This steak above, is just a regular store bought steak. Possibly a small London Broil seasoned with salt pepper, and garlic powder. Yeah it tastes good. But... something was missing. Perhaps FLAVOR! Also my mother made everything well done. I hadn't discovered RARE meat (lamb/steak) until I was in my early 20s going to the Columbia University Hospital Christmas Party with my friends' mom every year when I ate my first bloody piece of filet mignon. My mouth watered like the carnivore that I am, and it was love at first taste. I never cooked a piece of meat well done again! I didnt know what I was missing all those years! So many juicy flavors! Mmmmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about this.
Here are some other comparisons from my childhood meals in the 1980s NJ, compared with my favorite meals that I cook NOW in 2010-2011.
[Food] [Why]
Ramen Noodles Cheap
[My version/substitute]
Kraft Cheese and Macaroni. Its still cheap but tastes better. Plus you can combine it w/ any left over meat, add bbq, sweet and sour sauce or eat with pigs ina blanket (a fave of mine if I'm looking for a super cheap meal)
[Food] [Why]
Hotdogs Cheap and they have protein
[My Version]
Miso glazed chicken drumsticks. Get a light miso, season, throw in toaster oven or broiler. Done in 15min. MUCH better tasting than hotdogs and more high end..
[Food]
Spaghetti with Franceso Rinaldi Sauce Straight outta the jar over it.
[Why]
Cheap and easy to make. The sauce is supposedly seasoned already. It claims it is but...eh
[My Version]
Linguini (flat pasta picks up sauce more) with Amatriciana sauce. I found out about this sauce on the show "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain. I fucking love that man!!! OMG I won tickets to see him on Feb 10th too! I can't wait! He's so funny. He's a chef, who travels and talks about whatever during his travel in the country he's in. If you don't watch it, DO IT! Its on Monday nights at 10 on the Travel Channel. Amatriciana sauce, as I got from the episode (and added tweaks of my own) is Vodka sauce (preferably a higher grade one. They taste better!), 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, a whole bulb (may not be for everyone but I'm accustomed to indian level spice by now) of garlic, minced, sauteed in the olive oil, oregano, basil, pepper, sea salt, onion powder, crushed red pepper for SPICE, if you're a spice lover like me, and sundried tomatos. Combine all that in a pan and cook. Add about 1/2 cup of a dry sherry (with a woody tone). When you are done, mix in fresh parsley, or sprinkle it on top of your dish. I also add chicken to this and sautee the chicken in the garlic and olive oil first, then add everything else. Plain pasta with Franceso Rinaldi sauce is so boring and bland compared to the foods I've eaten since those days. My amatriciana sauce is the best. I think its suppsed to be made with anchoivies but I dont like fish so i omitted them and added garlic.
[Food] [Why]
Shake n Bake Pork Chops Easy to make. shake in a bag and throw in oven.
[My Version]
12 different spices to form a dry rub- salt, pepper, oregano,paprika, seasoning salt, parsley, cajun seasoning, crushed red pepper, caeynne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin. Mix all togethber in a dry bin and rub the spice onto a wet piece of meat. Cook wrapped in tin foil slowly at 250deg and you'll have a nice juicy flavorful (shake and bake with 75xmore flavor than the real shake and bake.
I'm getting tired so lemme just do some another way....
She made chicken parmigiana. I basically make it the same way. No change, except I garnish my plate before I sit down to eat because I am artisitcally inclined and would like to present my food welll. I genereally dont eat sauce on the pasta since I'm kind of over with sauce. As long as the parm has sauce on it, I'm good. I salt the pasta with sea salt in the pot which gives it a nice zing.
Pork Roast. My mother used to just put that honey/soy marinade on it and cook it. It was good. I can make that too, altho I use vietnamese light soy and more honey to balance the acidity of the flavors.
I also put hoisin and sake (rice wine) you can ge it at the liquor store and bake it and it gives it a chinese spareib taste with a twist.
Another thing I can do is make a soy, sherry ginger and cinnemon marinade with chives and shallots, marinade it, bake it on low temp and have an exotic south asian (thai vietnamese or indonesian) flavor to the roast.
Hamburgers. She would cook them in a greasy pan. Sean with Garlic/onion powder and pop em on our plate. I make them on the grill season with the same (since garlic falls off), cook em mediumrare, put honey smokehouse from jack daniels sauce on them, toast the bun and serve. All my friends loved them.
Meatloaf. Not a fan. Never was. Someting about meatlof makes me nauseous. I prefer to get a whole chicken and season it with lemon pepper seasonings, cook it then serve with lipton herb and butter rice. I dont know how to make that stuff but its great.
Noodle Roni. That is made from Rice A Roni, just for pasta. You add milk and margerine to a packet of powder and pasta and it becomes a meal. For those I would just say I can make 3 different sauces on my own for you.
Carbonara Sauce - Margerine, chicken stock, flour, garlic, 2 thin chicken cutlets, add heavy cream, 1/2 cup of grated parmesean cheese, pepper, fresh parsley. You get a much more high end result and it is restaurant grade.
Basil Cream Garlic Sauce- Margerine, garlic, 1/2cheese, heavy cream, bunches of basil leaves depending how much flavor you want. i like alot. simmer and serve
Alfredo Sauce - heavy cream, half stick of butter, one raw egg, mixed in1/2cheese or less to get thickness you want. Parsley to garnish.
That's all I can think of. But the way we cook is very different. I notice alot of people feed their kids a hotdog, and peas and carrots, or a pb&j sandwich, or some cereal. Sometimes chicken lightly seasoned or marinaded in italian dressing. I do know people personally around my age who love to cook and it shows, since they are performing more upscale dishes than the typical person. If I ever get to have kids, my kids are gonna hate eating over their friends houses cuz I'm so accustomed to this type of cooking (thanks Top Chef!) and the fact that culinary arts has become one of my hobbies and I enjoy creating new dishes. They are probaly not gonna wanna eat anything at their friends houses. So be it though. You only live once. The way things are going economic wise, terrorist wise, and astronomically wise, who knows how much longer we'll have left. Just live like each day is your last! Get some change into your diet.
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