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Slow Cooker Mate

November 21st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

The Slow Cooker Mate is a really great innovation for all those of us who are pressed for time.  It allows you to prepare a complete meal in advance and have a steaming hot dinner waiting for you when you come home from a day out. The slow cooking means great taste from even cheap cuts of meat.

The Divided Insert

The Divided Insert permits you to seperately  cook your side vegetables along with the main course. Each side of the divider will hold a full 16 oz bag of frozen veg. The design is such that the insert can be easily removed to be used as a serving dish.

The Main Crock

The slow cooker mate has a large main crock, which at 6 litres is large enough for a 5 to 6 person meal.  This attrective ceramic pot is easily removed to enable it  to be used as a serving dish, saving you on the washing up.

The Cooking Base

The Cooking Base is stainless steel and houses all of the electronics. The timer can be programmed up to 18 hours, and at the end of the cooking time the unit switches to a backgound heat mode to maintain the food temperature until you are ready to serve.
The unit is designed to provide all around heat to ensure that the contents are cooked through.

The product can be purchased directly from Slow Cooker Mate at just $99 with free shipping.

Aspects Of Gourmet Italian Cooking

November 2nd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Gourmet Italian cooking may seem to be something that is completely unapproachable, but by following a few simple steps you can make Italian dishes that will wow your friends and will satisfy your family.  I have cooked for many years and at first I thought that gourmet Italian cooking was something that was completely impossible.  What I found was that actually gourmet Italian cooking can be simple if you plan your dishes properly.

Gourmet Italian Cooking Simplified

The first thing you need to understand is what it means to be “gourmet Italian cooking.”  Most people assume that this is some kind of fancy way of preparing spaghetti but that is not the case.   Gourmet does not necessarily mean fancy or prepared with some complicated and impossible technique.  Gourmet Italian cooking at its roots means that you only use the freshest and finest ingredients.  Fresh tomatoes, fresh basil and hand rolled pasta are all components of true gourmet Italian cooking.  By paying attention to your ingredients and taking the time to learn how to prepare the food properly you can truly take the gourmet to your home kitchen.

When most people think of cooking, they think that you are simply taking foods and combining them in a way that is pleasing to your family and yourself.  This is only part of it.  Most people who cook at home use many products that are premade and manufactured.  Pasta sauce, pasta, and even the meats you use generally are premade or manufactured in some way.  True gourmet Italian cooking takes food from its purest, rawest, freshest form and transforms it into a delicious meal.

Take for example simple the spaghetti.  While not truly gourmet Italian cooking, it provides a good example of the differences between regularly cooked food and gourmet cooked food.   Starting with the sauce, in regular cooking you would take a jar and dump it in a pot, heating until ready serve.  Simple yes, but also bland and uninventive.  A gourmet approach to the sauce is to have a garden in the back with Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic and oregano.  The gourmet would take these ingredients and make them into a homemade sauce (preferably a large amount for use later so the process does not have to be repeated again and again).  The same can be applied to the noodles; the regular method would mean dumping a box into a pan, cooking till ready than serve.  The gourmet Italian cooking method would involve making the pasta from flour, rolling it out, cutting, cooking and serving.

As you can see the differences between gourmet Italian cooking and regular cooking are in the preparation.  If you are patient enough, you too can learn to become a gourmet.

Finding Quality Gourmet Cooking Supplies

October 14th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

The idea of what is and what is not gourmet may be confusing to you.  Many people out there think that gourmet means expensive, when this is not the case.  Gourmet cooking supplies are always of the highest quality and freshness.  While for things like beef and wine this will most certainly mean expensive, items like garlic and vegetables this is not the case.  Gourmet cooking supplies can be found just about anywhere you buy food you just have to have a discerning eye and always be unwilling to compromise.

Finding Your Gourmet Cooking Supplies

I personally love to do gourmet Italian cooking and finding gourmet cooking supplies for this here in the States can be difficult.  Many Italian dishes call for exacting ingredients if you truly want to replicate the dish, but in my experience I have found it more found to adopt these dishes to the American ingredients I have readily available.  This of course leads to the question as to where do I get my gourmet cooking supplies?  Well there are several places.

The first place I like to go to look for good quality true gourmet ingredients is the Farmers’ Market.  A good Farmers’ Market offers several things that you can not find at a local super store.  The first is that you are pretty much guaranteed that the items are as fresh as they could possibly be.  This is probably the most important part of your gourmet cooking supplies.  Second, and almost as important as the first, is that the items are usually far less expensive than their supermarket counterparts.  In addition you usually can negotiate a little bit with the people selling the foods, although in most cases I try not to and let them give me a deal if they feel open to it.  The third thing is that you will usually have several farmers selling similar produce throughout the market so that you can compare and find the highest quality crop available.

Farmers’ Markets are also a great place to get spices for your cooking.  They are guaranteed to be fresh and you will be amazed at how good your food tastes using these ingredients.  Fresh basil, oregano, and even garlic make all the difference in my Italian dishes.

Unfortunately you will probably also need to get protein for your meals and the Farmers’ Market is not the place for that.  I would find a local butcher and shop there.

There you have it, hopefully now you have a much better idea how to incorporate gourmet cooking supplies into your everyday meals.

Choosing A Gourmet Cooking School That Is Right For You

October 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Before you decide on what gourmet cooking school to go to, you first need to pick a cuisine or style of cooking that you think will best exemplify what you want to do as a chef.  There are many cuisines around the world and many gourmet cooking schools that cater to these cuisines, so take the time to select the right school for you and you will go a long way in your career.

