As the Christmas season is very much upon us it's time to think about the sort of meals, buffets, dinners and nibbles you'll have available for yourself, your family, friends, and anyone else who might happen to drop in for a little festive food. Gourmet ingredients are one way to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and that, after all, is very much in keeping with the Christmas season.
We take an ordinary tree, and we transform it into something extraordinary, by lighting it up, dressing it in tinsel, adorning it with baubles and crowning it with a star. We take an ordinary day, and we make it extraordinary through traditions, gifts, making time to be together and discovering yet again that no one's planned ahead to think of some great titles for charades. Why not take ordinary meals, snacks and buffets and make them extraordinary by adding one or two gourmet ingredients?
It's funny, but when most people head off to the shops or online to buy ingredients it tends to be for the ordinary, popular, vanilla ingredients which everybody tends to use every day of the year, because they're convenient, cheap and familiar. But in fact it doesn't have to take a great deal to take ordinary meals and make them extraordinary. With just a little bit of thought, and a few tips here and there, anyone, regardless of their cooking prowess, can transform a meal by purchasing gourmet ingredients in place of their usual ones.
Many people tend to think that gourmet food and ingredients is for celebrity chefs, those people who cook in five star Michelin restaurants or who have a chain of fine restaurants throughout Europe. However, this is certainly not the case, and when it comes to going out, or going online, to buy ingredients, it needn't be difficult to benefit from a little extra quality here and there.
One of the other reasons people tend to give when explaining why they don't tend to buy gourmet ingredients is that they don't know what to choose, they don't know what they're like or they don't understand the names (because they're in French). This is fair enough, but in fact not only are many online suppliers today offering a vast selection of high quality ingredients, they're also offering advice and information about how to choose the right ingredient, and how to use it in your own familiar recipes.
You don't have to throw away your cookbook and start cooking fancy food you need a degree in French just to pronounce; the trick with using gourmet ingredients is to use them exactly as you would your normal ingredients. It isn't you who has to change - the change will happen of its own accord thanks to the power, scent, flavour and quality of the gourmet ingredients you've bought.
As a simple example, you could try the following two simple switches, which won't be hard to do at all. However, not only will your taste buds thank you, but so will all your family and friends who benefit from the extraordinary changes:
- Dried Porcini Mushrooms - These are fantastic, and can easily be used in place of the rather tasteless, bland mushrooms sold by supermarkets. These are fabulous in dishes such as risottos, but be careful about the quantity you use. Porcini mushrooms are packed full of flavour, so you may need fewer than you would normally use. The dried mushrooms will absorb liquid quickly, becoming absolutely delicious. Discover the true flavour of mushrooms again!
- Goose Fat - This is another easy switch. If you love roast potatoes (and who doesn't?) then you simply must try swapping your usual fat for goose fat. Your potatoes will taste heavenly, be exceptionally crispy on the outside whilst fluffy on the inside.
These are two very simple ideas, but you can find many more online and from reputable retailers who will be happy to help you buy gourmet ingredients to transform your festive dishes from the ordinary to the extraordinarily tasty!
For more help, advice, recipes and recommendations about using gourmet ingredients, visit The Good Food Network, where you can also buy ingredients.
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