I like to cook, but I find that for many recipes I adjust the recipe as I cook based on the ingredients that I have on hand. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to provide a recipe. For example, I LOVE tomatoes. When I have a large bowl of tomatoes, I sometimes make Tomato Bisque. After spending a few years trying different recipes and such, I found a general set of guidelines that allows me to create a bisque that rivals any you will find in a five star restaurant, and I am able to use my different varieties (depending on what I happen to have on hand). The vague description is:

  • Slice tomatoes and place on a sheet or pan with sides (juices will appear and with a cookie sheet, the juices will flow out of the pan). I usually peel the tomatoes, because if I do not, I will have bits of skin floating around. Not an overly bad thing, but I prefer it without.
  • Place sliced garlic on top of some of the tomatoes (say one of those pieces of a clove for each sheet).
  • Sprinkle lightly with salt (I use coarsely Kosher salt).
  • Sprinkle lightly with olive oil

Broil the tomatoes a bit, until the garlic begins to brown but not burn.

Turn the tomatoes so that the garlic is under the tomatoes (so it will not burn) and then broil the other side until you see it begin to singe or brown. Try to not burn it. If the skin burns, I just peel it off.

OK, now here comes the whole do it to taste part.

I dump the tomatoes, garlic, and any water/juices from the tomatoes into the blender. I then add salt and pepper (hmmm, how much), and fresh basil leaves into the blender. The flavor of the basil differs greatly, so I need to adjust that significantly sometimes. For the basil that I usually have, call it four or five large leaves.

I then add between 1/2 and 1 cup of heavy cream, then I blend that into a thick soup. My wife once added some tomatoes that were only mostly ripe, so the soup was a bit bitter. Tossing in some sugar cured that.

So, am I the only one that tastes (in a restaurant friendly clean way) and makes adjustments as they cook?

When a neighbor asked for instructions on how I make my spaghetti sauce, they were rather long, and included things like "add <something> to taste". Herbs and spices and so frequently differing in flavor.