A Topic I REALLY Love to Yap About

To my family and friends, I'm considered a pretty good cook.  It is one of my favorite things to do, and I believe that energy and enthusiasm ends up rubbing off on the quality and enjoyment of the food.  We've had failures (just ask Kathleen about "Catfish Nugget" night), but on the whole, our family eats yummy, almost exclusively home-cooked food.  We also love hosting holidays, as that allows us to cook many more things, and has been a real testing ground for being a complete cook.

Anyhow, I thought people would be interested in some items and tidbits that I use in our home kitchen that you may not already have tried, or are using regularly.

It's all about flavor, and no prepackaged marinade delivers more than the Goya Mojo.  This VERY reasonably priced Mojo marinade (orange juice, lemon juice, spices and salt) provides plenty of flavor to spice up vegetables or chicken.  My favorite is to take boneless chicken thighs and marinade in the Mojo for about an hour - then grill.  As Guy Fieri says, "That's a ticket to Flavor Town". Yes, you can make this stuff yourself pretty easily, but its price is so appealing, that I'll defer to the convenience angle. 

I am a firm believer in "mouth feel" of food, or the "umami" notion of flavor.  There is something that makes food simply pop, and give a richness that creates food dishes that transcend into memories.  Minor's Bases provide that now non-secret way to inject over the top richness and deep flavor into your cooking.  Add a teaspoon of Chicken Base to your pot of rice, and see the difference it can make.  Rub a pork roast with Pork or Bacon Base, and end up with a rich crust and tons of flavor.  When you are making sauces or gravies, use their Bases (especially the Demi Glace) to create something people will want to eat like soup.  Simply essential products, and my fridge is full of them.  Best purveyor I've found is www.soupbase.com.

When it comes to vinegars, I can think of few market segments than have so many more easily available varieties today than when I was a kid.  Plus, with vinegar packing such a flavor wallop, all these varieties can be utilized in so many different ways.  One issue, though, is that your apple cider, clear and balsamic varieties can be overly strong.  We've come to crave the mild, and somewhat sweet, nuance of Japanese seasoned Rice Vinegar - in particular the Marukan label.  Try a cucumber salad dressed with seasoned salt, a good olive oil and some Marukan Rice Vinegar.  So simple, so good.

Anyway, just wanted to share some reasonably priced little secrets that I've come to use and enjoy.  If you give them a try, let me know what you think!