November 27, 2022

YES! You can be a foodie and also a skilled gourmet cook

Yes, you too can cook wonderful dishes and amaze your loved ones!

Have you ever thought that gourmet cooking isn't for you or that you don't know how to cook well? So now it's time to totally change your mentality...

Anyone can learn to cook with ease: young or old, women and even boys. It doesn't matter what your skill level is today; you can do much better and prepare great dishes like the chefs of your favorite restaurants. And what's more, the dishes you cook will be done to perfection, according to your kind of perfection. And do you know what the best part is? You already have the most important ingredient… you know what great food is!

We show you the way... Gourmet cooking is an activity that puts YOU in charge, who are the head of the kitchen! Choose the ingredients you prefer and prepare the dishes according to your tastes. Forget strictly following complicated recipes...that require you to buy special ingredients that you will use only once and keep until they expire...that require you to measure out precise quantities of each ingredient. All you need is to have fun and experiment with mixing the ingredients we like best. Let your imagination run wild… choose the elements and create your own masterpiece: from the types of meat and vegetables, to the way they are cooked, to the beautiful arrangement on the plate. Gourmet cooking is also about you and the people you are preparing a meal for. You know that each person has their preferences, so gourmet cuisine helps you satisfy them. Sounds complicated, you think? But it's actually quite simple, especially once you've developed the basics that will forever change your mindset about cooking and open up a new dimension of creativity you didn't know you already had inside of you.

Now we share with you the little secrets of gourmet cooking... the A, B, C if you want...

A. INGREDIENTS

The first thing to do is to deepen your knowledge of the ingredients, which are the basis of a good dish. You already know many ingredients, now go and look at them more closely; experiment with every single ingredient and do it. Anything edible can be an ingredient in your creation, so you need to know and understand each ingredient: from its appearance and flavour, to its texture, to how it behaves when cooked in different ways, to which other ingredients it is compatible, to what it happens if you add more or less to your food, etc. Because everyone experiences things differently, you are your own expert; find out what you like and what you can do without. When you eat meals every day, take the opportunity to study the ingredients. Involve your family and friends and make your experience fun. In restaurants and when you travel, ask the chefs questions if you get the chance and learn about the new ingredients you come across. For those who are computer savvy, it is also possible to browse the web and obtain information quickly; there is tons of information online. Try typing the ingredient you're interested in into your favorite search engine and you'll discover a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. As you learn about other ingredients and become more aware of their characteristics, you'll be able to expertly combine them to expand the number of new dishes in your culinary repertoire. The combinations are endless, so keep experimenting; you will discover many winning dishes to surprise your guests. Have fun building your ingredient database.

B. QUALITY

When you start from excellent quality ingredients, you are sure of producing superior quality dishes; if you start with poor quality ingredients, you shouldn't be surprised if the results will naturally be disappointing. Quality can easily be determined using all of your senses... Use your sense of sight to closely observe the ingredients. Check the color to see if it is bright or dull, if it is homogeneous or if it has imperfections. The shape is uniformly symmetrical or distorted. Also observe the texture of the objects. The sense of sight is the first sense usually used when checking something; and is a powerful tool for determining the quality of any ingredient. Practice and see if you can tell the quality of an item just by looking at it. Before long, you'll be able to use your vision to initially examine ingredients and determine whether they're worth a closer inspection or better off passing. Use your sense of hearing to hear the tone when you gently tap or shake an object. Is the sound hollow or solid, is there a rattling noise? Hearing isn't used frequently, but it can be useful for taking a closer look at some fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Use your sense of smell to smell the fragrant fruits and aroma of fresh herbs. You can also identify items to avoid when they emit unpleasant odors. Train your nose and your sense of smell will come in handy when you're looking for quality food. If you have the opportunity, taste the products before making a decision. In addition to verifying that the taste is what it should be, also observe the texture or sensation it feels in the mouth, when chewing and when it slides down the throat. This is also an opportunity to confirm that you really like the taste of the ingredient before buying. Your sense of taste will be your most important tool when it comes to mixing ingredients. With a well-developed sense of taste, you'll be able to determine which ingredients, and in what quantities, go well together. Finally, the sense of touch. Pick up and handle the ingredients you are examining. How do the hands feel? Is it heavy or light, hard or soft, firm or supple, smooth or rough, dry or wet? The feel of an ingredient can be indicative of its quality; a little practice is enough to sharpen the sensitivity. Practice using all your senses to delve into ingredients and learn how to choose the superior products for your specific needs. It's time to exercise your senses every time you go shopping. Have fun fine-tuning your quality-finding skills in markets and stores.

