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Huh? Why is such a simple thing so difficult? It isn’t. However when it comes to making simple syrup, some people make it two parts sugar to one part water, others make it equal parts of sugar and water.

Why? No idea. Is there rhyme or reason? Yes and no. There’s one pattern I’ve noticed. Almost everything to do with a cocktail is almost always one-to-one. When it comes to using simple syrup in cooking, it’s often one-to-one, but it’s frequently two-to-one as well.

Why such a difference? Simply personal preference. Why does one person put more ketchup on their cheeseburger or add more salt to a seasoned meal, etc. Same here. Cooks do what they feel right doing. And that should apply to you as well.

Alright then, why does this “thing” exist? Pretty much consider it the liquid version of confectioner’s sugar (aka powered sugar.) There are times in baking you don’t want a mouthful of table sugar, or a bite of granules in your lemon meranque pie, do you? Of course not.

So would you want them in either you bar drink or even in something else that’s cooked? Pretty much you don’t. So then, how to get the sweetness required without the gritty granules? Yep, you got it. Boil the sugar in water, let it cool. Whammo, simple syrup to the rescue.

By the way, remember my article entitled Get Yourself on the Bottle? This is an excellent one to put into a squeeze bottle. Especially if you are using it to make specialty drinks at your next party, or you’re into full desert mode and preparing a few different sweet recipes.

So what do you do if the recipe doesn’t say which of the two ratios to use? (And one of the main points of this article) Then, I’d say do the 1:1 … Why? Obviously, two parts sugar is going to be sweeter than one part. You can always sweeten something up, but you can’t usually de-sweeten it. (True you could possibly cover it, or not, with something. Depends on what you’re making. Obviously a too sweet mousse just isn’t going to work by adding overpowering jalapenos to it, now is it? Unless you’re an Iron Chef I wouldn’t try it.) So, read the instructions, do what that particular recipe says, and if you’re in doubt try 1 to 1 ratio first.

A final item: what’s this called? Simple syrup. It’s the simplest form, it’s the basis. And so … Add some grated ginger and it’s now a ginger syrup. Put in some lemon zest and it’s now a lemon syrup. … It’s a foundation that you can use as is, or which you can add something to it and build upon. As my grandmother used to say, you can “really go to town” with this.

What do I always say? Buy new spices, different herbs, try things out!! You don’t have to do it all at once. A little at a time and build up your cooking aresenal. Now, all that is true. I’m not backing off of any of it; not in the slightest.

However — yes, the “big but” — you know sometimes you go through pages of a cookbook or you watch a cooking show and you just want to scream out: “Hey, buddy! We don’t all have every ingredient in the world like you do!!” That’s right, not every pantry or spice cabinet can have everything.

What happens is usually the dish in question is so exotic that it either requires it’s own special trip to the store for those oddly exotic ingredients — or you decide to forget it, that it’s not worth the trouble. Ah, but what about the myriad recipes in between? The one’s that call for something you probably should have but don’t. That you ran out of it. Or you never did have. Sometimes you start making the dish only too late into it and realize you’re missing something and there’s no time to run out to the market. Now what?

Where you can: substitute ingredients. The only other option is to leave it out. That second way can cause a major culinary disaster, depending on just how critical the missing element is. The first way can save the dish from ruin. Sure, it might be slightly altered, but the keyword there is “slightly”. Now, If you’re a stickler for maintaining the intact originalty of a recipe, stop reading this article. For the rest of you, please continue.

The idea of this article is to give you things that are good substitutions, close to the original as possible. Mind you, if a chef goes out of his or her way and says specifically “don’t substitute” then you really should listen to them, it means they’ve tried alternates themselves and it failed. (One comes to mind where a television cook said if you’re out of dijon, substituting yellow mustard made for a rotten dish.) Most of the time they don’t say it and you can do it. It won’t work in every instance now; you have been warned. But the following will work in most cases and just might “save the day”.

One more thing. Some of these substitutions below I put in because of cost. Why spend four to ten times as much money for something that isn’t so necessary? Save your money, and use a replacement that is a lot cheaper and is still very much “close enough”.

Vinegars

Even a well-kept pantry of spices with a lot of diversity never has everything. I think I have a pretty nice collection now, personally with two shelves full of baking supplies and three more for spices and such. I happen to have a bottle each of red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar and bulsomic. That’s it.

