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Chapter One of
Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook

 Copyright © March 1, 2018 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

The following information is included in Chapter One of my book: Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook.

Introduction

The information below appears on the first four pages of Chapter One in my Gourmet Cookbook.
In my cookbook Chapter One contains a total of fourteen pages.

Chapter One
Secrets of Gourmet Cooking
Introduction to Gourmet Cooking

A gourmet cook is an individual, either male or female, of almost any age, who is able to prepare food that is enjoyable to eat. The food may be a common item, such as white rice, or a not-so-common item, such as quail. The recipe may only require two or three ingredients, or the recipe may require more than a dozen ingredients. The food may not require cooking, or the food may be cooked over a campfire, or on a grill, or on a stove, or in an oven. The amount cooked may be just enough for one person or for a large group of people.

A gourmet cook normally prepares meals that accomplish all of the following objectives at the same time:
  1. The food has an enticing aroma.
  2. The food has a very desirable appearance.
  3. The food has a delightful pleasant taste.
  4. The food satisfies the person’s hunger for at least a few hours.
  5. The food can be easily and quickly digested.
  6. The vitamins and nutrients in the food have been preserved and they can be easily absorbed into the body.
  7. The food facilitates the long-term health of the person who eats it.
A gourmet cook also understands all of the following:
  1. People are different.
  2. Different foods appeal to different people.
  3. Different cooking techniques yield foods that appeal to different people, such as steamed food, or stir-fried food, or baked food.
  4. Specific foods may be liked or disliked by different people in the same exact family, such as onions or oysters.
  5. There is no single universal recipe that will produce a dish that everyone likes.
  6. All recipes can be gradually enhanced based on experience.
  7. Cooking is a life-long adventure and a gourmet cook is always willing to learn new things.
  8. Almost everyone is a food critic, even if that person cannot cook anything.
  9. Most professional food critics are aware that some people may not like a food they really enjoy, and some people may love a food that they detest.
  10. A gourmet cook is intellectually prepared to receive positive and negative feedback, and they do not let praise or ridicule impact their humble self-image. Instead they use all feedback in an appropriate manner to help them become better gourmet cooks in the future.
Modifying Recipes

All gourmet cooks gradually modify their recipes as they gain more experience and as they learn new things. The best way to become a great gourmet cook is to start with a great recipe. If you start with an average recipe, or with a good recipe, then it will take more of your time, and more of your money invested in ingredients, in order to gradually convert that recipe into something you can take pride in. There is nothing wrong with this approach if you have the patience, and the time, and the money to invest in gradually and slowing enhancing your cooking skills and your favorite recipes.

On the other hand, if you start with a superior recipe then you may discover that you like the recipe exactly the way it is. Or you may decide to gradually make small changes to the recipe to see if those changes impact the results in a favorable or unfavorable manner. By starting very close to your personal finish line, you will be able to arrive there quicker while spending less money.

The recipes in this gourmet cookbook are superior recipes. However, no recipe anywhere in this cookbook will please everyone because different people have different taste preferences, and there is nothing unusual about that.

Taste Buds or Palette

Each person has their own unique ability to taste subtle differences in foods. Some people have extremely sensitive taste buds and they can easily detect all the ingredients that are included in a recipe. On the other hand, some people have extremely weak taste buds and they can barely taste the foods they eat. But most of us have normal or average taste buds and we like or dislike specific foods because of the way those foods taste. However, most of us cannot detect a small difference in the quantity of an ingredient in a recipe, or in some cases the presence or the absence of a specific ingredient in a recipe, especially if the recipe contains many different ingredients. A normal person should not be ashamed of having normal taste buds, just like a normal person should not be ashamed if he or she cannot sing well enough to earn a living as a singer. There is nothing wrong with having normal average taste buds, or normal average hearing, or normal average eyesight.

However, it is possible for a person with normal average taste buds to become a gourmet cook and to prepare culinary miracles that will amaze most of their friends and family members, even if some of those people have remarkably sensitive taste buds.

A Suggestion for New Gourmet Cooks:
"Cook Once and Eat Twice."

Consider cooking enough for two meals. Eat one meal and freeze the other meal so you can thaw it out, reheat it, and eat it on another day.