C. DESIGN

Now comes the fun part of planning your meals. The first consideration is who you cook for and what their tastes and preferences are. Take some time to ask your family, friends or guests about their food preferences, especially if they need special diets for health reasons or are allergic to certain foods. From this mini survey, you can plan a meal that everyone will enjoy. Now you can start narrowing down your choices; consider if you want to make appetizers and/or soups, what are the best choices for main courses and if you want to make dessert? Create a simple meal or an elaborate banquet – it's all up to you. Use your knowledge of ingredients to decide which blend of ingredients will give you the unique flavors you desire. Also consider how the ingredients will present together and how you can make your dishes visually appealing. In the beginning, you may feel more comfortable sticking with traditional flavors and cooking time-tested recipes. But as you gain confidence after experimenting with traditional foods by tweaking their taste to better suit your preferences, then it's time to be bold and creative; every now and then try to come up with something completely new. It's also easy enough to design meals to account for the different preferences of your guests; just separate the ingredients and add or remove them in the individual portions of your dishes. In the planning stage, you might also consider the style of cooking, as the way the food is cooked will make all the difference in terms of taste and texture.

D. COOKING STYLES

Mastering many cooking styles is another way to increase variety in your meals. To improve your cooking skills, not only practice the various cooking styles, but also pay close attention to the details of the cooking process, what each cooking style does to the food and the look, taste and texture it produces. arise. Experiment with variations on the standard method (temperature, time, sequence, combinations, etc.) and see the results. You learn new styles as you come across them and also try to invent new ways of cooking. There are many cooking methods – some more conventional such as baking, barbecuing, braising, roasting, stewing and steaming. Others are more exotic, like cooking meat on a hot stone slab. So try the various cooking styles on your favorite foods and find out which ones you like. Also experiment with combinations; for example, you could steam a lobster, then open it and put some cheese on it before grilling it for a while to melt and brown the cheese sauce. Think of new ways of cooking, basically it's all about applying heat to food. You can also broaden your knowledge and skills by observing how people from different countries cook their dishes in particular ways when you travel.

E. PRESENTATION

The last element is how you serve the feast you have prepared. Food presentation is the art of making your dishes visually appealing. Since the goal is to serve something that looks good, experiment with what you think will look good when put together. If you want to keep it simple, focus on the dish and what is being served. If, on the other hand, you want to give it your all, choose a theme of your choice and dress everything up, even the dining room. Let's see some ideas to get going... As for the simplest aspect, just choose a suitable bowl or plate and arrange the dishes, then add something to garnish. The simplest thing is to arrange all the food on serving plates, so that guests can help themselves. Choose large enough bowls and plates, possibly matching, that can hold the amount of food you have prepared. You can fill a serving bowl with the soup and sprinkle it with chopped spring onions for garnish. The fish can be served on an oval plate, or one of those fish-shaped plates, and you can have lettuce and round lemon wedges to decorate. For the prawns, try arranging them in a circle on a round plate and placing the dipping sauce in the centre. You can be more creative when making individual portions. For the main course, you can simply arrange the meat, potatoes and vegetables on different sections of the plate in the traditional way; just remember to include ingredients with pleasant colors and to arrange them according to the chosen pattern. Try using carrots or tomatoes to give a bright orange or red pop to your dish. Use corn, pasta or potatoes for a dose of yellow. How about a tricolor paste to mix colors? The appetizers and desserts are my favorites, because you can let your imagination run wild… and make truly delicious creations. Try using a Burgundy wine glass for your shrimp cocktail, then plant a celery stick with leaves up on one side and garnish the rim of the glass with a circular wedge of lemon for a delightful presentation of this favorite appetizer. . Now go ahead and create some visual masterpieces to serve to your guests; they will surely be amazed by your artwork. If you need more ideas, you can always watch how the chefs at your local restaurants present their dishes, or you can flip through food magazines or surf the Internet for tons of ideas that will lead your way.

Now that you know the secrets of gourmet cooking, all you have to do is start cooking; after all, as the saying goes... Practice makes perfect.