Have you tried any of the knock-off recipes for your favorite restaurants? There are some sites that offer these recipes free. I've tried a couple of them. I always made my kids whatever they wanted for dinner each birthday, and one year my daughter wanted to go to Olive Garden. There isn't one anywhere near where we lived at the time, so I did my best with the knock off recipes. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good. She enjoyed it.
I haven't tried the recipes but I have seen the sites and they sound pretty good to me. There are a few I want to try when I get time. There is a Starbucks site that should be good. I like the chicken fingers at Chic-Fil-A, so I will be looking for a hack for their food.
I have a friend who has been working on an Outback Bloomin' Onion (with the dipping sauce) forever. Personally, I think the one she does (which I'm pretty sure is a direct theft from theLog In) tastes pretty darn good but she insists it's not quite the same. More MSG, perhaps?
I have tried several copycat recipes, some have been successful, others not so much. I tried Chick-Fil-A recipe but it didn't turn out anything like it, so I wish Pat much luck and if you find a good recipe, please share. I think the recipe that has been the absolute best and closest to the restaurant is a Cinnabon recipe I found years ago. It takes some work, but the rolls are so delicious!
I have tried a few in the past. At the end of the day, a recipe is just a concept. It's in prescriptive and you can adapt it in any way you want. So I never feel bound to the exact recipe when I cook. I'm happy to adapt and that's what knock off recipes allow me to do.
I have tried the knock off recipe for "Pasta Fagiola" soup from the Olive Garden and it was just as good as the restaurant. It was a crockpot recipe so once everything was in the pot it was an easy fix. I have made it several times since finding the recipe and always get compliments on it. I will be trying a few more knock offs in the future.
