Thinking Outside the Recipe "Box"

Soooo I realize I'm kind of overwhelming the blog here. I guess we all know who has A LOT of time on her hands, right? :) At least I'm using my hands to cook food and not just twiddling the thumbs, right?! haha Well, I've decided to back off the posting, but at the moment Matt feels the urge to catch up on "Saw 4" and I need a reason to not look at the TV! Everytime I glance up there is something grotesque on the screen. Ew. Boys....

So I decided to tell you all about a momentous milestone in my cooking career that occurred this week. I........ IMPROVISED. Yes, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. It happened with much panic and anxiety, but I altered a recipe. The outcome? Miraculous success! Ok well miraculous for me because I feel like I never know what I'm doing. But this time I felt somewhat knowledgable.

My recipe was for Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon. When I was about to make it I realized that my recipe said that the salmon filets need to be at least 1 1/4 inches thick. Thinner than that and the fish will cook too fast and the glaze won't have enough time carmalize. Well I eye-balled my salmon filets and they were about 1/2 inch thick. I decided to do some investigation into why the thickness was such a neccessary detail. My recipe had me broiling the salmon, which I decided probably cooked the fish faster, and as they noted, would not let the glaze carmalize.

SO in a risky and daring move, I decided not to broil. I decided to BAKE, cook the fish a little slower. I also decided to marinate the salmon, instead of brush it on top. A slight change that made all the difference. The salmon turned out deliciously and my cooking confidence went up approximately half a point. I may be getting the hang of this after all!