Sounds pretty much like how things are in my kitchen, Sally. I often make delicious things from what's in the kitchen and freezer, then can't duplicate them, even if I write it down! As for baking, at this moment I'm worrying if I can add cocoa to the old family favorite Pecan Butter Balls, and am afraid to try...all those expensive ingredients wasted, if it doesn't work! And time!

I'm looking forward to answers from more inspired cook/bakers here.

All the recipes and comments here are an education as to what ingredients go well together and suggest possibilities. But, recipes are just inspirational starting points. What is in the fridge and pantry are big factors in our meals. I have a 'taste' for what I want, then try to make it. I often sniff the dish thus far and the spice or herb I want to add to see if they would be good together. Sometimes it turns out well. If it is really good, I write down the ingredients. Sometimes it does not turn out so well; then I am thankful DH has no taste buds, lol.

Baking is different. Recipes are golden. I don't create any recipes, but sometimes alter or add ingredients.

I haven't done anything too impressive, but often substitute 1/4 cup of yogurt or sour cream for an egg-- or about 1/3 cup applesauce or pumpkin, because they're a little less liquidy. I've substituted for all the eggs in muffins, banana bread, and cakes, and been happy with the taste and moist texture. The batter seems to rise a little less, and I fill muffin cups mostly full when doing this substitution. My cake-inclined friend has done yogurt batter for shaped cakes up to about a foot high, but tells me a yogurt cake is too moist for a really massive/precarious cake.

I think this also works with oil-- I believe I've also used a little more than I would oil-- maybe again 1/3 cup applesauce or pumpkin to sub for 1/4 cup oil. I think I've substituted for just half the oil, and left the other half in. I read that leaving out butter or oil may not be a good idea for cookies, because they may not crisp properly (I haven't tried cookies, but this does work well for muffins, banana bread, and most cakes, like the egg thing)

I've also substituted cocoa powder for flour, if I wanted to make a chocolate batter from a plain recipe. I've used equal ratios-- leaving out 1/4 or 1/2 cup of flour and replacing it with the same amount of cocoa, and that has worked fine.

If I wanted to start from scratch, I might pull up a couple of basic, well-rated recipes (from allrecipes or food network, maybe) and try to figure out the general ratio of liquid to flour to baking powder/soda. I have not been brave enough for this, as yet :-)

Sally:
Most of the recipes I've put in the CF are things I've tried on my own and worked.
I've caught a ration of ---- for using Vanilla Ice Cream,
in my Cheese Cake , or Powdered Spices.
Or Chicken Soup Base in Chicken Soup and Meatballs.
Or even Baking Pizza in Pans.
But most of the critisism is from someone who never tried them and don't really know how good they are.
Just wanted to put in a little zap !!!

The latest was putting Pasta in Bean Soup ( Pasta Fagioli )
It is a sacred Italian Tradition.
So if you think of something, you want to try and you are not sure ,
just ask here. You'll get an answer.
I dare you to make something new !!!
Lou

Usually it's because I have to use something up before it spoils - a couple of ripe mangoes come to mind as a recent example. My DH loathes vinegar, for instance, so I made a very simple mango relish with Meyer lemons and green onions, spiked with a lot of chili.

More often I'm simply modifying recipes - after decades in the kitchen you can guesstimate pretty well what works and what won't. I modified Ina Garten's roasted shrimp with panko, for example - no way I'm using 12 Tblsp of butter in a simple shrimp dish! We watch our salt and sugar intake so I often cut down the cheese amounts, especially for Giada's recipes which are otherwise pretty good.

The amount of salt used by celebrity chefs, and in most recipes, amazes me. There are some recipes that really do need a certain amount of salt, but the vast majority of them, especially anything that uses prepared or packaged ingredients, are way oversalted.

I have a really rough time simply following a recipe as written. About the only time I do is if I'm making something I have never even tasted before, from a cuisine with which I'm somewhat unfamiliar (I'm still mostly following recipes for Thai foods, for example) or when I'm canning (I'd just as soon not give anyone botulism.)

It might be something as simple as playing with the herbs and spices, but for the most part, I view recipes as general guide lines when I use them at all. They give me ideas, and sometimes proportions of main ingredients, and an estimate of timing/temps etc.

In baking, I'm a bit more restrained, but I still play. Cooking is my fun, my art, if you will, and even if something doesn't come out quite the way I was aiming it to, I am experienced enough to rarely produce anything that is downright inedible...though it has happened...so little gets wasted. I must admit that I am assisted in this by being blessed with a husband who loves really good food but who is also among the least fussy of diners. :D

Yesterday morning, for example, I was craving bread pudding. I like it sometimes for a Sunday morning type breakfast, and make it not too sweet, sometimes adding dried fruits or crumbled bacon or some other meat or veggie. However, I was very low on bread and milk and didn't feel like going to the store. So, I made it with cornflakes instead of bread, and supplemented my milk with a can of sweetened condensed...I chopped up some dried fruits to toss in. Boy am I glad I didn't add any sugar on top of that!

