Does It Work? 1: Mustardy Chicken & Potatoes

Time for a new occasional series, "Does it work?', where I talk about cooking. Almost always when I make a new recipe, I have only two-thirds of the ingredients, or the wrong kind of pan, or it calls for saffron (never use saffron), and I always wonder, will it work despite my tweaks?

I've also noticed that many people are afraid of cooking and the almost-inevitable improvisation - the SO chalks this up to adults being afraid of failing - and while I am not a great chef, and still need a recipe in order to get anything made, I'm not afraid.

Not sure why, really. I'm afraid of most other new things.

Of course, I have been cooking for a while now, and I suppose there are some things I know that a brand-new cook wouldn't: what sautéing is, how to slice veggies, that some ingredients are "science" ingredients (make the food into what it's supposed to be e.g. risen) and some are "artistic" ingredients (change the flavor but not the essential nature). That last one is especially important when it comes to winging it/substituting/leaving things out.

I'll not be posting the recipes in their entirety (that's illegal and slimy), but rather providing links and credit to people's blogs or books and talking about what stuff I substituted, changed, ignored, and failed at. Or succeeded at! Hopefully more of the latter. I encourage you to try the stuff I link to, if it tickles your fancy, and let me know how it goes.

I hope this encourages people who are nervous about cooking to give it a shot! Try new things, make a mess, burn the cookies - it's all okay.

So let's get to it! The first "Does it work?" is Diethood's One Pan Maple Mustard Chicken and Potatoes, by Katerina.

I do buy ingredients if I'm going to try a totally new dish, one that has a totally different flavor profile or science ingredients. But mostly, I cook with what's one hand - hence the substitutions.

Substituted (3 of 7 ingredients)
- Regular Kroger syrup for maple syrup
- Chicken breasts for thighs, and only 2 instead of 4 (Why? They're bigger.)
- Regular potatoes for new potatoes

On a scale of salad-salad to tuna salad (see: prototype theory), these substitutions were a caesar-salad wrap: very similar to what was called for, but not exactly.

Left out (1 of 7 ingredients)
- Parsley (you can always leave out parsley; it's like the most "artistic" ingredient ever)

Did it work? Yes! Was it as pretty as Katerina's? No! Is that okay? Yes!

I recommend this recipe, especially for new or nervous cooks. There are only a few ingredients, and an easy single pan. If you like maple-bacon things, you'll probably like this flavor profile.

xo,
Devo