In my mind (and my household) there are two types of cooks: recipe followers and improvisers. I fall squarely into the former category. There are, however, a few exceptions.

I haven’t made anything from a New York Times recipe in ages. Blame the inexorable march away from print and to the Internet, if you must — I skim the Wednesday food section online at work, when I only have time to focus on the nitty-gritty (restaurant reviews and wine). But for some reason last week the tomato tart recipe caught my eye.