Introduction to the cooking process

For years I have worked at Restaurants and places where food is the main objective. Every night my husband and I get creative with dinner. Its usually never the same thing twice, always with fresh ingredients and never processed. On occasion we use canned soup in a recipe or certain types of beans canned, because in all honesty when you are hungry and you want something done quick you look for things that are easy and accessible.

Our cooking process



1. The first step in our process is : Is  it something we can comfortably serve to others? 
  When I serve food to my family, or friends I am often concerned with the type of food I am giving my company. For instance, I wouldn't make anything boxed ( aka Tuna Helper, suddenly pasta salad, instant potatoes etc.,etc.)
Eating out for many people, whether it be at a friends house , a relative or a restaurant is supposed to be an experience, and if it's something that can be easily made at home on their own time, or even looks like it was just thrown together, the dining experience and atmosphere you are tying to portray in your food may be dismissed.

2. The second step is :Can our guests identify the ingredients?
                Lets face it, not everyone can afford special ingredients, and who knows half of the spices in special dishes anyway? A main indicator in our dishes is to make sure that the people we serve it too understand what they are eating. Sure the guesswork is fun when you are playing a game of where's Waldo...but not so much when you are trying to eat. Most people ARE NOT in the mood for guessing games while they are eating. Not only that, but when they enjoy your food, and they ask you, " wow whats in this?", you can comfortably say for example, shredded chicken, sour cream, paprika and fresh egg noodles and not have to list off complicated spices, herbs and meats that are ridiculously expensive.

3. The third step is: Are there at least Five Components? 
 Right now you are probably thinking, components? What on earth is a component? In simple terms it just means we make sure that There are Five parts to every dish which make it complete. There will be a separate post all about Five components and dinner ideas using them. But for now, to sum it all up, presentation is everything.

4. The fourth step is : Is this Dish something we would recommend others to make?
People in general, unless they have tons of free time on their hands, don't like to spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for their family's at home every night. Before we make food for guests, we make it complex enough by using the Five components and we make sure it is simple enough for someone to do on their own time. The idea of having a presentable dinner and having to pour over a cookbook in a hot kitchen isn't anyone's idea of fun unless you happen to be Gordon Ramsey. While famous chef's have their famous name's for a reason, the average at home chef usually doesn't have the funds, the ingredients or the equipment for the more advanced dishes. If you do, awesome! You're ready for the next level of cooking for entertainment. But for now, for all intensive purposes, we are keeping it simple, easy and fun.

5. The last step in our process is of course : Is it edible?

If you can't eat your own food, its shameful to serve it to others. Make sure you taste what you put out on the table. God forbid, it is undercooked, overcooked, over seasoned or bland. Its best to have a few trial and error runs before you serve it. Even if you have to make an individual batch so you can taste test it yourself just to be on the safe side.