Answer:
It depends on the dish. If I have to, I’ll change the dish to one I do have all the ingredients for—e.g. spaghetti instead of alfredo. However, most ingredients can be substituted for others without changing dishes. For example, I was doing a triple chocolate cake a while back and belatedly realized I didn’t have enough unsweet baking chocolate. Whoops. So, I substituted chocolate pudding mix, cut the flour and sugar a little, added a bit more milk, and checked the taste and consistency as I went. The outcome was fantastic, albeit a bit fudgier than was likely intended.
