The Heresy of Modifying a Traditional Recipe

So I got my husband to make me Chicken Cordon Bleu. I bought him everything he needed to make it, but we were low on Swiss cheese so he subbed out provolone in some of them. He made 8 of them. He breaded and fried 2 of them for us the other night for dinner. OMG my stove and entire kitchen were a complete wreck when he was finished! There were oil and grease splatters everywhere, and breadcrumbs on every surface you can think of. Plus the sink full of dirty dishes and pans...all for 2 CCB. But they did taste great and I was very appreciative of him taking the time to cook for me, that's a very rare occurence.

Anyway, we had frozen 4 and kept the other 2 in the frig. A few days later I breaded the 2 in the refrigerator and decided to coat them in butter and bake instead of frying it, it turned out fine and my stovetop and everything else stayed clean, LOL. Now does baking Chicken Cordon Bleu and using provolone cheese instead of only Swiss make it less authentic? I don't care, it was worth not having to spend an hour cleaning up and it tasted great!
 
Windigo said:
At least where I live, recipes can't be copyrighted because the discussion about who invented a certain dish would be way too complicated. Personally I think, when there's a tried and tested way of doing things that's the best way a restaurant can do it because customers expect a certain standard to be met when they go to a restaurant. So naturally, that's when a carbonara should not have tomatoes unless the menu specifies what has been modified or 'upgraded' (which often is not an upgrade with a good classic, imo).
But what people do at home, does not bother me one bit. If you like carbonara with tomatoes, go ahead. I will keep what I think about that to myself.

A good example of this is the Gratin Dauphinois recipe I posted, the traditional way to make Dauphinois is with just cream and no cheese. Yet almost every restaurant does add cheese these days, because this modification is so common that customers expect it these days. Personally, I love it both with and without cheese and use both on different occasions. However, if I claim to make a traditional Dauphinois, I will not add cheese. That's why I wrote it was my own version.
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I do dauphinois a lot, with cheese, usually cheddar. Cream and garlic with a lot of pepper. When we were talking here recently about potatoes mr6 said his favourite was the ones gang gang makes in pieces on top of each other. He meant dauphinois. My grandkids call me gang gang.

Russ
 
Thank you for an interesting discussion.
caseydog said:
Chef Chun could have called her dish, "Pasta Carbonara with Tomatoes," and gotten away with that, IMO. I think Jaime Oliver could have been fine if he called his dish "paella with chorizo."
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CD you hit the nail on the head. Modify any recipe anyway you wish - name it properly. Cajun Gumbo is made with a Roux base. Creole (NOLA) Gumbo is made with a tomato base. Cajun seafood/shrimp gumbo has no sausage in it. Creole (NOLA) seafood/shrimp gumbo has sausage. Both are authentic. Personally I do not care for a tomato base gumbo. I am OK with it being called gumbo as long as it is not called Cajun Gumbo.
CB had a Gumbo Cook Along. I went out on a limb and made Leah Chase's Gumbo Z'Herbes - green gumbo. It was delicious but was it really gumbo? I served it to my family and the consensus was YES - real gumbo. A gumbo that does not fit in either Cajun or Creole category.
Nomenclature is the issue. If you modify a recipe (we all do) modify the name to reflect your personal touch.
 
I had the privilege of spending three weeks in Spain in '94. USNR stationed in Rota. I had Paella. Love at first bite. I could relate to a seafood stew but the seasoning was over the top. I saw a beautiful, golden broth. It took two bites to recognize saffron. One of the most amazing dishes I have ever eaten.
 
TastyReuben said:
This is too funny. I randomly pulled up an episode of Pepin's "Today's Gourmet" show, from 1991, and he made...paella with chicken and chorizo! :laugh:
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The Latin Caribbean countries use chicken or other fowl, seafood of various types, and sausage, usually something with a bit of spice, in their paellas, and it's all good. They use what they have/can get. It's a dish usually made for a celebration of some sort when all the 3 food items are used. The chicken and yellow rice we make is a very simple paella type dish, but it's also a very common dish.
 
TheChefGoingHomeToday said:
One of our favourite places to eat out is a restaurant where the chef is continually pushing the boundaries and breaking the "rules". We don't dwell on the menu too long as you start to think "errr??", yet we come away having eaten amazing flavours. Not for everyone but we love it.
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Sounds right up my street! What is the restaurant?
 
Here's a picture of when I've cooked Marcus Wareing's twist on a Sunday roast.

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