Ness-ipes and Mess-ipes

I have about a million cookbooks.

I am drawn to them in bookstores; taunted by a cover good enough to eat and the promise of all of the delectable discoveries inside its pages. I'm obsessed with the vividly luscious photography and inspired to make my dishes as marvelous to the eye as I hope they are to the mouth.

But, I have never once, not ONCE followed a recipe in any one of my books. Seriously.

It's not that I dismiss Jamie, Giada and Mario's expertise. In fact, they're geniuses and I thank them silently everyday for bringing good food into my life. I just prefer a melting pot approach to cooking. I'm a rebel without a cup (measuring, that is)! I see a recipe I like. I cross-reference it with a similar recipe by another chef. I brainstorm on how I can make it more to my taste. And I cross my fingers and pray to the Good Gods of Gorging it'll turn out.

This flexibility allows you to adapt recipes to the seasons (if you're dying for mango salsa in December, replace those mangoes with canned peaches) and frankly, with what's in your fridge or pantry, or spice rack! I'll often trade rosemary for thyme, capers for green olives. No need to fret... it's just food!

When I surprise myself in the kitchen, swapping stuff out successfully, I document my success in a scrapbook-like cookbook of my own. I call them my Ness-ipes. And when the fruits of my labour turn out more gross than gorgeous, I call them my Mess-ipes...and vow to do better next time.

Now, I'm certainly no chef and I fully admit to never measuring ANYthing out, however, if you're willing to play along I'll be posting some of my Ness-ipes (and maybe a few Mess-ipes) for your enjoyment.

A fun take on a quesadilla I whipped up in celebration of the series finale of LOST...let's call them

MANGODILLAS!

What You Need:

- tortillas (any size, any flavour!)

- cheese (I recommend Mozzarella or Monterey Jack, but you could use Provolone, Friluano, Gouda or plain ol' Philadelphia cream cheese!)

- mango (or canned peaches ;o) )

- fresh cilantro (or fresh mint)

- hot pepper (I used Cubanelle, but you can substitute with Jalapeno, Hungarian Hot Pepper or Habanero. For a mild substitute, try a red or yellow sweet pepper.)

What You Do:

- fire up the bbq! or, set the oven to broil.

- grate the cheese

- chop the cilantro coarsely

- chop the hot pepper finely (so no one gets a hit of hot they weren't expecting)

- slice the mango

(for tips on how to cut a mango, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvLdPjpELyU)

Lay out one tortilla. Sprinkle a light layer of cheese over the entire surface. Lay out your fine slices of mango in a random fashion, so that every bite gets a little hint. Sprinkle the cilantro and hot peppers to taste and add a bit more cheese on top of it all. Throw a second tortilla on top. To cook, you can either throw it on the bbq for 3-4 mins on medium heat (or until crisp with light grill marks) on each side OR broil in the oven on a cookie sheet for 2-4 mins on each side. Slice into wedges with a pizza cutter and enjoy!

Have any suggestions on how to improve or change up this Ness-ipe? Feel free to leave your comments!

If It Smells Good, Do It!

For as long as I can remember I have been a student of the philosophy of Yum.

My earliest memories were baking bread with my Mum; standing on a stool at the massive island in our kitchen, kneading my own little gooey bit of dough, smelling the sweet, yeasty fumes as it rose and eating more raw than I cared to bake in my tiniest of bread pans. I still can't smell one of those yeasty black permanent markers without being transported back to that oven-lovin' time in my childhood!

Once I was old enough not to have to stand on a stool, you could find me toiling over a pot on the stove. My Dad would have gone out to do errands and left me to add herbs and spices to his current culinary concoction. I would salt and season soups and sauces as I saw fit - sometimes sewering supper completely and other times sussing it out. I discovered early on that if I put one jar from the spice rack up to one nostril and a second jar up to the other and inhaled, I could tell how they would taste when combined and whether or not they were complimentary. This is a trick I employ to this day, whenever I try a new flavour combination.

Our sense of smell is our most primal sense. One honed over millenia of evolution. So the next time you find yourself slaving over that stove...take a chance! Shove that semi-sweet chocolate up your nose while making chili and smell what happens! Trust it...your nose knows!

Welcome Citizens!

Welcome, Citizens, to the People's Republic of Yum!

I began this blog to start a revolution! To take a stand against those stuffy old guys that seem to lord over all things lip-smacking and bring the mmmm! movement back to the people! To make all importantly, to not take the tasty things so damn seriously!

Food and drink are fundamental to our very being. Given the choice, I say let's make it deliriously delicious everyday. We don't need to be chefs and sommeliers, we don't need to be billionaires. We, the people, can rest full-tummied and tipsy under PRY's tablecloth of democracy, sharing our shortbreads and shortcomings.

Join me on my journey to explore the far reaches of the People's Republic of Yum. I'll be blogging regularly (at least weekly, but more often if my tastebuds have been tantilized OR traumatized!) about booze and food pairings, catastrophes in my kitchen and epicurean explorations of all kinds.

I hope you'll find this site a hungerless haven to share your recipes, your reviews and recommendations.

PRY your mouths open and vote YUM!