Recipe Developing Recipes

As most of you know, I'm an avid home cook, and I develop a lot of my own recipes. This strikes some people as especially intimidating, as if I'm stepping outside of the established boundaries of cookery by doing so. Most of these people, of course, are those with skill levels low enough that they are entirely reliant on a recipe, but more importantly, they're afraid to screw up.

Cooking = science, and there are going to be mistakes along the way. That's part of the process.

My process is pretty simple in developing new recipes. In general, my recipes marry two things: tastes and techniques. I think of what cuisine I'd like to eat from (French, Italian, Greek, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, etc), think of the flavors that make up something from that cuisine (i.e. hot pepper, cumin, and Mexican oregano for Mexican; soy, miso, ginger, dashi for Japanese, etc), and then try and figure out a technique (saute, braise, roast, bake, etc) that will suit the flavor profile I'm going for along with what I have on hand. It's a synthesis.

I also frequently look at extant recipes, see what works for me, eliminate what doesn't, and proceed. This is how I came up with my take on bibimbap. Generally, in posting these adjusted recipes online, I try to post a link to the recipe that inspired my take.

Do you develop your own recipes? If you don't, what stops you? What are some recipes you are particularly proud of?

 

It's still a science that uses the scientific method. If I want my recipes to be reproduceable, I have to closely observe what I'm doing and keep track of the variables. Obviously, if you're not concerned about doing the same thing twice or creating a recipe others can use, that simplifies things considerably.

 

Yup. My mom is very much a cook by feel person. I am too, to some extent, but my desire to be able to write recipes mitigates a lot of that. I use my thermometer a lot.

 

This reminds me of one of my Boston acquaintances who is a renowned violinmaker. He claims that fiddlemaking is not rocket science... it's more complicated!
Fine cooking, like violin making is the sensitive combination of art and craft with science. In the proper proportions.

 

I came across this recipe a few days ago Cauliflower Cake Recipe | Epicurious.com, and thought it looked like it would lend itself to adaptation. In fact, it proved to be very amenable to substitutions, so here is the recipe as I adapted it, using what I had on hand so that there would be no need to buy weird pantry ingredients I would only use once.

450g cauliflower, broken into florets (1 small or 1/2 large, roughly)
1 medium red onion, peeled
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
7 eggs
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup almond flour (I make my own in the food processor)
150g parmesan (my guess is that this could be subbed for nutritional yeast to avoid cheese)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the microwave, steam the cauliflower until soft; drain and set aside to dry. Meanwhile, slice a couple slices off of the red onion; set aside. Chop the rest of the onion. In a pan over medium heat, cook the red onion in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil; add the Italian seasoning and let the two cook together until the onion is soft. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, almond flour, parmesan, and baking powder. Once the onion mixture has cooked and cooled, add it to the bowl along with the cauliflower. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a springform pan lined with buttered parchment paper. Top the cake with the circles of red onion. Bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 195 in the center.

 

Sometimes I come up with ideas because I think two things will go together well. I made a treat today that is a hybrid of two recipes, so it's not entirely my own. I've mentioned it in other threads, but it really is a must try if you're looking for a bar cookie that's easy to make and sure to impress.

Make this shortbread recipe: Classic Shortbread Cookies in 4 Ingredients with added 1 ingredient Variations Recipe : Claire Robinson : Food Network then pat it into a lightly greased 8x8 Pyrex, making sure the cookie extends a bit up the sides of the Pyrex. Then blind bake it for about 15 minutes at 375. Then make this butter pie filling: Butter Pie Recipe - NYT Cooking Pour it into the parbaked shortbread. Bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into small squares.

 

This infographic contains a lot of the information I use to help me develop recipes: