These days, nothing is more fun—nor more socially acceptable—than "messing about in the kitchen." What with pressure cookers, electric broilers and blenders, packaged mixes, bottled sauces, every possible herb or spice from the Indies, and something new every day in the frozen food sec-tion of any supermarket, Cookery is the latest game, the newest fad.
Now that women find it's fun to cook, and men are remembering that every great name in gastronomy from Epicurus to Escoffier is masculine, the next step is Gourmet Cookery —and turning yourself into a Cordon Bleu is no longer difficult.
In this blog we will present a selection of great traditional dishes, as well as some "novelties." All are designed to be prepared in a limited time for the modern-day reproduction of a Lucullan Feast—and all are proportioned for four hungry gourmets.
Note, that all gourmet recipes are intended for adults—because a child's palate does not develop until the late teens.
A few years ago, many of these recipes could not have been included, and there is no denying that some great culi-nary masterpieces still cannot be prepared in only thirty minutes. Even with a pressure cooker, the true Coq au Vin, Blanquette de Veau or Boeuf BourguigNonne, while edible cannot possess the suave blend of flavors that comes from leisurely simmering.
Time is essential, too, for chilling or resting of some dishes that can easily be prepared in a few minutes. Therefore, a few recipes will be included that require 30minutes or less to prepare—but which must be allowed to stand overnight be-fore the final minutes or preparation and service.
These are marked Two-Step Cookery; neither step requires more than 30 minutes—but if you like to think this a quibble,we can only recommend that you try the dish and hope it wall be found worthy of inclusion.
BASIC TIPS TO THE CHEF
1. It may actually be easier to prepare a glamorous dish
(foreign name and all), than the run-of-the-mill dishes you've
been eating all your life.
2. Read all the way through a recipe first; check to be sure
ingredients are at hand. You will save time and achieve bet¬
ter results if you understand, in general terms, what you are
going to do before you start to do it.
3. Never try to make more than one unfamiliar recipe for
the same meal! A wise chef never tries a new recipe when
there is "company," either. Always get the recipe under your
belt at least once before you attempt to produce it with eclat
for strangers.
4. Accurate measurements are essential; accurate timing is
essential. Never hesitate to make your personal penciled
comments next to the recipe; the annotated cookbook is a
chefs most valuable possession.
5. Gourmet cookery requires the best quality in ingredient. Please, no substitutions -Real butter, real cream, the freshest mushrooms, the best olive oil ... all are essential for a gourmet dish.
6. When there are 4 or 6 people for dinner, the chef dic¬
tates the schedule: Finish the drinks, wash the hands, and
sit down! But for more than 6 people (even if they will be
formally seated at the table), it's wise to plan a main dish
that can only improve with overcooking!
7. Never season before cooking, as this
toughens the flesh. Seasonings go into sauces, or should be
added at the end of the plain-cooking.
8. Spaghetti sauces, curries and stews are easy ways to
use up leftovers—the easiest things to stretch for unexpected
guests—and the simplest things to prepare when the cook
wants to enjoy the fun as well as set a distinguished meal
on the table.
You will find many great gormet food recipes in this blog. They have all been taken from a recently discovered cookbook. If you would like a free copy of the complete cookbook, just leave a comment with your email address on this blog, or drop me an email at stewartalves@uwclub.net and I will send you the complete book immediately.
No comments:
Post a Comment