More Suggestions for New Gourmet Cooks

  1. Always read each recipe completely before you begin to follow the instructions.
  2. Locate all the ingredients you will need and put them on the counter where you will be using them.
  3. Locate all the equipment, bowls, and other items you will need and place then on the counter where you can easily find them.
  4. Measure all ingredients before you start cooking so you have the correct amount ready to use when it is needed.
  5. If eggs are cold, it is easier to separate the yolks and the whites. If whipping the whites then do not let any of the yolk cling to the whites, not even a small speck. If appropriate, allow the egg yolks and/or whites to come to room temperature.
  6. Remove cold butter, eggs, milk, buttermilk, and cream cheese from the refrigerator, measure the amount you need, and allow the measured ingredients to sit for one hour until they come to room temperature. Then use them in your cooking recipes. Ingredients at room temperature mix more easily, more evenly, and more completely with the dry ingredients in a recipe, and this will usually yield a lighter more delicious finished cooked food item.
  7. Allow cheese to come to room temperature and then grate or shred it.
  8. If fresh vegetables need to be soaked then do so before slicing in order to retain as much of their nutritional value as possible.
  9. Cut and prepare all vegetables and meats before you begin combining items using the recipe.
  10. Do not cut lettuce. Tear lettuce instead.
  11. Cut the ends off onions and tomatoes before you begin to slice, chop, or dice them.
  12. If you wish to garnish a dish with raw onions, then soak them in cold water first.
  13. If onions need to be sautéd, and if you have the time, then sauté onions over low heat for 15 or 20 minutes instead of 3 to 5 minutes. This will significantly enhance the final flavor of the food.
  14. Vegetables that grow above ground should be boiled with no cover on the cook pot.
  15. When practical, add butter at the end of a recipe. The butter will not blend with the other ingredients and it will add more of its desirable taste to the food. Less butter will also be needed to achieve the same results.
  16. Cut meat across the grain before cooking to make it easier to eat after cooking.
  17. If a recipe specifies that meat be browned then sear it over high heat to caramelize the surface of the meat. Do not just heat the meat or allow the meat to cook or steam in its own juices. Sear the meat.
  18. When cooking pork chops, cut the piece of fat on the outside of the chop. This will help the chop to lay flat in the pan without curling up as it cooks.
  19. When fried in a skillet, crumbled ground meat should be separated into very small pieces, first by your hands when you put it into the skillet, and then again with the edge of your stirring spoon as you cook the meat.
    Very small pieces of meat:
    (a) cook more quickly and more evenly so it is all consistently done,
    (b) better absorb any herbs, spices, or sauces you may add to the meat,
    (c) are much easier for older people and very young children to chew, and
    (d) are much easier for most people to digest.
  20. Do not add oil to the boiling water when you cook pasta. Oil does not help and it makes the pasta slippery so that the sauce cannot stick to the pasta. Instead add just a little salt to the boiling water.
  21. Put a wooden spoon across the top of a boiling pot and the water will not boil over the top of the pot.
  22. When available, use lard or shortening to grease baking pans. If you use butter, margarine, or oils then they will be absorbed into the dough or food more quickly and the food may stick to the pan.
  23. Put an empty baking sheet in the oven on the shelf below the one that contains the food. The empty baking sheet will absorb some of the heat and keep it off the bottom of the food pan so the food in the pan bakes more evenly.
  24. Fill one side of your kitchen sink with hot water and add some dish soap. When you are finished with each cook pot or dish, wait for it to cool, wipe it out with a paper towel, rinse it off under hot water in the other side of your kitchen sink, and put it into the sink with the hot soapy water so it can soak. When you finish eating your meal, your cook pots and dishes will be much easier to clean.
  25. Do not soak cast iron pots, or wood bowls, or wood spoons, or items with wood handles, in water. These items should be washed with water but they should not be allowed to soak in water because cast iron will rust, and wood will absorb water, expand, crack, and be ruined.
  26. Save your bacon grease and use it to season a variety of beans and vegetables.
  27. A practical easy way to use leftovers is to use them to make soup.
  28. Instant potatoes work well as a thickener for homemade soups and stews.
  29. If a glass pan or a dark colored pan is used for baking then reduce the recommended oven temperature by 25 degrees.

Conclusion

The above information appears on the first four pages of Chapter One in my Gourmet Cookbook.
In my cookbook Chapter One contains a total of fourteen pages.
My entire Gourmet Cookbook contains 290 pages and more than 250 recipes.

Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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