118598_f520The holiday cooking frenzy is about to begin. Thanksgiving is a week away and we are all getting ready to make HUGE feasts for friends and family. Everyone loves the classics like: Green Bean Casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing and,cranberry sauce. Then there are people, like me, who love to shake things up.

Every time I go into my kitchen to cook I remember the words of my parents telling me “A recipe is just a guideline, change one or two elements and you have something new and exciting”. This is something that most people are terrified to do. Creating new recipes can be a overwhelming but it is a lot easier than most would think.

We all do it. Make a meal from a recipe and then while eating wonder to yourself “What if I add this, or change that?” The key is to not be afraid to try those things. This is something I do rather regularly while making any meal for my family. So I have a few tips to make the journey into the unknown a little easier.

  • Never change or add more than two elements at a time. This is probably the most important thing to remember because if you start changing or adding too many ingredients you could have a disaster on you hands.
  • Start slowly. If it is your first time experimenting with a recipe don’t start adding off the wall ingredients. Make your changes small and complementary to your main ingredient.
  • Don’t mess with the untouchables. If you are wanting to experiment with any recipes that involve baking soda, salt, yeast, or baking powder you MUST NOT MESS WITH THEM!!! Those ingredients are there to create a chemical reaction, normally for leavening, so until you truly understand how those reactions work DON’T TOUCH THEM!
  • Complement don’t challenge. Every recipe has a main ingredient, some times two. This is the star, the diva and like real life divas that love to get complements and hate sharing the limelight. It is important to make changes that support your main ingredient and help it shine. Don’t add anything that will compete with that diva, it could end up being very bad.
  • Don’t be afraid to fail. Bottom line is that when changing recipes there is a good chance that you could end up with something that not even the dog will eat. It’s a fact of life that sometimes you have to fail, that’s how you eventually succeed.

So maybe you are thinking instead of the traditional cream soup in your green bean casserole you want to try salsa and a little bacon instead. Or maybe you want to add a few parsnips to your mashed potatoes and french onion soup. Give it a shot, try it out before the big dinner so that you can refine as necessary. You never know you may create a new family favorite.