It sometimes annoys me when I see the cook on television or the recipe ask for something else … rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar and the list goes on and on. I mean even for me who likes to collect a wide variety of things, I have to ask excactly how many vinegars do I need to have? Apparently three dozen based on all the stuff I run across asking for this or that. I ran out a year ago and purchased bulsomic vinegar because so many recipes need it. I’ve used it once. Mind you, it’s a good one, but apparently one that so far I could have lived with out. Imagine that times ten though. You could put out hundreds of dollars in vinegars and not use them. What to do then? Well, you can fudge it.

Don’t have cider vinegar? Replace with a combination of white vinegar, apple juice and a teaspoon or tablespoon of whisky. (Apple juice and a bit of whiskey tastes nearly the same as apple cider). Don’t have rice vinegar, maybe you have sake or dry sherry instead (and of course some white vinger) Will these taste the same? No. Will they be close enough? Nine out of 10 times, they’ll work just fine.

Buttermilk

I can’t stand the taste. For drinking that is. Therefore I never think to buy any at the store. But biscuit and fried chicken afficiandos swear by this as a must for their recipes. To get a buttermilk substitute that works well enough: 1 cup whole milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, let sit for 10 minutes, mix and use.

Semisweet Chocolate

1 cup of semisweet chocolate – 14 tbsps unsweetened chocolate (essientially 2 tbsps shy of a full cup) plus 2 tbsps sugar. To put it another way, 16 tablespoons equals a cup, so go 2 tablespons less than that cup and add sugar to get it back up to that one cup amount.

Greek Yogurt

Bascialy identifcal to normal yogurt but more dense, less water. Answer: drain your “usual” yogurt (using cheese cloth, clean towel, strainer, etc) of excess water and liquids for 15-30 minutes then use.

Shallots

The darling of professional chefs everywhere … phooey! I have no problems with shallots, which are in many ways a cross between an onion and garlic … It’s the prices! A five pound bag of red onions where I live is currently two bucks, while a single pound of shallots is $4. Do the math and the difference is shallots are ten times more expensive. And here is the deal, shallots look like and carmalize in the pan like onions, have a texture like onions yet have a taste that is more like mild garlic.

Answer: use red onions with a dash of garlic (or garlic powder). Way cheaper and in the end a very close match to what the chef was trying to achieve.

Herb Variants

Yeah we know Oregano, but what about Mexican Oregano? You use Basil but what about Thai Basil? If you know what the difference in taste is like. “Cheat” your way there.

Mexican Organo – is like the Italian oregano we’re used to, but with a slight mint quality. This one’s obvioius, use regular oregano. However, just as obvious but easily to overlook, add a dash of mint to it.

Thai Basil – varies from regular basil (which is actually known as sweet basil) in that it has a hint of licorice taste to it … depending upon the nature of your recipe (salad, soup, cake, stew, etc.), maybe a pinch of star anise, or a drop or two of licorace extract, or a tablespoon of Sambucca along with your regular basil will bring that recipe up to snuff.

Use this idea with other regional versions of herbs. Not sure what they taste like. Use the search engines and you’ll probably come across a description quickly enough, then go on from there.

And for one last a substituion — and one giant gripe …

Grand Marnier

Gimme a break! This is another one that is as bad as the shallots, but even more wildly expensive! Do chefs put filet mignon into a stew? Hell, no. How about substituting lobster tail meat for crab claw meat? Never. Yet they do this with the liquor Grand Marnier all of the time! Use Triple Sec. Both are orange liquors. Guess what though? 500 ml Grand Marnier at the liquor store I went to just yesterday was $33. Triple Sec for three times the amount of liquid volume cost a mere nine bucks! Do the math, about 10 bucks for one, and the same volume of the other would cost a hundred. So tell me this isn’t the most ridiculous thing you’ve heard of yet?!

I mean at least with shallots there’s a slight degree of understanding why chefs like them: it looks like this, acts like that, and tastes like the other. In this case, there is zero excuse. So why do chefs do this then? I honestly don’t know, but my guess is it has to be in the name. That’s correct: marketing hype. It sounds oh so more sophisticated to say, “a Grand Marnier infused whatever” than “stick some Triple Sec in it”. If there wasn’t such a gigantic cost factor difference, I’d let it slide. Since there is one, I’m calling them on it. And saying to you, don’t fall for it.

