One of the things I am trying to teach the kids in our cooking together, and to be honest, trying to get better about myself, is to be comfortable experimenting in the kitchen. To be able to cook on the fly, without a recipe, or to take a recipe you have and tweak it to either suit your tastes, or the contents of your pantry, is an excellent skill to have in the kitchen. My wife, who is an excellent cook is really good at this. In fact, I think she prefers to cook by instinct as opposed to breaking out a cookbook and cooking from a recipe. She likes the creative challenge of working this way. Inspired by her, I have become much more comfortable “using the force” when cooking, applying techniques I know well to ingredients on hand. Sometimes working to capture classic flavor combinations and profiles that I love, sometimes letting it all hang out and shooting for something totally new.
Working this way while cooking savory dishes is one thing. I have the occasional total failure, but for the most part, I can wing-it and end up with a pretty tasty dish for the table. Cooking baked goods or pastries without regard to a recipe however, is just asking for trouble. There is a real chemistry to baking that cannot be ignored, and if altered in the wrong way, will more often than not lead to poor results. If you have the time, knowledge, and inclination to set up an honest to goodness test kitchen at home, then have at it, but know that success in developing “new” baking recipes will likely depend on your willingness to work and re-work them many times before hitting upon a winner. If, like most people, you lack the masochistic bent required for test kitchen work, there are a few other routes you could follow to exercise your creativity.
