I appreciate recipes that tell you what can be changed and what must remain fixed. 'The Zuni Cafe Cookbook' by the late Judy Rodgers is superb at this.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'm not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business. But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.
Don't be afraid to adapt new ingredients into your own techniques, and traditional ingredients into new recipes.
Recipes are important but only to a point. What's more important than recipes is how we think about food, and a good cookbook should open up a new way of doing just that.
You don't have to stick with these recipes. They're guides. As I say, they're a way in. Have fun with them. It's an easier way to cook in a busy life, once you get the hang of it.
I wanted to write a food book, but I'm not a chef or an expert on culinary matters, to put it mildly.
I almost never make stuff out of cookbooks because they're either too complicated or there's an ingredient in there that I can't find.
For me, whether it's in a book or on T.V., a recipe has to be simple. I have a short attention span, so to open a cookbook and see a recipe that goes on for three to four pages, well, I've lost interest.
I can't stand recipes that don't have background.
I quite enjoy cooking but I'm not consistent. I can't follow the recipe book. If something goes well, I'll never make it again, which is completely stupid. It's a one-shot kind of deal.
I never really cook from recipes. But the worst is when something turns out great and I can't figure out how to make it again!