Make this easy substitution and save yourself a ton of money, and trust me, no one will know the difference. I bet not even those same cooks that tell you to use the other in the first place can tell the difference. And yes, definitely, if I ever had a chance to test it out, I’d love to do that. We could call the show “Chefs Get Punk’d”.

Taken straight from Wikipedia: “Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of onions, carrots and celery [...] is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. [...] Traditionally, the ratio for mirepoix is 2:1:1 of onions, celery, and carrots.”

So today’s magic number, ladies and gentlemen, is 2-1-1. Though I find that can be confusing (believe it or not, at times). So maybe a better way is thinking 1 and half and half … one part onions, and the combination of half carrots and half celery. So 2-1-1 or 1-.5-.5, whichever works for you. How to remember which item gets the “2″? Think of “OCC”, of onions, carrots, celery, in that order.

You pronounce that “mira-pwah” by the way. And hey, if that sounds to gourmet or snobbish or whatever for you … just think of it as the base, as the starting point for your sauce and stocks. You use these by putting oil or butter in your pot or pan, then adding these chopped, and “sweating them”, which means a low flame to get the flavors out. If anything is browning, your heat is too hot. After about five minutes, start adding the rest of the ingredients to your sauce, soup or stew and you have a great beginning.

Now that we’ve said the rule, in cooking — even more so, apparently, than in life itself — rules are made to be broken. Often the French (who themselves came up with this) will substitute leeks for the onions. And for many, trilogy or not, it’s not the same thing unless immediately with it are cooked bits of ham or bacon.

And of course, if you have to have a basis of three of something, then some one, some where else is going to have their own version. Natch.

If you’ve ever watched Emeril, then you already know there is a Cajun and Creole variant on this know as The Trinity: It’s onions, green peppers and celery in the same proportion as the mirepoix. Except … hold your breath warning numbero uno: It’s not always in the same proportions. According to a cooking page on a Louisianna tourism website (they should know, no?) it’s 3 parts onion, 3 parts celery and 1 part bell pepper. On yet another website devoted to Lousianna cooking the chef there says in five generations of her family cooking in the bayou, it’s actually one part equal of each.

Confused? Don’t be. I’ve said it before, in cooking rules aren’t rules; they’re guidelines. And they’re broken every other minute. The big question then: Why know them then? Because there needs to be a basis. A rule book, even if it’s thrown out after having been read, it was read once and everyone has read it.

Deep breath warning number two. And just to demonstrte that absolutely nothing seems to ever add up: Also down in Cajun land comes “The Holy Trinity” — that’s when you add garlic to the Cajun Trinity above.

How is it in any way a trinity then? Come on, folks. Y’all believe in miracles dontcha? Hallelulah for garlic!!

Elsewhere in the world, some folks, chef Martin Yan included, have said that in Chinese cooking there is a “trinity” or triad basis of it’s own, namely: ginger, garlic and scallions. Not sure of the proportions. Other regional cuisines no doubt have their own versions. The idea though is simple and similiar no matter what variations nor even the proportions: These are the “aromatic” basics one starts out with to make great cooking.

Before we even begin, it seems that old Churchill adage comes up again: “two countries divided by a common language”. Seems the term barbecuing means different things in different places.

So you know what this particular article is about, we’re talking the US version, namely, according to Wikipedia: “In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat whilst barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke. For example, in a typical US home ‘grill’, food is cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal; while in a US ‘barbecue’, the coals are dispersed to the sides or at significant distance from the grate.”

Since you’re no doubt curious, now what it means in the UK: “In British English usage, barbecuing refers to a fast cooking process directly over high heat, whilst grilling refers to cooking under a source of direct, high heat – known in the US and Canada as broiling.” Below is a chart I made up to simplify matters. Btw, I had thought the UK did not have any “real BBQ” until a friend told me some folks do there, and that they call it “California” barbecue.

Fine, with that now out of the way, this here initially started out as a short “pre-article” or “back story” to one of my recipes, in fact to the first BBQ recipe on my site. But as I wrote and then continued writing, I realized this would much better serve as a general BBQ and smoking primer that all the following and future BBQ recipes could also be sent.

This is your introduction into the world of BBQing. That is not grilling. That is not tossing BBQ sauce slathered on a chicken breast for 10 minutes and saying done. We’re talking big time, real thing, testosterone-infested, thick, quality slabs of meat, men-from-the-boys (and ladies-from-the-girls), slow-cooking, indirect-cooking and smokin’, my friends. Even if you know BBQing, I’m sure there might be something here for you to think about.

