My meal rejected my planning...
1. My soup is too salty! Chop a potato or two into large chunks, and cook the potato for an hour or two in the soup. Remove. The soup should be much better. (Now, cook up the potatoes in the oven. Add cheese. They will have an interesting flavor, and they are already salty. And they don't go to waste!)
2. My soup is bland! Several ways to fix this. Depends on how you want to change it. Do you want it tangy? Add tomato paste. Spicy? Think hot sauce, or even horseradish. Hey, ginger's good in a soup, too. Savory? Garlic is good. Creamy? Evaporated milk will fix that.
3. My soup is too spicy! Oops, you took 'interesting' too far, and now you need to tame the flavor. Well, you can use the potato trick, or you can put in rice. Or try serving it over a bed of pasta.
4. What is your 'emergency kit'? Every good cook has one, even if they don't realize it. Those ingredients you keep on hand 'in case of emergency'. Mine consists of: canned evaporated milk, tomato paste, cornstarch, tapioca starch, oyster sauce (made from oyster mushrooms, not sea oysters), creamy horseradish sauce, cream of potato soup, beef stock, and cream of mushroom soup. I have others, but that's the basic list.
5. But I don't know how to fully utilize my spice rack! And the weird thing is, no one really covers this problem. I've found various lists that usually state general comments like: majoram can be added to meat, poultry, fish, soup, etc., but there is no description of the taste difference, or suggestions to get a certain type of taste. So here's my rule of thumb: your nose. Sniff what you are making, and then sniff the herbs you are considering. If the herb smells good with the scent of what you are cooking, it will probably work. Try just a little addition at the beginning, just to be sure.
6. My meat choice is too tough! I'm sure we all enjoy chewing gum...except when it's meat flavored. Marinade, marinade, marinade. My favorite? Honey, wine, and minced garlic. Of course, if you really need to soften up the meat, try marinading overnight with banana. Yes, I wrote banana. It has the same enzymes as papaya, and acts as a meat tenderizer. Hey, don't knock it. You should try my banana-ginger curry. Amazing goodness!
Okay, what other cooking fix-it tips do you have? What are your ideas?
2. My soup is bland! Several ways to fix this. Depends on how you want to change it. Do you want it tangy? Add tomato paste. Spicy? Think hot sauce, or even horseradish. Hey, ginger's good in a soup, too. Savory? Garlic is good. Creamy? Evaporated milk will fix that.
3. My soup is too spicy! Oops, you took 'interesting' too far, and now you need to tame the flavor. Well, you can use the potato trick, or you can put in rice. Or try serving it over a bed of pasta.
4. What is your 'emergency kit'? Every good cook has one, even if they don't realize it. Those ingredients you keep on hand 'in case of emergency'. Mine consists of: canned evaporated milk, tomato paste, cornstarch, tapioca starch, oyster sauce (made from oyster mushrooms, not sea oysters), creamy horseradish sauce, cream of potato soup, beef stock, and cream of mushroom soup. I have others, but that's the basic list.
5. But I don't know how to fully utilize my spice rack! And the weird thing is, no one really covers this problem. I've found various lists that usually state general comments like: majoram can be added to meat, poultry, fish, soup, etc., but there is no description of the taste difference, or suggestions to get a certain type of taste. So here's my rule of thumb: your nose. Sniff what you are making, and then sniff the herbs you are considering. If the herb smells good with the scent of what you are cooking, it will probably work. Try just a little addition at the beginning, just to be sure.
6. My meat choice is too tough! I'm sure we all enjoy chewing gum...except when it's meat flavored. Marinade, marinade, marinade. My favorite? Honey, wine, and minced garlic. Of course, if you really need to soften up the meat, try marinading overnight with banana. Yes, I wrote banana. It has the same enzymes as papaya, and acts as a meat tenderizer. Hey, don't knock it. You should try my banana-ginger curry. Amazing goodness!
Okay, what other cooking fix-it tips do you have? What are your ideas?