Baked Blog

A general rule of thumb for recipes in cookbooks is ... double the spices and seasonings.

I made this pork loin skillet dish last night. I don't know how cooking with pork can be low calorie but this one claimed to be and I chose to believe that. Also, I don't usually cook with pork for a variety of reasons but when I DO choose to cook with it, I expect it to be crazy flavorful. But not all cuts of pork are crazy flavorful, it turns out. Especially the lean cuts. But I digress.

This dish had a lemony-ness to it. I'm not that big a fan of a lemon flavor. And yet I ate every bite of my portion. There were no leftovers.

THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IF YOU WOULD STOP DISTRACTING ME ... is that I am coming to the conclusion that cookbooks are toned down to appeal to the less developed palate. I can't PROVE that, of course. My theory wouldn't hold up in a court of law because ... it's only a theory. It's not a fact or anything. I don't have any indisputable evidence like ... DNA or Bronco chases. All I know is I have to make every dish I find twice. The first time I make it JUST like the cook or chef suggests (because Paula Deen said that's the way to start). 90 percent of the time the first attempt is bland as all get out. But if I double the recommended amount of Thyme or All Spice or ... pepper, the darn thing tastes better. Usually when I double up the dish ends up tasting like what I ASSUME the chef intended.

I'm just putting it out there. You people who have published cookbooks can smack down my deductions if you choose. But I'm still gonna double your pansy ass measurements. So there.