DiscussionsDiscussions in the Kitchen

After looking at the recent top 100 Bake-Off recipes, I feel inspired to get in the kitchen and get creative. 

How do you get creative in the kitchen? What are the ingredients do you like to use the most when trying to make a new and made up recipe?

Have you created anything delicious lately? Please share with us! It’s easier than ever to post your recipe on Pillsbury.com

Click here for more information. 

http://www.pillsbury.com/mypillsbury/membercontentlanding.aspx

Please let us know what you end up making! Emily and I love trying new recipes! 

Sincerely, Cate & Emily 

Hi Cate & Emily,

I get creative by looking at what I have on hand in the kitchen!  It is amazing what a person can make!  The last recipe I created was for a birthday celebration last weekend.  I was requested to bring my Salmon Pecan-Crusted Tartlets.  I needed to make something that would appeal to vegetarians there.  Of course I had plenty of Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust on-hand as well as cream cheese.  I decided to make a sweet and savory filling using dates, walnuts, grated apple, blue cheese,  a little mayonaise and cheddar cheese for binding it all together, cinnamon and nutmeg to spice it up just a touch!  The cream cheese in the bottom of the Salmon Pecan-Crusted Tartlets has been such a hit that I repeated it in these tartlets. 

The difficult part of creating anything in the kitchen for me is getting it down on paper!  I don't measure ingredients so the recipe may come out a little different each time.  My husband will request me to make a dish again and often I will change out an ingredient or add something I hadn't the first time...depending on what I find in the refrigerator or cupboard.  You see I haven't included the recipe as I haven't put it down on paper yet, nor have I named it.  If you think it sounds good, I'm sure with your expertise you could come up with a similiar end product.  They disappeared which is always a compliment to the cook! :)

Sincerely,

Evelyn Henderson

Hi Evelyn! 

Welcome to the boards! Thank you for taking the time to post.[:)] I liked reading your story. I've been there before too. When I'm getting creative in the kitchen, I often just eye-ball everything when I'm mixing. 

I'm a big fan of cream cheese (it was on sale this weekend so I stocked up). I like the idea of cream cheese at the bottom of the tartlets. I may have to play around with that. Your recipes sound very yummy! If you end up mastering un-named recipe, we would love if if you could post it. 

Looking forward to your next posts! Sincerely, Cate

i just do what i do. and come up with recipe.

interesting

To be honest, many times for me, it's 'what's on sale? and what do i have on hand?', and perhaps more importantly, what was the last great restaurant meal I had, and what would I do differently? And, if I'm cooking something savory, what pairs well with it? Sometimes I struggle with a fresh side dish, and then I really have to get creative! 

I tend to keep a pantry stocked with nuts, mole, curries, common dried herbs, dried beans (navy, black, red), lots of yeast and flour, and, yes, I do use Pillsbury! It's what my mom and grandmother used, and it's what I use. Shameless plug, I know, but (especially lately) I've been on a kick to recreate breads that I have in sandwhich shops and restaurants for home. Flat breads (great for pizzas and sandwhiches- forget paying Subway!), homemade Italian bread (makes AWESOME garlic bread at a fraction of the cost), and so on. And, I tend to make my own pastas as well. Fresh pasta takes very little time, and tastes amazing as we all know.

Seasonality of fruits and veggies comes in to play as well, since I love to dress up dinner with great sauces, like blackberry-chipotle, or red wine and cherries (great on steaks!).

And, I share ideas with others as well (see my blog, http://michaels-killer-recipes.blogspot.com/ ) to get new ideas, especially if they are more ethnic in nature (homemade pilaf, cabbage rolls, etc.). Grandma's food was always good, so I'm guessing everyone else's grandma's had great recipes too- those I'd love to find more of!

Back to the kitchen for me!

Michael

I always, always have ingredients for desserts. I am never without can pumpkin, ground cloves, and nutmeg. Cinnamon is also something I cannot do without! And of course sugar. I know these are not basic ingredients, but I always have these in stock. (I love to bake desserts and these are always handy) [+o(]

I look at what I have in the kitchen and then decide what sounds tasty.  Tonight, I had some left-over chicken thigh meat.  I added my favorite BBQ sauce and warmed the shredded meat.  I warmed corn tortillas, added cheese, lettuce and a tomato salsa for BBQ chicken tacos.  Yumm!

I just had the idea of adding cheddar cheese and bacon to some biscuts! I think that would be wonderful if they could come ready to bake in the tube. Thought? Test it and see. It's great!

Its happens actually when you are hungry.

When I want to be creative in the kitchen I watch cooking shows and then I call my mother on the phone and we discuss the recipes. We change the recipes so I can use things I have in my pantry. I can't think of a recipe right now but she taught me to add pumpkin or apple sauce to my cakes to make them moist.

The best creative meals are always made when you really need to go grocery shopping..lol.  I am in this situation often with 2 growing, always hungry boys and Hubby.  A little bit of this and a little bit of that, thrown together on a whim is always fun :) 

Snacks done this way are fun too... at least my sons think so.  I pull out the chip and dip tray and fill each slot with what I have hiding in the pantry or fridge: the last cup of cereal, handful of crackers or grapes, random goodness.... a snack buffet!