Has THIS Ever Happened To You?

[Bud J]

We all love our smoked foods and do whatever we can to improve on recipes.
I am someone that relllllly loves leftovers and combining leftover fridge ingredients into a single bowl is a favorite dinner for me.

So tonight, like many other nights, I put together some leftover ingredients that were in the refrigerator. The main ingredient for this dish was, leftover pasta I had made with oil, butter, garlic, fresh basil pesto AND smoked chicken skins I had saved from smoking a chicken a couple days ago. I really love adding the skins to a pasta dish as it adds a real flavor impact to it. I also added other ingredients that were on hand.
Anytime I cook, I enjoy a cocktail...or two... or three... and tonight was no exception. So while enjoying my cooking session, I went to town concocting all of my ingredients into a hopefully enjoyable dinner...and, of course, pouring more cocktails. I threw this in and that and this an so on. I added more garlic, spices, and other stuff that was getting old in the fridge.

After completing the cooking session I sat down to enjoy my meal. Turns out it was one of the most incredible meals I had ever eaten. The flavor was smoky, strong and incredibly tasty. It was one of the best dishes I ever tasted.
So has THIS ever happened to you? You’ve made one of the best dishes ever and you have no idea how you did it?
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I DID! Damn wine...

 

[kruizer]

If you close your eyes and wish really hard, maybe it will come to you.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Hahaha to many cocktails. LOL hey some photos may have saved you and we could of seen what you did.

Warren

 

[Bud J]

Hahaha to many cocktails. LOL hey some photos may have saved you and we could of seen what you did.

Warren

As requested...

 

[Brokenhandle]

Hehehe! I had that same thing for supper, all I had left was an empty bowl also!

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

Empty bowl is a bowl to be cleaned. Nice work.

 

[Fueling Around]

…
It was one of the best dishes I ever tasted.
So has THIS ever happened to you? You’ve made one of the best dishes ever and you have no idea how you did it?
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I DID! Damn wine...

All the time and with or without alcohol induced CRS.
I start with a documented base recipe. By the time I'm done, the tweaks got lost in translation from cook to card.

 

[Hamdrew]

"i remember my first beer"

just make sure to keep a notepad so it's not for naught, bud. and count your blessings this time worked out!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Been there. Sometimes it took me Years to re-engineer a dish. I learned to at least take minimal notes. I cook with Wine or Beer. Sometimes I even put some in the Pot!...JJ

 

[chilerelleno]

Cooking is chemistry,
and sometimes when I'm just tossing stuff together it just comes out perfectly.
An excellent example is these tacos.

OH My Gosh! Quite Possibly the Best Tacos

Oh my gosh! I just prepared and ate, what were quite possibly the best tacos I've ever eaten. I cut the corn off a cob and roasted it and some onion in butter, and set it aside. Then I chopped up leftover CSR's and my glazed pineapple, added some Salsa Picante and heated it up. Toasted a few...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yup bet you don't remember if it was good or.

Warrn

 

[noboundaries]

I've done it so many times because I throw together things I have onhand. My wife finally trained me to start writing things down as soon as I finished. Used to use a recipe software but it is no longer supported. Now I use a couple free apps on my phone, store them in the cloud, then print the recipes. Once you start, it's kinda addicting.

 

[Hamdrew]

i use my smart phone to take pictures of mostly dry erase but all sorts of scribbles more than anything.

if youre unsure whether or not to write that extra detail about a cook on your notes/bags/labeling, write it down. they make real fine sharpies for the times you really need to extrapolate on what was special about it. i labeled a ziplock of sliced ham (canadian bacon) portions with "smuckers (use welchs next time). use less 5spice" earlier. and thats a recipe ive ran a few trials of about the same, just little things i need emphasis on. so i dont kick myself makin the same mistake again. Save a few pieces for leftovers to try n give your palate a couple days off if u wanna go all out. But anyways, i decided to add it bc it was definitive to me- smuckers just tastes like sugar whereas welchs adds a subtle (compared to using fancy brands) but absolutely discernible difference.