Is Mine Big Enough?

Is an “average grill” big enough for smoking? Good question, tough answer. If an average grill is a medium round one, maybe. How shallow or deep is it? Yours doesn’t have to be a big long rectangle or “barrel” one. A significantly deep and/or large round one can be enough. This is how you know for sure:

For BBQing and smoking, you need enough room in your grill to have the food take up space with no coals beneath, plus (the rest of the remaining room) there to be enough space to fill with coals and get the amount of heat required. You see, this is going to be indirect-heating. So a large rectangular or barrel grill no problem. A large round Weber type one, again no problem. A medium or small grill, there might be a problem. The food will be on the top level or cooking grate (or grill) with a drip pan beneath it and no coals. Next to it, the top cooking grate will be empty, and beneath it on the charcoal grate will be enough charcoal to heat the entire grill up to the temperatures required.

Note I’m not mentioning a gas grill. I know the folks in Arlen, Texas and Hank Hill especially will consider this blasphemy, but I don’t do propane (and propane accessories). If you do, fine. As propane gas grills only tend to come in “large butt” size and since you don’t use charcoal, smoking and indirect-heating won’t be a problem for you.

Also some gas grills come with a separate smoker chamber. So do the larger charcoal ones, either as a part of it or as an additional attachment.

Understanding “Cooking Time”

In one of my recipes I say: “2.5 hours of cooking time should do it.” Stop right there. Read that again. Those words seem deceptively simple. They are – that is they are not simple, they are deceptive. A precise understanding of those words “cooking time” is essential. And so we go to football. The American one.

How many minutes in a football game’s quarter? 15 minutes. And four quarters to the game. How long does a football game actually run? Riiiight … 3 to 3.5 hours. Now you know where I am going with this concept of “cooking time”; it’s a lot like the amount of “playing time” on the field clock where the game itself takes longer.

Do not start counting until you have two things: a temperature of at the very least 180*F, and it should then climb up to between 220 and 240. And, also don’t count until you first see the smoke is so thick inside the covered grill that you see it wisping out of the crevices. It is when you have these two items at the same time that you can start counting.

This part is trickier. As you should only see wisps of smoke at the start of cooking and in the middle of that particular packet of chips, lack of smoke does not necessarily mean stop counting. But sometimes it does. If your temperature drops below 180, you do stop counting for positive though. Remember every time you open up the lid of your BBQ you will be letting out smoke and for every two minutes, lose about 50 degrees temperature. This is why, you may put the lid back down, and see the heat at 150, starting to rise back to the 220-240 area. And when that happens you don’t start counting again until you see it passing the 180 mark.

Changing It Up

As mentioned you’re going to need to “change things up” now and again. As this is a long cook, be prepared to add additional hot coals probably twice, and a new packet of chips at least once. This means you need a mechanism, such as a purchased or home-made chimney starter. When you do, that, open the BBQ lid quickly, get it done as fast as you can. Why? As said before, you will lose some smoke, but definitely heat as well. For a more accurate time-keeping, you probably should suspend your counting for about 5-10 minutes, until the heat inside (and smoke) gets back up to where it was.

Baste your sauce after the two hours of cooking time (not real time) is up, about every 10 or 15 minutes (that’s in real time) towards the end of the cooking, and up to you if you want one more right as you’re taking them off the grill). By now you’re wonder what the real time will be. Depends on a lot of factors but about the same as a football game, about three hours. More if you drop the ball and let the temperature get too low, don’t change the smoke packet at the right time, or (don’t do this) keep opening the lid too much. In which case, it will be closer to three and a half hours.

Smoke Packets and Chimneys

Touching on smoke packets. I like Rob Rainford’s method the best. Aluminum foil. Then two parts wet chips that have been soaking for 30-60 minutes and one part dry chips. Wrap them into the foil as a rectangular pouch. Poke holes all through them with your fork. Make sure the dry side goes atop the coals. I start out with two of those. Later, during the cook, I replace them. Sometimes both, sometimes one.

As for the chimney smoker, it’s definitely worth purchasing one if you intend to do real BBQ. At the start and middle of the season (summer) they can be as much as thirty bucks. Get one off-season as I did and you get it for seven, that’’s right, seven bucks. Now, maybe you don’t want to buy one first off, or maybe you’ve misplaced yours over the winter, ok maybe you just like handmade … well you can make one for yourself if you really want to or need to do so. Take a aluminum coffee can, the large one, and with a can opener to the part of the opener one uses to make pouring holes, make triangles across the top and bottom. With a screwdriver or something poke some small holes in the middle. Place on a rock, something that won’t burn nor singe. Put in crumbled newspaper and then coals and try to light from the top and bottom (now you understand the air holes.)

