begin rant

While I frequently compare cooking to chemistry, I probably should not. I am far more likely to follow the recipe I have been given for a chemistry experiment, and to employ precise amounts of reagents - whereas in cooking, imprecision is the rule of the day! In that light, tonight's cooking accident with a few modifications that I believe will improve the recipe:

Hastily stuffed Flounder

1. Set that oven to 350 °F!
2. Put two teaspoons of butter in a measuring cup, and let it melt on a burner on low.
3. While you wait for the butter to melt, start mixing the components of your stuffing:
   • a half cup of small "deveined" salad-shrimp
   • half a cup of fresh cut mushrooms
   • a cup of finely ground bread crumbs
   • three tablespoons of freshly-grated parmesan cheese
   • a third of a cup of asiago cheese
   • a tablespoon of paprika
   • a tablespoon of parsley
   • two tablespoons of fresh-ground pepper
   • a third of a cup of water.
4. Pour one and a half tablespoons of the melted butter into your stuffing, and mix it all together.
5. Pop it in the oven on the middle rack for five minutes.
6. While your stuffing warms, rub the remaining half a teaspoon of butter over your flounder, and then rub
   • a teaspoon of salt
   • two teaspoons of pepper
   • a tablespoon of that fresh-grated parmesan cheese
   • and a splash of lemon
   into it.
7. Then carefully butterfly your flounder, or if you lack such finesse, just prepare to roll it around your stuffing.
8. Identify the inside of the flounder, and put two splashes of lemon juice and another tablespoon of the parmesan cheese into it for luck.
9. Carefully remove the stuffing from the oven. It should be warm, but not burning.
10. Turn the oven up to broil!
11. Stuff your flounder with your stuffing - that is what it is for, after all.
12. Pop that sucker into the oven on the top rack and let it broil for seven to ten minutes - or as my mother always says, "until it is done".
13. Take it out when the flesh of the flounder is white and flaky when prodded with a fork.
14. You're feeling crazy! Hit it with another splash of that lemon!
15. Allow it to cool while you monkey with other dishes or while you clean some of your preparatory dishes... and enjoy!

Hope it works - I liked the outcome, and I have yet to kill myself or others with my cooking, so you have my best wishes. Let me know what you think would make a good accompaniment as either a wine or a side dish.