned. Quality of the ingredients varies from time of year and
geographics. So varies the weather and climate. The printed recipe and
exact measures don't vary in response. 

When I cooked for a retinue, I got funny looks when some people asked
for a recipe. Somethings, like the soups, had none beyond a concept in
my head. 
I tended to add things until the bell went off in the back of my head,
suggesting that it was enough.

Seumas

- -- 
James F. Johnson  
seumas at mind.net
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"All of scholarship...[is] worthless and all all worship is futile if 
they do not penetrate one's bones.
                              --Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotzk


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