Making the Flavor

I just wanted to briefly touch on a subject that gets overlooked when creating delicious dishes, making the flavor pop.  There are a few easy things to always remember to do in the kitchen when cooking a dish.  The list below shows some easy steps to making your flavors come alive.

1.  Lightly, I mean lightly, salt and pepper each layer as you cook.  So for instance when cooking your paste salt the water.  Another example would be when you are searing or sauteeing meats, poultry, or seafood, lightly salt and season the protein before it goes into the pan.  Remember that the balance of salt is a delicate one and care must to taken to use it just enough to draw flavors out of each component.

2.  Use very good quality herbs whether dried or fresh.  I prefer using fresh herbs as their essential oils impart a smoother, fresher flavor.  If you are using dried herbs check the labels and make sure they have not been sitting on the shelf for a long time.  If you are not sure ask your local grocery store attendant to find out for you.    

3.  Keep some white and red wines on hand for adding flavors to soups, sauces, and deglazing pans.  When you add wine to a hot pan, after cooking something like chicken, it releases concentrated flavor that accumulated at the bottom of the pan during cooking.  You can then add this liquid back into a sauce, soup, or poor it over the ingredients you just cooked so that they can soak it up.  Wine added to soups or sauces brings a new depth to the dish.  

4.  The last tip is common sense, use the freshest ingredients you can get a hold of without over spending.  Instead of using canned green beans buy them whole, rinse them off, cut them to the size you want, and blanch in a small amount of boiling water.  After they are cooked to be tender crisp add them to some ice cold water to prevent further cooking.  Apply some salt, pepper, butter, and fresh herbs and you are set to go.