Improvisational Cooking

I have been watching too much AFC. (I am so shy to even tell you what it stands for. But what the heck - Asian Food Channel.) I have been watching the likes of famous chefs such as Jean-Christoph Nouvelli (usually on Saturday/Everyday Cooks), Michael Smith (Chef at Home/Chef at Large), Anna Olsen (Sugar), Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen/The F Word), Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall (River Cottage Series), Jamie Oliver (Jamie's own cooking series), Robert Rainford (License to Grill) etc. I know I would be accused of being silly to put Nigella Dawson here but hey, she whips up a mean supper (the Brits got it all wrong - supper's for late night; it's dinner). So challenge me!

And I must say that these great cooks have one thing in common: they are not sticklers of recipes.

There is no better teacher than experience. Cooking is about getting your hands dirty and finding out in the end if things work out.

If you are where I am at, things like parsnip and lamb and whatever you need in those "atas" (high class) cook books cost an arm and an leg. You are better off not following them than following them because you are going to be a couple of items short of the complete recipe. To acquire that missing item at the atas supermarket, that item's cost will probably be 50% or more of the remaining stuff you need. (I believe they call it the Pareto Principle - and it's for the cost and not for the taste.) People are worried about their food not turning out right. They are worried about not getting the correct flavour. They loathe to make replacements.

But these great chefs on TV keep emphasising one thing - whatever you already have at home can do the job well enough. I think I have benefited from their wisdom. I change my food preparation techniques so that I get my onions out in half the time I used to. I taste my marinades before I dump in the food. I taste my food before I serve. I throw in my seasonings without measurement. I know when a dollop of butter, a dash of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a squirt of fish sauce, a touch of pepper, a sprinkling of sugar or a few twists of my miracle salt will do the trick.

And most importantly, you need a group of friends who are most adventurous and supportive of your culinary experiments. They should be people who tell you that there is no failed experiment. Cooked food is good food. And before you know it, you are off to even greater culinary heights.

PS. I am usually floored by simple dishes and small portions. I burnt a pot of quick cooking oats I prepared for two persons' breakfast yesterday. *Blush*