Some folks say don’t use charcoal lighter fluid, you’ll taste it. Myself I’ve never tasted it, and the coals don’t usually start for me without some. So if you can forgo the fluid or light on it, cool. If you need to use it, use it.

You Need Thermometers

I hate it when I watch a cooking show and the chef or cook has some sophisticated piece of equipment I don’t and bases everything on that. I do understand though, when you get into cooking you really get into cooking and that’s why they have the cool toys you don’t. With me, I have one great “luxury” and that’s my giant charcoal grill and BBQ. And one of the best things on it is the thermometer that’s embedded on the outside and tells me the internal temperature. I just can do so many things with that, I love it.

Now, you DO need a thermometer. Of some kind. You really should have one for the temperature inside of your grill. Smaller units don’t have these. In which case, get yourself a candy or deep fry oil thermometer and use that to the best of your ability. You most definitely need an internal (inside the meat, not the oven or grill) thermometer. That is a must. And knowing the internal temp of the grill is needed too. I know, I do hate to insist on equipment, but really it’s so difficult to do a job without the right tools, and in this case BBQing ribs is a job, a project, and something that let’s you check the internal kettle temperature and meat temperature really are required.

However, there are two ways if you really don’t have a therm, or you just stubbornly refuse to get one. There is of course, looks. Which can be deceiving, but with enough practice, looks and often touch can tell you doneness. However here’s the big, cool tip: When you pick the rack them up at the middle with tongs, and the ribs give a bowing that’s past a U shape and more of C shape (in other words, past a simple 180 degrees (of inclination not temperature), the ends start going in somewhat towards touching each other, that’s when you know you are either done, or you getting towards done.

These two methods said, however, if you get food poisoning, it’s not on me. Sorry to end with a bummer moment, but as said, you come to job, you bring the right tools. Period.

In the second part of this article, we’ll talk about rubs, mops and sauces, different types of wood chips, cooking and cleanup utensils and some fun accessories.

Big Green Egg 1 1/2 lb. Jack Daniels Barrel Wood Chips Bag – 00020 (By:-Big Green Egg, BigGreen Egg) 1 1/2 lb Jack Daniels Barrel Wood Chips Bag

There’s a lot of unusual or “foreign” terms or items we keep hearing all the time, in cookbooks, on cooking shows, on restaurant menus …

Now before everyone and their half-brother writes me. Depending upon a lot of things — your ethnic family upbringing, how often you eat out, where you’ve traveled, your cooking experience and a hundred other items — you may have heard of many of these or none of these, you might be very familiar with these or not at all. In short, your particular mileage may vary.

So, if you get to the end of this article and you’ve learned something, excellent! That was the idea all along. If you actually knew the exact meaning of all of these listed, bravisimo! You’re either a world-class foodie, spent some serious time in either the CIA (no, not that one) or the FCI, and/or your name ends in “Puck” or “Batali”.

Anyway, feedback wanted on this one for sure. If you found it helpful, I’ll do more of these “down the road”.

So here’s ten terms or food items that you keep reading and hearing about and have always wanted to know just what they are.

crostini – It even sounds like the word “crust” doesn’t it? It’s close to what it sounds like in this case: toasted bread. Small thin toasted bread, usually in the oven, often brushed with olive oil. … And this should not be confused with ….

bruschetta – In which bread is toasted, raw garlic is rubbed into it, then olive oil is drizzled on top. Now for some folks that is the complete definition, and it stops there. For myself and others it is not complete until the above is topped with a chopped tomato, garlic, basil and olive oil salsa. Mmm. (Toss a slice of very fresh mozzarella on top for the ultimate.) Until it’s got the topping, to me it’s not a true bruschetta. This is one of the best appetizer’s in the world as far as I’m concerned.

