Originally Posted by Dueller
(Post 5250558)
Well, you're on your way, Sid. It can be quite simple to make a dish more "gourmet"....learn to make a few different omlettes with what you have in the fridge. Learn to panee fish (Tilapia can be bought cheap in individually frozen packets at Walmart in Okieland...thaws instantly....lightly dusrt with flour and sear in butter 2-3 minutes per side. Make a Menuierre sauce by using browned butter, splash of worchestershire sauce, juice of a lemon and perhaps some dried parsley. Pour it over cooked filet and garnish with a thin slice of lemon. Instead of potatos, for a side dish, make a small batch of of grits, add some minced garlic, pepper, salt and some gratted sharp cheddar cheese...stir. Voila!!! You're a goumet cook. You've made Tilapia Menuirre with Garlic/cheddar Polenta. (Sounds a lot sexier than Fried Fish with grits:D)
Learn a basic cream sauce that can be supplemented with additional ingedients to serve over fish or steak. Basic cream sauce: Melt half stick of butter...brown chopped green onions and fresh, sliced mushrooms..a little salt/white pepper. Add small amount of flour to thicken up. Then add some cream and stire to keep from burning. Reduce heat. (keep a small carton in fridge for your coffee). There ya go...a tasty creme sauce. Fancy it up by adding crabmeat or chopped cooked shrimp to serve over a steak or grilled or paneed fish filets. Be creative.
Or pan sear some thin sliced chicken breast in olive oil seasoned with pepper, salt, a little garic powder. Serve cream sauce over a bed of angel hair pasta, Top with the grilled chicken slices. Maybe some grated parmessian cheese. A few flakes of dried parsley to "purdy" it up. Slice of garlic bread. Simple Chicken Angel. At a cost of what? $3 per serving? Better than dropping $25 at Applebee's...and probably better tasting. And remember...you got her at your place already;)
You can make the sauce a little thinner with extra cream/half anf half/milk, add a can of smoked oysters and simmer and you have an oyster bisque. Or substitute some cooked shrimp for the oysters and toss in one of those spreadable brie cheese packets: Shrimp and Brie Bisque. Vary the ingredients to make your own creations. Doesn't really take a whole lot of expensive ingredients...keep salt, black pepper, white pepper, dried parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder as dried spices and some minced garlic in the fridge and you'd be amazed at how many "gourmet dishes you can come up with. 5 or 10 Knorr packages of bernaisse/hollandaise/peppercorn sauces and you can be viewed as a master...especially when you make her eggs benedict the morning after...at a cost of about $2 a serving versus taking her out for a $30 brunch.:D
Remember...cooking is an art. Be creative.
Baking, on the other hand is a science.;)
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