amateur chefs to learn what their strategies are for overcoming
these problems and a few themes arose. For dishes that are too dry:
stock, water and oils are you biggest assets. I’ve seen fellow Omahan
Hillary Nather-Detisch for more than a decade at the local Farmer’s
Markets and organic food stores. She’s always looking for new
courses to cook for friends and family. A big part of her versatility
comes from one staple ingredient, “I always have chicken stock on
hand to help add moisture and flavor (if cooking)”, Nather-Detisch
says.
Terrance Hill, an Omaha native, specializes in clean eating
with natural ingredients. Hill prefers to make as many of his base
ingredients at home. The process taught him that it’s cheaper,
healthier, and the supplies last longer in doing so. He shared a
couple important techniques he uses for cooking. He adds water
or oils to liquefy sauces and gravies and cornstarch or flour if it
needs to thicken. Hill also pays close attention to temperature and
stirring the additional ingredients in to attain the desired thickness
and flavors. “I always struggled with making mayo, Once, I added
the olive oil too fast with the egg/vinegar mixture and the two
never combined, or created an emulsion. I was able to start a new
egg/vinegar mixture. And this time I slowly added the previously
ruined recipe a drop at a time to the mixture while whisking briskly.
Eventually it formed an emulsion and presto... mayo. It was an
awesome feeling”.
Since you’re paying close attention to your dish as it comes
together, you’ll have the opportunity to taste it to see how the
flavors are evolving. If it’s too sweet; add salt, pepper, chilies or
rosemary. If it’s too savory; sugars, fruits and honey could become
your friends.
The taste dilemma brings us to our final rescue component;
accessibility. In the heat of the kitchen and a culinary deadline
coming, time is not your friend. It’s important to have ingredients
as you need them, when you need them and where you need them.
The vegetables, herbs, spices, oils or dry ingredients need to be ready
for immediate introduction into your dish. Savory owner Akyurek
offers a few tips: “Chefs may not have time for chopping fresh
herbs and spices such as garlic and basil, so having dried ingredients
immediately available can provide the needed flavor impact”.
Don’t be afraid to purchase or to pre-toast and store ingredients
such as onion, seeds, or nuts. When dishes are already in motion,
fsmomaha.com
“For those who prepare, are
attentive, and act quickly, cooking
offers the opportunity for missteps
to turn into magnificent creations.”
there may not be time to toast ingredients. It’s at this point that
the quality of what you purchase matters, “The better quality of the
product you purchase, the quicker and fuller the flavors release into
the dish” Akyurek adds.
Let’s make one more step in your rescue – keep records.
Take notes of what worked, and incorporate that into future
preparations. Julie Berger, a local Omaha amateur chef, grew up
baking with her family in Spaulding, Nebraska. Two years ago she
discovered a wheat allergy and has been cooking gluten free meals
ever since. She’s found initial recipe adjustments become staples in
her every day cooking, “I often have to substitute some ingredients,
especially gluten free flours. For instance, I didn’t have millet flour
on hand for a pizza crust a few weeks ago, so used buckwheat
instead and it was still really good. I’ve also found coconut or
sorghum flour in meatloaf instead of bread crumbs is actually really
good”.
Bruce Moritz and his wife Lisa of Omaha make dining and
cooking a big part of their travels and celebratory occasions. One
night they were using an Asian themed approach for their multiple
course meal. “I thought we had lettuce, spinach, or some kind of
greens for a salad,” Bruce said. “We didn’t, so I ended up creating an
Asian apple salad (Fuji apple, cilantro, soy sauce, jalapeño, broccoli
slaw, red onion, ginger, lemon juice and cracked pepper). It is now
one of our favorites.”
Even the best chefs can and will fail. Cooking provides an avenue
for both exploration and experimentation. For those who prepare,
are attentive, and act quickly, it offers the opportunity for mistakes
and missteps to turn into magnificent creations.
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