I definitely like the progressive refinement concept. Any recipe I get I futz with. (When I'm particularly clever, I futz with it only after I've already tried it once.)

I've easily got six to eight main courses I can do without thinking -- they're just all really basic. Well, basic to ME. Meatloaf, fondue, lasagne... The problem is when I do something, anything, ELSE. ;-) I don't have breadth of knowledge. My readers have certainly seen that this weekend!