aioli – Basically a strong garlic mayo; so if you read on a menu something like “crabcake sandwich with a mango aioli” then think: Ah, that’s a mango garlic mayo sauce

granita – A frozen (or semi-frozen) desert made by freezing a fruit mixture (could be all fruit juice, or could have simple syrup added, might have alcohol added, might be primarily alochol or none) Often one goes into freezer repeatedly during the hardening process and scrapes with fork to pull out the ice. Essentially, this is a homemade water ice. So if you were to hear “watermelon granita cocktail”, then that would tell you it’s a watermelon ice, and cocktail would suggest it probably has liquor in it. So it sounds to me as that would be an after-dinner desert-like cocktail.

risotto – Not your father’s rice dish. This is definitely not Rice-a-roni; this isn’t even Carolina’s. One of three special rice varieties are used, the most frequent being Aborio. The others are Carnaroli and Vialone Nano. The rice is known for it’s location of origin in Northern Italy, specifically associated with Milan. This is a special rice in which water and other liquids and solids must be added to in stages. There is an actual “system” to this consisting of four of five distinct stages, and includes stirring for 20-something minutes. For these reasons this dish is usually something served at top restaurants and rarely made at home.

carpaccio – Basically it means very thin cuts. It is usually, but not exclusively, associated with beef, veal and tuna, and usually the protein is raw or seared, but it doesn’t have to be. That said, it can apply to anything else. A carpaccio of pineapple simply means very thin slices of fresh pineapple, for instance.

tapenade – The word almost sounds like “topping”, doesn’t it? It is a thick paste made from capers, anchovies, ripe olives, olive oil, lemon juice, seasonings. From the Provence region of France. Often used as a condiment, sometimes as a sauce added a top fish or meat. I’ve also seen it used as a dipping sauce for pita triangles.

And finally, the “Three Italian P’s” we all keep hearing over and over and over again:

polenta – Made from cornmeal, it’s a Northern Italian favorite that can be used as a side, mix other ingredients in, even cut into squares and fried. Sometimes it’s used almost like a rice or pasta in that it’s put on the plate and then the main meal poured over it. Sometimes it appears a biscuit or muffin. Sometimes it’s a component in a stew.

pancetta – In it’s simplest form, Italian bacon, it’s cured with salt and spices but is not smoked. American bacon (known in Britain as “streaky bacon”) has more fat and is almost always smoked and cured and comes from the pork underside. Canadian bacon (known in Britian as simply bacon) is very much more ham-like than American bacon as it comes from the pork loin. Irish bacon is somewhere between the two, much leaner than American, but more like American bacon than ham as it comes from the back.

prosciutto – In it’s simplest form, Italian ham; it’s cured with salt and spices and is air-dried,but is not smoked; the term parma ham refers to that which is the most “true” or arguably the best of the prosciutto. More terms: “prosciutto cotto”, is cooked whereas “prosciutto crudo” is raw (but as it’s cured it’s able to be eaten without having it cooked first.) The latter often has the name of the city or region from where it was made, as in “prosciutto di Parma” comes from that city.

Question one: What are three most indispensible inventions of the twentieth century? On my personal list are the microwave, the air conditioner and the television. The third of which I pretend I could live without; the first two which I know I could not live without.

Another question: What major kitchen applicance is the least seen on a cooking show? Yep, the lowly microwave. Sure, the oven gets all the attentiion. Every thing comes out of the refrigerator. They have tons of “fancy” gadgets like friers, ice cream machines and even rice cookers which get more spotlight. But the all-purpose microwave? Hardly a glance.

So, I have news for you, the microwave is a cooking tool. It is not merely a defroster. Not merely the quintessential “heater-upper” of all things leftover. The microwave is my number one steamer. And it’s also the best melter around too!

Want to drastically increase the quality of your everyday eating in a single jump? Want something that will change your world forever? I kid you not. Want better tasting food almost instantly? And not only will it taste better but it will be packed full of more nutrients? Sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. And once you go here, you will never — I repeat, never — go back.

The Perfect Steamer

Start steaming your fresh and frozen veggies. Today. Now. And use the microwave to do so.

That’s right, no special giant pot in pot thingy, no need to buy that little device that swings out into a circle like some James Bond villian weapon, no need for ten stacks of bamboo steamers. (Mind you, all of these are good, just not necessary.)

Fresh produce: Cut your veggies into the size and shape you like and add three-to-six tablespoons of water. If doing frozen veggies: (nothing wrong with that), take out your portion from the bag. Now place in a microwave bowl or container with plastic wrap on top (note, no punching of holes). When steaming frozen veggies, the thin ice around them is usually enough that no water is usually required.

