MAKE IT TASTE REAL
Get Restaurant-Style meals at home
I recently read a report that said that currently in the US it costs on
average 3 times as much to buy something from a restaurant than if you
prepared it at home.
But we all go to restaurants after the 5th day of chili, and
we wonder how they make it taste that much better than what we
can make at home.
These days it's easy to produce restaurant-style foods at
home.
How do you do that? Simply use the same spices they do.
Mistake #1 - When cooking at home: don't
scrimp on the salt and sugar
Why do people like eating out? It tastes better than
at home, usually because it contains more salt or sugar.
There is also the fact that you don't have to do the
dishes, but that's another story....
Don't be shy and add plenty of spices and salt.
Whatever amount you use will be 1/2 what a restaurant would use.
SHAKE OR STIR ANY CONDIMENT OR SAUCE BEFORE SERVING
I remember the General Manager of the
Banff Springs always reminding us to remember to "shake the
Worchestcicire sauce" when making the Caesar's; telling us "all
the good stuffs at the bottom". So true...
If you visit any higher-end grocery store you will find many examples of
"Meals in a jar"; spices that create a certain dish. Simply sprinkle the
spices onto meat or pasta and voilà!!
you are dining in your favorite restaurant; they just buy the spices by the
kilo not the 300g jar.
Examples and menu ideas:
| Restaurant style/ Spice Mixture |
Meat |
Starches |
Vegetables |
| |
|
|
|
| Greek |
pork, chicken, fish |
pasta, potatos rice |
|
| Steakhouse |
beef, grilled or in hamburgers |
|
|
| Tex-Mex |
beef, chicken |
potatoes, rice |
|
| Italiano |
chicken, pork, veal |
pasta, rice |
Mixed green salad or dressing |
| Seasoned Salt |
beef, chicken, pork |
pasta, rice |
|
| Roasted Garlic and Peppers |
beef, chicken, pork, fish |
pasta, rice, potatoes |
Mixed green salad |
| Lemon and Herbs |
chicken, pork, fish |
pasta, rice, potatoes |
|
Seasoned Salt. Restaurants use it by the
bucket on everything (like the home fries from your favorite diner; a bit
spicy and red) to BBQ chicken. Remember, you are making restaurant-style
meals from your own kitchen. Don't hesitate to use lots of salt, sugar and
spices. No matter how much you think is alot (at least in the beginning, as
you are starting out), a restaurant or prepared food product would use at
least double that amount of salt or sugar.
You can also get spice packages designed to create a certain meal,
Examples would be:
Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
Chili Seasoning Mix
Country Chicken Sauce Mix
Fajita Seasoning Mix
Hot & Spicy Chili Seasoning Mix
Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix
Meat Marinade Seasoning Mix
Roasted Vegetable Seasoning Mix
Shepherd's Pie Seasoning Mix
Sloppy Joes Seasoning Mix
Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Taco Seasoning Mix
Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry Mix
Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry Mix
Oriental Stir-Fry Mix
By seasoning your meat and vegetables you also avoid many of the nasty
stabilizers, preservatives and synthetic chemical products designed to make
the prepared food pretty or heat properly.
If you are preparing a dish that includes meat; don't
forget the sauce
Just meat by itself can be pretty bland; if you don't want to go to the
trouble of making your own
gravy; why not add something nice for only about a dollar?
A good sauce also preserves the meat's moisture content when
being reheated in a microwave.
Examples of gravies and sauces available canned or packaged would be:
4-Peppercorn Sauce Mix
Demi-Glace
Onion Gravy Mix
I suggest having minced garlic in oil available.
It's great for dishes like Fettuccini Alfredo and is more
expensive than fresh garlic but is inexpensive when compared to
the time required to properly peel and mince garlic.
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