It really was too sweet for my taste, at least as a breakfast food, though it definitely had possibilities as a dessert with a bit of cream (whipped or ice)or a Creme Anglaise. But, I liked the chewy texture of the cornflakes paired with the silkiness of the custard, and will play with the idea some more. I noticed this morning that my husband made a late night snack of some of the leftover.

As others mentioned, the easiest way is to use an existing recipe and adapt it for the best blend of art (your changes) and science (established ratio of ingredients).

Sarah Phillips - author of "Baking 9-1-1" and the great web site - http://www.baking911.com/ - made 100 different attempts before she came up with a low-fat White Cake recipe she liked.

I made a form I use for creating new recipes, or for altering existing ones. I may have several pages of changes for the same recipe using this form before I am done.

The form is divided into two columns. On the left side I'll place the original recipe (hand-written or a photo-copy), or sometimes I'll photo copy it on the back of the form if it's large). I may be adapting it to have high-fiber, low-fat, sugar-free, gluten-free, wholegrain, etc..., or it will be my first attempt, if it's an original recipe.

On the left side I add my notes, after making the recipe, in boxes marked:

-Ingredient changes (I made from the original recipe.)

-Results - this is where my training as a Foods Judge comes in handy and I'll judge my recipe by those standards.

-Next time - notes about changes I need to make or options I can use for the same recipe.

I usually don't make more than three significant alterations on any one try.

It's also beneficial to know some food science. For instance:

-Additions of cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg ADDED TO THE DOUGH should be kept to around 1/4-teaspoon per cup of flour in yeast bread because too much can be detrimental to yeast growth. Now you know why the cinnamon is applied to the dough and rolled-up, not added to the dough in large amounts.

-Bread dough characterized as sweet, salty or low absorption may require a special kind of yeast called Osmotolerant Instant Active Dry Yeast. Another helpful hint when making sweet breads and you don't have an osmotolerant instant active dry yeast product is to add 1/4 t. ascorbic acid or 3 t. lemon juice to assist in the rising. You'll also note sweet breads often call for more yeast because of the slow rise.

-Adding an acid (ascorbic acid, lemon juice) to yeast breads that contain wheat germ, or whole wheat flour (which also contains wheat germ) will aid in preventing glutatione from forming, which can damage the gluten. Short heavy loaves of 100% whole wheat bread are a sign of gluten damage.

-Just how much sugar CAN you add to a yeast bread before you damage the gluten? Two tablespoons of sugar per cup of flour is about the maximum you can add without major gluten damage.

-How much milk or dry milk powder is too much in yeast bread? Milk affects the volume, symmetry, cellular structure, and texture. If the loaf looks more like a roller coaster ride, then there is too much dairy. You can overcome some of the effects of large amounts of dairy by scalding milk (which alters that protein in the whey of the dairy product), or using Special Dry Milk Powder from King Arthur Flour.

-If you reduce the salt in a yeast bread recipe, you should also reduce the amount of yeast because salt regulates the yeast. So a general rule-of-thumb, if you reduce the salt by 50%, then reduce the yeast by 50% as well.

-There is generally a ratio of ingredients used in most types of baking that is already well-established in the world of food science. There is generally a proportion maintained between ingredients that are tenderizers (fat and sugar) and those that are structure builders (flour and eggs). For instance, a standard plain cake has, by measure, one-third as much fat as sugar; two-thirds as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid.

When I developed gluten-free cookie recipes, I first formulated a basic cookie recipe, and then made other changes to make many kinds of cookies from the same base recipe. I didn't have to reinvent the recipe each time, just alter it.

You can also follow bakers' percentages for bread making. Following the same percentages you can make one loaf, or a recipe for 10 loaves. It's also good to know how much flour there is in different amounts of dough:
2-1/2 cups flour = 1-pound loaf
3-cups = 1-1/2-pound loaf
4-cups = 2-pound loaf

-When you reduce fat and sugar you will be sacrificing tenderness, so find foods that may be substituted for those. For instance:
*Whey-based milk substitute powder has a shortening effect on baked goods, so you can add it and reduce fat.

*You can generally use 25% less coconut oil than butter or shortening and get the same effect.

*Use Sweet Dairy Whey powder (not to be confused with whey protein powder) and you can significantly reduce the amount of sugar.

-You don't always have to change the ingredient to change the recipe. When making bread if you add the fat early in the recipe it has a shortening effect on the gluten. The result is a closed-grain crumb, almost cake like, and a shorter loaf. Add the same amount of fat later, after the gluten has developed, and you'll get a higher loft and a more open crumb. Neither is right or wrong, but you'll get a different texture. Closed grain if you are going to use it for sandwiches dressed with mayo, and an open crumb for toast for all those openings for butter and marmalade to settle into.

-Egg whites are drying, so when you try to lower fat and use egg whites only, you may have to add another ingredient to make up for effects found in the egg yolks. Yolks contain lecithin which have an emulsifying effect you can't get with whites.

-Make low-fat baked goods in small amounts because they don't keep as well as those with fat. So instead of a 9x13-inch pan, make a recipe in a loaf pan or 8-inch square to avoid dried-out leftovers.

