Perfectly Imperfect Recipes

My recipes are perfectly imperfect. That’s my way of saying when you try my recipes, your mileage may vary.

I appreciate a well-tested recipe. I was raised on Cook’s Illustrated and Fine Cooking and Gourmet magazine, the best magazines with the best-tested recipes. For years, I meticulously searched for ingredients and painstakingly followed the recipe instructions. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t. And somewhere along the line, I gained confidence in the ingredients and cooking techniques and figured recipes out on my own.

In other words, I got over it.

There’s a wonderful book by the food writer Pam Anderson called “How to Cook Without a Book” that helped me understand that recipes are for inspiration and a map to the final dish and that interpretation is the cook’s journey. (And I should note that interpretation and experimentation are far easier with savory cooking than with baking.)

Like so much of life, preparing food for your self and loved ones is about self-expression and transformation.

All of this is to say that most of my recipes are not tested outside of my kitchen. Like this chicken chili, I prepare them in my home kitchen, and I improvise with ingredients and techniques.

I take care when writing recipes, but still mistakes happen. If you spot a problem in a recipe, give me some grace and reach out on the socials.

Let’s Talk About Perfectly Imperfect Recipes

Let me know how my recipes work in your kitchen. Just reach out on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to hear from you.