We've all seen that similar phrase at the top of the Chinese food combo menus.
Some Foodies would have you believe that if you're not cooking with the most obscure, specialized ingredients, that you're not cooking well, or it's not worth doing. What is cooking well, though, if not simply preparing food that tastes good and that people enjoy?
I don't know about you, but I don't have easy access to Black Truffles, Cobnuts, or Salt harvested from the Dead Sea during the fall of 1973.
Guess what. If you don't already have it, you don't have to use fresh Oregano in that new recipe you want to try. The Dried Oregano that you already have will most often work just fine for putting your meal on the table.
If a recipe calls for white pepper, and all you have is black? So what. Do you know what the difference is?
I'll tell you - it's the same pepper, slightly more ripe, with the black outer crust removed! It's so you don't see little black specks in the food. Some people say they taste different, but I don't think it's enough of a difference to bring my recipe to a grinding halt if I don't already have it. It's also supposed to 'look better' in white sauces and soups, but I can't imagine seeing a Chowder without those little black specks of goodness.
We're not trying out for MasterChef. Gordon Ramsay is not sitting at the table complaining that we used Cheddar instead of Fontina in a Grilled Cheese. As it turns out, the ingredients that you most often can't do without, are the ingredients that are mostly likely already (or usually) in your kitchen!
Last night my girlfriend and I were having a craving for dessert after the kids went to bed. I didn't really have the energy to go into all-out baking mode, and noticed that we had some Vanilla Ice Cream in the freezer.
Hmm - that sounds ok; kind of boring though. I wanted to kick it up a little bit, and thought to make some Caramel Sauce to drizzle over it. Most recipes I've come across for Caramel Sauce call for Heavy Cream, or Whipping Cream, but all I had in the fridge was 2% Milk and liquid Coffee Mate (more on Coffee Mate another time - I love this stuff!).
Undeterred by my lack of stocking ingredients like Whipping Cream for no logical reason, I made the Caramel Sauce anyway, with the ingredients I had on hand. Lo and behold - It tasted like....Caramel Sauce!
Quick and Easy Caramel Sauce
Makes approximately 2 cups (way more than enough!)
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 6TB Salted Butter (if you have unsalted butter, just add a pinch of salt. See how easy that is?)
- 1/2 cup of whatever kind of milk you happen to have
It's best to use a heavy bottomed sauce pan, because it will keep the heat even. Burning sugar is easy, and burnt Caramel tastes awful. If you don't have a heavy sauce pan, though...just be careful, keep an eye on the color and temperature, and stir a lot.
Put the stove to just a notch under medium heat.
Put the sugar in the pan and make sure it is distributed evenly.
Wait.
When the sugar starts to get a little liquidy around the edges, give it a stir. You want the sugar to heat as evenly as possible so you don't have spots cooking too quickly and burning. The more it starts to melt, the more you need to stir it.
Eventually, it will all melt, and the sugar will be a light amber color, kind of like a penny. When you're there, take the pan off the heat...wait about 10 seconds, and add the butter, stirring constantly until it is dissolved. When you add the butter, the sugar will react, causing the sugar to boil a little. This is why it's important to rest the sugar off the heat for a few moments first. It make not seem like they are going to mix together, but be patient - after a few moments they will combine.
After the butter is incorporated with the sugar, add the milk, a splash at a time. Once all the milk is added, stir it until it is smooth and BOOM - you're done. So good.
You can put it in a mason jar, or coffee mug, or whatever heat safe vessel you have.