-If I think I'll need to taste a batter that contains raw eggs, before I bake it, I'll use reconstituted pasteurized whole egg powder, or powered egg yolks or egg whites to avoid a food safety issue from tasting raw eggs.

And a million other little things that come in handy with altering or creating recipes.

-Grainlady

I don't think I've ever created something new on purpose. Rather, out of necessity. I follow basic recipes and make substitutions, modifications, and additions as I see fit. And sometimes, small changes here and there give a very radical result.

Sometimes creativity has to play a roll when you have a hungry family, no meal plan for the evening, and the clock is ticking. I've had plenty of hits and misses under those circumstances.

During the early 60's when I was a young mother cooking for my family, recipes consisted of things you could make with a can of soup and a roast, or a package of dry onion soup mix or Italian dressing mix and some meat.
My friends thought it was "gourmet" to sprinkle garlic powder on a steak or onion powder on a hamburger. I remember a salad recipe that made the rounds. It was a package of lime jello, mixed with 1 cup of boiling water,s tir until dissolved and then stir in 1 cup of vanilla icecream and add an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained. We thought that was fancy dancy!

But my all purpose cook book was a Boston Cook Book that told the classic old fashioned way to cook....then I got a James Beard cook book, then I discovered Public TV and Julia....and I learned the basics of good cooking. I learned what flavors go together and what really don't. I also survived the "nouvelle cuisine" rage....where odd things were put together just for the sake of different.

I learned that fresh is always better...ALWAYS...I learned the basic proportions for cakes and muffins. I learned what beaten egg white does to a recipe and that if you don't cook it very well...it will rise up and then collapse like a souffle.
I learned how much baking powder to add to a recipe based on the amount of flour. I learned how much eggs to add to make a custared out of a cup of milk.
And I have the amazing ability to imagine flavors. I can taste something and say that would be good with some cloves added....or a splash of lemon would help bring out the flavor.
And I am still learning, of course! But I know I will never return to the can of soup, box of jello, can of beans way of cooking.
Lots of inspiration comes from magazines, restaurants and of course all the recipes and beautiful pictures here!
Linda C

These are all very interesting responses! I really appreciate the time y'all have taken to write out such thoughtful comments. I'm copying and pasting this thread into my computer for repeated future reference. Thanks!

Sally

I think I had an advantage in taht I was taught to cook by my Grandmother who never measured anything. Everything was cooked by taste or by appearance or by texture. It had to "look right" or "feel right" and it always got tasted.

As a result, I'm pretty laid back about experimenting. I'm still trying to re-create a pineapple cookie that Grandma made and I'm sure she just tossed stuff into a bowl until it "looked right" and then baked it.

I do write down what I add, and I make notes as to changes for "next time". I will admit that it usually takes 3 or 4 tries to get close to what I have in mind although occasionally I get lucky and get it the first time or two.

I also change recipes so they suit my taste. We have had posters in the past who were very offended if you changed a single thing in a recipe they posted, but that's not me. For instance, my salsa recipe is infinitely changeable. Keep the ratio of vegetable to acid the same if you're going to can it, otherwise, add more hot peppers, less sugar, leave out the tomato paste or put it in. Make it thick or thin, put it in the blender if you want it smooth. Play with it and make it your own.

So, some of my recipes are "mine" and others are recipes I got from other people and made my own. I figure if it goes wrong I can feed it to the office staff, they'll eat anything. (grin) Although some ingredients are very expensive, some recipes aren't and if it fails I'm not out much. It's at least chicken feed...

Annie

I've had good success creating new recipes when I start searching for a recipe that has what I'm looking for. My pizza recipe is a combination of three recipes...ATK's dough, Ann's Pizza Sauce, my personal preferrence for flavors and a technique I learned from the pizza guys forum introduced to us by Jessy.

Recently, I made an apple tart using Ina Garten's recipe, and loved the dough so much I used it for a turkey pot pie. I don't really like pie crust, but this crust is incredible, puffing up beautifully. I added some white cheddar to the pot pie, which is not something I'd normally do, but it glued the contents enough together that I could cut my pie, and because I made it with two crusts, got wedges to serve. My husband loved it so much he asked me to repeat it, so I had to write the recipe down so I'll be able to. I'm serving it again after Thanksgiving.

I think it's all about experimentation. If you find one component of a recipe you really like, keep that. Layering that with something else until you find what's ''just right'' will reveal some great combinations. I made up a coconut cake recipe last year for my anniversary that was just...deliciously memorable, using three different recipes. Once you have the basics down, especially when you're baking, you know where you can test the waters more successfully. I prefer to search recipes that are rated by cooks who have tried them, so I can apply their suggestions, which I always feel gives me a leg up.

Then of course, there are are always things that will add more flavor, like layering vanilla extract with vanilla bean, using the zest of citrus, or maybe using coconut milk instead of whole milk. I'm a total geek, but I love to test things. I always make the recipe as written first, so I have a basis for comparison. Only then do I know where to go from there!