Cooking With All Your Senses

A Note from Teri

When it comes to cooking, the best advice I can offer is to learn how to follow your senses—and to have a whole lot of fun while doing it. As I began writing a Substack about a spectacular summer menu, I realized I wanted to focus on something deeper: how learning to trust your senses in the kitchen is often more important than strictly following a recipe. Leading with your heart is, in my opinion, the best way to cook. So let’s explore what it means to follow your intuition—and trust yourself along the way.

While following a recipe is wonderful, it’s best to learn to trust yourself, to watch for little cues. Let cooking be an exercise in paying attention to the present moment. It’s so wonderful to develop a sense of trust in your own senses. Recipes are helpful, of course—but it’s easy (and I include myself here) to get a little too locked into them.

One of the many reasons why learning to trust yourself in the kitchen is such a valuable life lesson is because cooking is full of variables. Everyone’s tools are different—your oven might run hot, your grill might run cool—and the size, ripeness, or moisture of your ingredients can change everything. Even when you follow a recipe to the letter, these nuances can shift the outcome. That’s why developing your instincts matters so much.

Grilling is a great way to practice using all of your senses when cooking. Grilling delicious vegetables and protein is quite simple. When you use fresh foods, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, grilling becomes a perfect example of both simplicity and following your senses. For example, if your grill thermometer says 350 degrees, but you’re opening and closing it, the temperature will drop. It’s all about being present and staying attentive.

When I cook, I rely on all of my senses—taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Each one gives me clues about what’s happening with the food. For example, is it sizzling the way it should? Is it browning too fast—or not fast enough? Sometimes, a smell will just feel off, and that’s a sign something needs attention. Other times, you’ll look at a dish and realize it’s already done, even if the recipe says it needs to cook longer. Trust your nose—if something smells amazing, there’s a good chance it’s almost done. Sometimes I can be across the room and still know a dish is ready just by the smell.

Smoke is another important cue to pay attention to. If there’s too much of it, your pan or grill might be running too hot. When you’re grilling, you can often hear the shift—a sudden flare-up, a sharper sizzle, or the sound of fat dripping and igniting. Learning to recognize the scent of burning food helps too—it tends to have a bitter, acrid edge. And if smoke starts pouring out of your grill, that could signal a grease fire, which is dangerous and needs to be addressed immediately.

Always keep an eye on your grill. If the temperature suddenly drops—say, down to 200°F—it’s best to let it recover and heat back up before opening the lid. Opening too soon can cause even more heat loss, which disrupts the cooking process and can throw off your timing.

Take chicken, for example. If you’re following a recipe and something feels off, what do you do? I start by asking myself a few key questions: Is the chicken hot enough? Did I use enough oil? Does the chicken seem too wet? These are small details I’ve learned to pay attention to after years of cooking with all my senses.

One common issue is when the chicken doesn’t brown properly. Here’s a trick: when you first place it in the pan, resist the urge to move it. It might seem like it’s sticking, but give it a little time. Once it’s ready to flip, it will naturally release from the pan. If you try to force it too early, it’ll tear.

I love to write directly in my cookbooks, treating them almost like diaries. The pages are filled with years of notes—reminders of the different ways I’ve made a dish and the tweaks I’ve tried along the way. I think of recipes as interactive, living things. Let your senses be one of the ingredients, guiding you as much as the printed words do.

Did you see our post recently about my summer party on Instagram? Check it out HERE! And click HERE to learn about my outdoor and kitchen and grilling. There’s something truly special about summer grilling at the cabin. An afternoon spent outdoors, surrounded by nature and good food—fresh vegetables, seafood, and a perfectly done steak—is one of the best ways I know to relax. The steaks turned out incredibly juicy and packed with rich, smoky flavor. And the grilled peaches? Simply a dream. I loved them with creamy burrata and a drizzle of balsamic—my twist on a classic caprese. Effortless and delicious.

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