One of the benefits of knowing your flavor profile is that it makes it far easier to choose and modify recipes. You know what you like and don't like and you know how flavors play off against each other, so you feel more comfortable playing with a recipe.

Last week, I found an interesting recipe for lemon butter chicken with spinach. I wanted to try it, but it called for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. HATE. I'm a boneless, skinless chicken breast eater. I don't care how fashionable chicken thighs are – I hate both the consistency and the flavor.   But, I looked at the recipe and thought I could keep the basics and just swap out the thighs for medallions of chicken breast. I also decided that I wanted a starch as well, so I decided to serve it with brown rice.

Well, as I started cooking, I noticed that the bottom of my Dutch over was collecting some lovely crispy bits. I didn't want to lose those, so I increased the chicken stock in the recipe and used about a quarter of a cup to deglaze the pan, capturing all the luscious flavor for my sauce. I wanted more veg, so I added extra spinach. I wish I'd added even more. Because I has some time between when the dish finished cooking, I decided to serve en casserole. I lined my casserole dish with the cooked brown rice, added the cooked chicken pieces and as much spinach as possible, and then poured in the sauce. The rice absorbed some of the sauce and became even more flavorful. Since spinach is a dark green, just before serving, I grated a bit of fresh nutmeg over the top to bring out the sweetness. All in all, it was heaven.

So, what are your takeaways about how to modify a recipe?

• As a rule, unless you are experienced at modifying recipes, make it once as written. You'll want to know how it should taste before you start modifying.
• Keep it to fewer than three modifications. If you have to change too much, just find another recipe or invent your own.
• Make sure that you don't eliminate anything essential to a dish — like a leavening agent.
• Make sure any addition is in proportion to the other ingredients. A delicately flavored souffle probably doesn't need 4 cloves of garlic.
• You can swap out liquids, but keep the same volume.
• Any change in a recipe may affect the amount of time it takes to cook. Double and tripe check for doneness — early and often.
• If your modifications taste good, WRITE THEM DOWN. It's perfectly fine to write in your cookbook. Ina, Jamie, and Mario want you to!