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Lydia Jensen, Editor: Lydiajj@get2netdk

Lars Jensen, Webmaster/Publisher: Lars@Eclecticcooking.com

For this week's edition, you may visit:

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=> Article: What is Gourmet Food? By Lydia L. Jensen

=> New Recipes of the Week

=> Hot Tip

=> Joke/Story of the Week

=> Next week's Issue

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What is Gourmet Food?

By Lydia L. Jensen

The basic rule for preparing good food is to choose the best and

the freshest ingredients then cook them until they have the best taste,

texture and color.

When we talk about gourmet food, we need to try to explain what we

mean by gourmet food. We can find various definitions for gourmet

food, but, perhaps, the best way to describe gourmet food is to say

that it is food which is simple, tasty, smells wonderful looks great and

uses the freshest and best ingredients available. This means using

fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh meats and sea foods, fresh herbs and

spices which are of excellent quality. If it is not possible to get the

freshest ingredients, we may need to compromise and use freshly

frozen meats and often dried herbs and spices, but we do need to look

for the best quality possible. Creators of gourmet food concentrate on

quality instead of quantity. They concentrate on cooking the food long

enough to maximize the flavors either through a long or a short

cooking process. Achieving the perfect or best taste possible when

cooking a particular food requires experience and skill, as well as talent.

Not everyone can be a gourmet cook, but everyone can try to constantly

improve.

It probably is a bit more work to shop for fresh ingredients, and then go

home to prepare them, but the taste you achieve is well worth the effort.

When using fresh ingredients, check your recipe to see how much

preparation time is involved and how many different ingredients are

required. When you choose recipes which are simple and use only a few

and simple ingredients, you will find that it is not nearly as much work as

you expect. When you follow a recipe, make sure you have all the right

ingredients and follow the instructions carefully. You cannot expect to

achieve the desired flavor and appearance if you do not use the required

ingredients and take shortcuts to cooking unless you are an experienced

chef. You need to use good fresh butter and olive oils, good meat and fish

stock or bouillon. If you do not have your own meat or fish stock, use stocks

or bouillons which do not rely on salt for their seasoning and flavor. Good

stock comes from poultry bones and meats, as well as lamb bones, fish

bones and pieces, veal bones and ribs, and pork bones and ribs. It is

important that you simmer the stock and use raw vegetables such as onion,

carrot, celery, bay leaf and pepper corns to enhance the flavors of a good,

basic stock.

When you serve a good meal, your guests should not have to guess what

they are eating; they should be able to identify and enjoy the flavors and

tastes. It is, of course, not always possible to use fresh ingredients, so its

quite alright to use a tin of tomatoes or tinned tomato. Some shortcuts, such

as frozen short crust and puff pastries are a welcome aide, especially if you

are not a practiced pastry chef. Some of the freezing procedures and

packaging have greatly improved and do not necessarily detract from a

good recipe when fresh items are not available or out of season.

Presentation

We enjoy food through our senses, primarily, taste, smell and sight. It is,

therefore, important that the food is presented with flair and not just "bunged

on the plate". If you do not like to have all the washing up when using serving

dishes, serve the food on the plates, but arrange the meal so that it looks

appealing and interesting. Sometimes a few freshly chopped herbs can

create wonders and add both color and taste to food. Putting some freshly

chopped chives, parsley or coriander in the bowl before serving the soup in

the bowl, gives that added flavor, looks good and smells great. Slicing a

piece of meat and placing these slices on the plate rather than serving one

whole piece, gives the meal a professional appearance and also makes the

meat easier to cut and eat. Make sure the plates are hot when you serve the

food, otherwise the tastiest meal can be a disappointment if the food is only

warm.

Many delicacies are available at the delicatessen and, along with fresh fruits

and vegetables, the simplest foods become a feast. There’s nothing more

enjoyable than the air of excitement that precedes a good dinner party or

good dinner no matter how small or how grand the occasion. And if you do

not have time to create food to gourmet standards all the time, try to create

a gourmet meal once in a while just for the change and for the pleasure of

having met a challenge in creating the best meal possible.

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Article: What is Gourmet Food?

By Lydia L. Jensen

Recipes: Good Food! Recipes for One or More

Omelet Olè

Chicken in Cider

Steak and Spiced Potato Wedges

Fruit and Cinnamon

www.eclecticcooking.com/CookingRecipes.htm

http://www.eclecticcooking.com/whatnew.htm

You may also submit your recipes directly on to our site here:

http://eclecticcooking.community.everyone.net

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If you want to prepare potatoes ahead of time, it is possible to

freeze potatoes. Peel potatoes and blanch them (cook them 5-6

minutes in lightly salted water). Pour the potatoes into a colander

and let them drain. Freeze the potatoes in the desired quantities

by placing them in freezer bags. To cook the potatoes, bring lightly

salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes

until they are cooked (ca. 10-15 minutes).

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These are some comments from ten-year olds when they

commented on, "You know you are growing up when …."

you don’t believe in ghosts any more.

your mom finally stops telling you to go brush your hair.

you can get bigger scoops of ice cream at the ice cream shop.

your room starts getting messier.

you don’t trip on your shoelaces any more."

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Next Week’s Edition, November 13, 2002

Article: A Turkey Revival

By Lydia L. Jensen

Recipes: Let’s Talk Turkey

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Thank you.

Recipes and articles can be Emailed to Lydia Jensen, editor: Lydiajj@get2net.dk

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What do you think of our newsletter? Do you have any comments about the

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(For advertising please contact, Lars@eclecticcooking.com)

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Copyright 2002 Eclectic Cooking

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