Generally I try as is first and then maybe make some changes. On occasion I change it when I first read it if something doesn't appeal to me. I also will take several recipes for the same dish and pick out the ingredients I like from each recipe and combine as one.

yes I always try to say what I used and what I did differently even on my own creations since I might change it up.

I'm like you, make it first then add some changes.

And if I find two recipes that vary, then I add changes and combine as one.

Yes, I make changes. Or, I read recipes for ideas, and create my own.
I don't get so inventive with baking, though. I don't trust that I will get the proportions right for the desired fluffiness or chewiness or flakiness or texture.

I usually make a recipe as written the first time unless it comes to spicy-ness. Since being introduced to cajun food, bbq and tex-mex in Houston, we prefer our food on the hotter side! I will usually add more of the herbs, spices and peppers than the recipe called for.

I always make a new recipe exactly as it is written, if it is something we think we may want to try again, I will then make any changes.

I seldom measure spices and seasonings. For sure, the salt, as most things are over-salted for my tastes. I just throw in the spices to what I think would taste good, and cross my fingers.

The only thing I leave out of any recipe is cilantro. I use my lovage that's growing in my little garden in place of parsley and other herbs in recipes.

I almost always make changes. Just usually don't write it down, thus, I can't make a repeat of exactly the same item. LOL

Moni

Like others have said, I'll make a recipe the way it's written the first time, then I'll make changes. I usually use less salt from the very beginning, though, as many recipes use too much for my palate. I rarely find a recipe that I want to make more than once as we mostly eat grilled fish or chicken and steamed vegetables and I'm not much of a baker.

it depends...now most cookie and cake recipes i follow to a t...with the exception of the date nut rocks in "joy"..i sub brandy for the liquid...

my mother was a nut freak, lol, and if called for 1/2 cup she would add a cup instead...

Yes, I change recipes most of the time.

I view recipes as suggestions, not dogma, LOL. I read, think, then adapt them to what appeals to me and what I have on hand.

DH is the opposite. If he doesn't have a teaspoon of thyme, well, he just can't make the dish!

Baking is the exception. Baking is more of a science, because the leavening ingredients in a recipe are balanced for the desired result. You can't just willy-nilly leave out baking powder or baking soda and expect a good result.

I'm with the majority here! It really bugs me on the reviews on allrecipes when someone makes major changes then gives the recipe a low rating! I try it first, then maybe tweak it the next time-or if on allrecipes I read the reviews first, then decide if I want to make an adjustment.

If we liked it I did not change it. Went to Thanksgiving at a relatives' last year and 2 men complained about the food. I said this complaining is a first for me. One guy said, "well, she gets good recipe and then changes it". I agree with the guys but would have discussed it later.

I used to make Chocolate Rum balls for Christmas and always brought some to work. Folks loved them. Several women asked for my recipe, which I readily shared. Once a woman said she had made them but hers came out awful, way too sticky. My recipe called for called for plain chocolate wafer cookies, crushed. She admitted she had substituted crushed Oreos. Sigh.

Baking...yes I follow exactly. I have never found a knack for baking.

Cooking, it is rare I follow a recipe. My routine is usually:
get a protein out of the freezer in morning
browse recipes ideas at work about 4:00 and pick an idea
make a mental note of what was in recipe and can I
replicate with what's in the pantry?
"wing-it" when I get home

My favorite this week was a pork roast cut into bite sizes pieces. Coat in a brown mustard, italian dressing, and honey mixture. Throw in pan and add onion and mushrooms.

My ex loved to make one thing....dill chicken. I keep a well stocked pantry, but he could never find anything.
He always went to the store and bought every ingredient the recipe called for.
When he moved out and I cleaned the spice shelf, I had at least 6 little jars of dill!

I make as is the first time, unless it has garlic in it, which I have to leave out. Then I'll make changes the next time if I want to. DH, on the other hand, wants to change stuff right of the bat.

Tami

Oh Lisa, that's my pet peeve, too. People make a jillion changes to a recipe and then give it an awful rating. Well, duh....it's not the same recipe!!

I am almost incapable of following a recipe, even if it is my own recipe that I have carefully honed and written down. There always seems to be a missing ingredient or a way of simplifying or a process improvement.

Whenever I go to look up a specific recipe that I haven't made before, I usually find and read a dozen or so versions of the recipe, then select two or three versions that either sound like they'd taste the best or that most closely match my mental image of what I'm trying to make, and then make some blend of the two or three selected versions.

If my version turns out well-enough I try to remember the ingredients and amounts used and sometimes write it down for future reference.