Criteria For The Right Gourmet Cooking School

The first thing to becoming a true gourmet is understanding what quality ingredients are.  Be sure that whatever gourmet cooking school you wish to attend uses only gourmet cooking supplies.  Vegetables should be fresh, meats not frozen, herbs and spices not bottled or dried, and stocks freshly prepared.  Be wary of any “gourmet cooking school” that uses canned goods or canned products as they probably skimp on the course instruction as well.

Next is you want to see that the gourmet cooking school awards degrees or certification that is industry recognized.   These degrees will show that you have a certain level of competency at the food you are trying to prepare.  You also will want to check out the restaurant or restaurants that the gourmet cooking school is associated with.  These too will make a big difference in where you decide to go.

The last thing you want to check out is who is on staff at the gourmet cooking school and who they bring in for guest lectures.  If you are not familiar with them go to their restaurants and try their food.  Many times this will give you a good idea of the quality level of their instruction.  It is difficult to expect a teacher to be able to show you how to cook effectively if the can not themselves.   Look over their menu and see what different techniques they use.  Try several different things in these techniques to see how each stands up.   In addition ask what the chef’s signature dish is and have some of that to truly get a flavor for how they cook.

Once you have sorted through all this criteria you should be ready to select a gourmet cooking school that is right for you.  This is not an easy decision and it will have a profound impact on how your career develops so choose carefully.  In the industry reputation and education is paramount, so be sure to set yourself up to succeed from the beginning.

Choosing The Right Gourmet Cooking Recipe

September 24th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Before you can make the meal of your dreams, you need to have a gourmet cooking recipe that you know will work out.   Even if you have not been to a gourmet cooking school, you can still use a quality gourmet cooking recipe to make a very solid dish.

Become Familiar With Your Gourmet Cooking Recipe

The first thing you want to make sure of when you choose your gourmet cooking recipe is that you are familiar with the ingredients.  It would be best to find a gourmet cooking recipe with ingredients you have cooked with before, but more than likely there will be some that you are unfamiliar with.  If you do come across a recipe that you are interested in using but it has unfamiliar ingredients, try tasting the ingredients before you begin cooking.  Make sure to purchase a little extra so you can have some sample and see what the flavor, texture and general feel of the ingredients is.  This will help you to know how they will respond to your cooking techniques.  By being familiar with your ingredients you will be able to better predict how they respond with the other ingredients and your technique.

The next thing you want to make sure of when choosing a gourmet cooking recipe is that it does not use any techniques that you are unfamiliar with or do not have the proper tools to execute.  Some gourmet techniques can be very exacting in what they require from a skill and tool perspective.  If a dish requires a convection oven and you do not have one you will most certainly run into problems.

Some techniques and tools can be replaced and faked, but you must be absolutely sure that you are comfortable with doing this before attempting the recipe.  For many gourmet dishes it is these techniques that separate the dish from the mundane.

Hopefully you have an idea of what lays in front of you when preparing a gourmet meal.  There are many options that you have, so choose wisely to ensure that you can complete the dish.    Once you have selected a dish to prepare you then need to do as much research on the techniques and ingredients used.   Only then will you be able to truly master and prepare the dish as a skilled chef would.  Take time when considering which gourmet cooking recipe to use, and you will be able to prepare a wonderful dish for yourself and your family.

Benefits Of A Good Gourmet Cooking Class

September 16th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

There are many benefits to taking a gourmet cooking class.  The key is to find a good gourmet cooking class to maximize the experience.  There are many different levels so before you even begin looking you need to have a good idea of how good a chef you really are.  Take a hard look at your skills and examine what you can and cannot do with an un-opinionated eye.  The only way to truly find a quality gourmet cooking class is to make sure that you are taking a class that can teach you, stretch you a bit, without completely overwhelming you.  Once you have determined what level of chef you are, you can select your gourmet cooking class.

Choosing A Gourmet Cooking Class

There are many different types of classes to choose from.  Each of the different cuisines from across the world has their own cooking classes.  If you are unfamiliar with a cuisine and looking to learn, then perhaps a gourmet cooking class is just what the doctor ordered.  Be sure before you get started that you do have some basic skill in the cuisine or at least familiar with the ingredients that are commonly used.   These gourmet cooking classes can truly take your cooking to the next level.

Once you have picked a cuisine and corresponding gourmet cooking class the only thing left to do is take it.  What will you gain from this class?  Well, first off is a collection of gourmet cooking recipes.  Hopefully you should be able to take these recipes home with you to cook on a regular basis.  The main point of the gourmet cooking class is so that you can learn new techniques and recipes to use at home.

This brings us to the next benefit – the techniques you learn.  There are many techniques that are used over and over again.  Whether it is breading and frying or braising meat, these skills should translate into new dishes and expansions on the basic dishes you learn.  There are many different gourmet techniques to learn so be sure to pay attention and ask questions in your class, especially if you are unfamiliar with the cooking style.

An additional benefit of your gourmet cooking class is that you will work with unique ingredients.  By taking the class you will use the ingredients in a variety of ways and hopefully you should be able to translate this over to other dishes.  Some ingredients are used over and over again, and the classes should show you how to do this.

There you have it, the only thing left to do is to get out there and start cooking.

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Credits: Work From Home | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund