The Gourmet Mama

Many people are under the mistaken impression that gourmet food has to be extremely complicated. Fortunately, that isn`t the case. What you may consider to be an amazing dish is probably more because of the combination of flavors and the presentation.

Think about those cooking shows you see where the end result is a tiny morsel of food on a big white plate. It looks pretty spiffy, right? But the truth is, it`s really more of an illusion than anything else.

There are a few parts to a truly amazing meal and here they are:

1. The base. This is often starchy, such as rice, bulgar or cous cous and serves as the main part of the dish.
2. The flavor. This could be anything that you place atop the base, lamb, crab, or a combination of vegetables.
3. The sauce. Usually the sauce will combine the flavors that you`ve put into the dish and make them really pop. A well-done sauce can make a dish.
4. The garnish. This is what tops it all off and makes the dish look professional. A sprig of a fresh herb, a sprinkle of black pepper or the curl of carrot that turns a plain dish into a spectacular one.

The one real rule of making a dish great . . . keep them wanting more. Rather than giving people their fill of something, offer them small amounts to whet their appetite. No more. You`ll have them oohing and awwing about how amazing your cooking is. This is why top restaurants provide small, two bite appetizers and tiny entrees. It`s a trick you can use with your visitors, too!

Put a marshmallow in the bottom of the ice cream cone to prevent drippy cones.

To save time when you are making buscuits, don’t worry about cutting them out with a round cutter. Just roll them out and use a knife to cut them into squares.

My sons love crackers, but I don`t love the ingredients in the storebought ones, so I came up with this healthy, fiber-filled version that they just adore. A little bit sweet, but not very and chock full of nutrients, these cute bear crackers are the perfect snack for kids or adults.

Bitty Bear Crackers

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax

1/4 cup 13 Cereals (use regular flour if you can`t find this)

1/3 cup oatmeal

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons sugar (or substitute honey and lessen amount of water)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk water and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and mix quickly.

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. To make the tiny bears you see here, I used bento vegetable cutters, but you can use any small cookie cutter.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 250º for about 20 min. or until the crackers are crisp, but not burned. Store in an airtight container or zippered bag. Makes about 100 bitty bears.

Whenever you use lemons, oranges or limes, save the rinds and freeze them. When they are frozen solid, they grate easily and its always good to have some citrus zest on hand.

There`s something about fresh herbs that makes a dish look truly gourmet. You don`t need much to add that special touch to your food and while herbs are great IN the food, they are also a wonderful way to garnish your plate.

To make your dishes look really professional, there are a few tips to follow:

• When using leaves like basil, opt for either a two-leaf pair attached to the stem or the upper bit of the stem, with two baby leaves and two larger ones.
• Don`t be afraid to use flowering herbs. Chocolate mint has lovely flowers that add a great touch to dessert dishes.
• A sprig of rosemary is just fine, but you can also strip the spiny leaves and sprinkle them around the plate or across the food.
• Consider combining herbs with other garnishes. For example, a sprig of mint laid across a lemon slice or a couple leaves of basil tucked into a tomato slice look great.

Fresh herbs are a wonderful way to make your dishes come alive. Just make sure they are really fresh, since wilted leaves just don`t have the same effect.

To save time when cooking, try combining salt and pepper in one shaker. The best ratio is 3/4 cup salt to 1/4 cup pepper.

To make it easy to remove baked potatoes from the oven, try baking them in muffin tins.

Tamarind is one of those bizarre fruits that you see in Asian markets and wonder how it could possibly be used.

This dry looking, bean-like fruit grows in India, Africa and Central America and when you open it up, you`ll find large beans surrounded by a thick paste that is rather sour.

The paste from tamarind is widely available, so many people are already familiar with the flavor. However, if you want to try the actual fruit, there are several ways to prepare it.

First, you`ll need to prepare the pulp. Open up the seed pod and scrape everything out. Use 1/3 cup of warm water for every 2 tablespoons of seeds and pulp. Just dissolve it into the water, removing the cleaned seeds as you go. This mixture can then be used to cook with in any recipe that calls for tamarind paste. If you don`t have fresh tamarind, go ahead and use the purchased paste in the following recipes.

Mexican Agua de Tamarindo

3 tablespoons tamarind paste

1/2 cup sugar

5 cups water

Dissolve paste into the water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve chilled.

Tamarind Fruit Sauce

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat all ingredients, except tamarind in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Add tamarind. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until a syrup is formed. This can be used on ice cream or over fresh fruit.

Simple Chutney

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup water

1/2  teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

dash of salt

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. If you want a chunkier consistency, add some chopped raisins after the fact.

For more recipes, check these links:

Epicurean List

Bok Pik Dipemp

Coconut Shrimp with Ginger Tamarind Sauce

If you are wanting to cut corn kernals off the cob, stand it in the tube of a bundt pan. Not only does it make it easy to cut off the kernals, it also neatly catches them for you making the process neat and tidy.