How To Cook Like A Gourmet

A simple post on how to kick up your cooking from good to incredible.

Step 1 Overview

True cooking is an art form. The food is your canvas, and the subtle textures and presentations you can prepare are as infinite and varied as snowflakes. A skilled cook doesn't just make food to sustain himself, He speaks through his dishes and those dishes display a piece of his soul.

With this instructional I hope to teach you a few simple tricks to kick up your cooking from tasty to insane.

Comments

[Badger_Man]

decent Instructable, I'm already a pretty good cook, so it didn't help me much, but this is great for people who use slow cookers or something all the time, only thing I didn't agree with was the soul part, art yes, you're soul, no.

[I Am An Evil Taco]

Ever spend 6 hours prepping for an incredible meal, using a recipe of your own creation? It's a part of your soul just as much as a painting is a part of the painters, imo. But, to each his own.

[festerduley]

I completely agree with Evil Taco on this one. You'd never spend that much time and effort ("6 hours prepping...") on ONE MEAL if you didn't love it. On the same point, you'll know your soul went into it when you, despite the heat and fatigue, can't wipe that smile off your face as it all comes together. It's being pleased with the effort AND results, not the platitudes and praise. Although, the praise is pretty awesome ;-)

[WILL62]

EVIL TACO....what spices do you use in your mexican dishes to make them taste "AUTHENTIC" ?   I need to spice mine up, not hotter but more south of the border gooder. 

[FoodDude]

I did news show cooking (3.5 minute segments) for almost four years. I also had my own 30 minute cooking show. I have to agree with Evil Taco. I worked in restaurants for 8 year and was extremely proficient on cooking the meals we cooked. After a while it becomes a job. But to have an opportunity to really create something of a food nature can be as rewarding or tormenting as raising a child sometimes. To have a person practice their craft for 10-20-30 years and have them say they still learn more each day is an act of soul. People who have never worked in the profession.. I mean really worked (not a fast food place) it would commonly agree. The Instructable is good and basic. Basics are all that can really be taught. For any cook the next step to great is by putting your "soul" into it. An example would be chocolate. People don't role their eyes back and oooh and ahhh because it simple tastes good. Flavors touch people on a higher level than that. That's why people always remember the "best" of things. In that avenue I always remember how good my grandmothers gravy was. Food is a part of our body, taste however are parts of our soul. Evil Taco keep it up.

[Yerboogieman]

in step 1 what is that wrapped in prosciutto?

[I Am An Evil Taco]

updated this with some more exposition and pictures. whee.

[jehan60188]

this is nit-picking, but i would change "add less" to "remove" or something like that. it would make more clear that which you are trying to imply

[I Am An Evil Taco]

I see what you mean. I'm debating it because that mantra was beaten into me home ec, and culinary tech, and by most of my mentors. However, ambiguity sucks. I'll figure something out.

[jehan60188]

good instructable, but i would spend more time on the "modified on the fly" mentality- that's what separates a chef from a recipe-reading preparation machine!

[I Am An Evil Taco]

Done! I'm really trying to emphasise the subtleties of herbs, and to me thats most of what experimentation is all about. Hell, I caramelize brussels sprouts. Strange, yes, but you have to taste it to get the full force of how aweome they are. Trick is to not downplay the recipe thing. They're great tools, especially for learning chefs or people just getting into cuisine. I battle pretty frequently to make people see that the book, in the end, will become a crush and stifle the creative spirit inherent in cooking.