Improv!

"This sauce is amazing. Can you give me the recipe?"
"Thanks, but I pretty much just threw things in a pot and hoped for the best, I can give you a rough list of ingredients though."
"Um... yeah... I dunno."

Tragic. Why is it so scary to just try something? I wouldn't do it for years, and some people never do. While in Boston, I sacrificed my precious, precious sleep on Sunday mornings for a couple of months to take a class at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. My teacher drove me nuts. It always seemed like he was right behind me, commenting freely on my style or whatnot. I was completely uncomfortable cooking with an audience and this made me really jumpy. He was also always telling us that the recipe was merely a guide and that we should keep messing with it until we liked the way it tasted. "Don't like eggplant? Then why is it in your dish!" I did not like this.

Loathe though I am to admit it, he was good. Over the course of the class, I grew accustomed to cooking with an audience and even ended up just sassy enough to put something together from whatever happens to be in my kitchen. Admittedly, it's not always fancy, but it's usually good. And you know what? If it's not, no one is going to die (it's not like I serve raw chicken). This is why I now understand why all of the celebrity chefs are so arrogant: they essentially have to be or they would never try anything new and interesting.

So, today, I will list out ingredients in two different dishes (based on similar principles), but not tell you how much of each or in what order I did things, in part because I do not know. Very traditional and simple combinations, very tasty.


Trust me. You can do this.

Orcchiette Pasta

In Both: Orcchiette pasta, olive oil, salt, garlic (lots of it), asiago cheese.

Option A: Throw in some broccoli and baby spinach.

Option B: Canned whole tomatoes, onions, balsamic vinegar, basil.

I have faith in you and hey, at least no one is watching!