"How do you decide what to cook?" or "How do you decide which recipe to use?" are two questions I'm frequently asked. They are great questions, but difficult to answer in a straightforward way.
Let's start with "what" to cook. I'm the first to admit that weather plays a huge role in what I decide to cook. If the weather is sunny and warm, grilling is my go-to option. If it's cloudy and rainy, then obviously cooking inside is required. When I plan weekly menus, this flexibility is built in by the fact that I don't have specific recipes chosen. Of course I keep a list of recipes to try and some possibilities for the upcoming week, but I rely more on what the family is feeling that day.
Last week pork tenderloin was scheduled for dinner - grilled or cooked inside based on the weather. Turns out it was rainy and cold, so Goanese curry became dinner instead of grilled Cuban garlic marinated pork. The side dishes of rice and broccoli worked with either meal. If you have a well-stocked pantry, your menus can be flexible.
As for the question "which recipe," it depends on my mood. Some days a tried-and-true recipe is in order like JVE's chili, see picture above. I've been making this recipe for so many years. There are cold winter days that only this recipe will do. Or my favorite French onion soup recipe from Julia Child, which I always serve on Thanksgiving Eve.
If you've seen my cookbook collection you know it's large. Of course I don't know all my cookbooks, but some are more familiar to me than others. For Mexican food, my go-to cookbook is Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless, for Latin American food Gran Cocina Latina, a general cookbook How to Cook Everything, and for French Julia's Volume I. These books provide recipes for days when I don't want to think much; I'm familiar with the style of these books so it requires little effort on my part.
On days I want to experiment, I start by looking in my other cookbooks and if nothing grabs my attention then search the web. At this point cooking becomes harder because I have to adapt the recipe to my family's taste. On days I want to try something completely new or learn a new technique I make the recipe with only changing the amount of salt, which I almost always lower. In my experience the way to learn a technique is to blindly follow a new recipe. Sometimes it works out, like the French/Mexican Spicy, smoky enchilada sauce; sometimes it doesn't, like a complicated, time-consuming beef stew recipe that was bland.
Find a process that works for you. I'd love to hear how you find recipes or decide what to cook for dinner.
Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!
Other new recipes for the week
