When cooking...do you follow recipes??

Of course I do when baking but on everything else...nope. If I do follow a recipe I combine about 3 or 4 different recipes. I like a lot of flavor and have to spice things up. Food should be exciting! I never measure unless I'm baking though.

Usually the very first time I make a recipe I follow it pretty closely. After that I change it up depending how I think it tasted the first time.

I follow the main concept of the recipie, but I do it in my own way. I may add a few different spices, or switch things around. Take away an ingredient and replace with another. I like to be creative when I am cooking.

It all depends upon what it is I am making. If I haven't made it before I do tend to stick to the recipe. As I fear that I may end up messing up the recipe if I don't do so.. I've had times where I've tried to change the recipe & then.. I ended up messing it up because I didn't follow it word for word.. So after that experience that I ended up learning from.. I now know that when I find a new recipe to make that I prefer to follow it instead of taking it in my own hands to change it. The only time I end up changing the recipe is if I have made it before.. Then I end up adding a few new things or experimenting a tiny bit. Sometimes when I see a recipe I like & I don't like some of the ingredients I find that need to be used.. I will substitute some of the ingredients.. As I know what me & my other half tend to like when it comes to making new dishes.. Then I will add my own ingredients. Usually I know what spices me & my other half will like so it always ends up working out in the end. So in conclusion I'd much rather follow a recipe when it's the first time I may be making the dish.. But if it's something I've made before I try to experiment.. It's nice to be able to add your own things, to experiment when cooking.. It's what makes cooking so much fun! . .

I do follow recipes when cooking if that is a special recipe. What I usually do is follow first there secret recipes, then I would gladly make experiments with taste if I had done the first recipe in good taste. I love to experiments on the standard recipes like cooking pasta or desert, but sometimes it is much better to follow the original recipes first then do your own creation with it.

I'm the same as you. When I bake, I use a recipe but when I'm cooking dinner or making something that doesn't require exact measurements, then I wing it and base it on my taste. If I'm trying a new recipe I will follow the directions and then mess with it until I like it. :) Do you watch Rachel Ray on the Food Network? She has a show called 30 Minute Meals. She is the same way - which is why you never really see her bake. She says she doesn't like to follow a recipe or have to use measurements. I completely understand too!

no,I don't. sometimes I read books about recipes,but I don't follow them,I do cook simply what i want lol.

well i love baking ifolow recipes off my mums oens like making cheesecake and spatsla , and also some other recipes but most of them are in my head so it easier.

When I am making something for the first time or only on a yearly basis, I do measure. Once I am comfortable with making something whether it be baking or stovetop I can just put the right things together and sometimes add a touch of something to make it different for a feel of variety.

Well sometimes yes when i cook i follow recipies otherwise i cook according to someones instructions or i cook in the way i know.

I usually don't cook, but when i do, i use recipes to follow. i'm afraid of doing it wrong.

yup. for maximum food satisfaction. although you have the option of not folowing the recipe, for some good recipes visit my blog :) http://cookcity.blogspot.com