I always do two portions (for two people) and do it on high power for 2 1/2 minutes. (Carrots and lima beans sometimes take 3 or even 3 1/2 minutes, depending) You’re not done yet. You’re at about the three-quarters mark. Here is where you take out the dish, get an idea of the texture of your veggie, and (most important) where you add your seasoning. Then, add a tablespoon of water, mix well, put back in for about 90 more seconds and presto. Freshly steamed and deliciously seasoned vegetables.

The Perfect Melter

That’s right. You don’t actually need a double boiler device. You can, but again you don’t need to melt chocolate in a bowl a top a boiling vat of water. Use your microwave!

Cheese? Oh yeah. For my steak quesadilla recipe it’s a must.

Make a cheese sauce and drizzle it over your frozen bag of french fries you just did in the oven. Pour some melted Mexican cheese a top that bag of nachos; toss half of a jar of salsa on one side, a third a container of sour cream on the other, and the guys watching the football game will be happy campers.

Just remember, use the lower power settings for melting. Also, warning: chocolate and cheeses have natural oils: they get hot fast, they burn nasty when hitting the skin, and use the appropriate microwavable bowls or dishes.

Actual Cooking, Too?

Yes, oh yes. Not only can the unsung microwave help in food preparation by melting or even prepare the food by steaming, it can actually, literally cook.

Want a quick baked potato? Well it won’t be crispy on the outside as a real baked in the oven potato, but the inside wil be the same. Likewise, it’s also similiar to a boiled potato, and so you can eat it in the shell like a baked, or spoon it out to make mashed. One thing though, be sure to poke some deep holes in the potato, as it has mositure, and without the holes it might burst on you, making a nasty clean up. Poke those holes and you will not have a problem. A medium Idaho should take 8-10 minutes.

And finally, I caught an episode a few months back of “America’s Test Kitchen” and to the hosts shock (and apparently the surprise of the testers themselves) they were trying to cook some vegetable, and they found the best way to cook it, yes, the microwave. Can’t recall what it was, now. Possibly an acorn squash, possibly something else.

But hey it just goes to prove the versatility and usefulness of the microwave oven as a true tool for cooking and preparing meals.

… Well, just because you did, that does not mean you should.

Hey, we all love our television cooks. We really do. I’m addicted for sure watching the various cooking shows out there. There’s never been so much info out there. So many different personalities, cooking styles, cooking shows. It’s definitely a golden age. (Who ever thought there would be a summer cooking movie? And yet there are two out!)

But there is a problem or two. First, we tend to forget they’re human and can make mistakes too — though they rarely ever show it. So we think everything they’re doing is perfect. Especially since they can edit and cut and mix and toss away mistakes and reshoot. Children of television as we are, we are all well aware of the production process, however just as we make the mistake of thinking the cooks are perfect (and not regular people), we also figure since the show got all the way onto the air that it’s perfect and caught everything too.

The second problem is our favorite television personalities are rarely cooking at home. They are on a set. They are in a television production envronment. They have big budgets and tons of supplies. Even the one’s who cook at home, still have a garage or trailer full of dishes, utensils, serving bowls and replacement pots and pans that number in the hundreds. That cannot be said about you and I here in the real world.

So, here’s two big things to be very careful of when trying to learn or emulate your TV cook gurus, the one will mess up your stuff, the second is a biggie, it could mess you up, and seriously. Note: Last thing I want to do is pick on someone, or cause a conflict. But when it comes not only to silly mistakes, but things that could really hurt someone by mistake, I have no chioce to take issue and make folks more aware.

Night of at Thousand Pans: I don’t know how often I’ve seen a television cook grinding the meat bits up at the bottom of a non-stick coated pan with a spoon, or a sharp metal flipper, or metal tongs … Trust me .. don’t do it, just because they did! If you do, you will be buying a new pot or pan very soon. That scratch will eventually expand, you’ll see gunk and possible rust underneath, and also your scratches and digs will multiply quickly and it’s trash can it and replace it time. Thing is, a place like the Food Network no doubt has a miniwarehouse with 200 of every kind and make of pot and pan back there, to replace the damaged one with. You and I don’t.

Blenders from Krypton: Here’s another biggie, one that might not merely cost you in terms of replacement, this could even cause damage to other things in your kitchen and quite possibly yourself. Seems in the olden days cooks (The Frugal Gourmet, Jacque Pepin, Julia Child and the rest) would either use a blender or a food processor. Today, cooks of all kinds are using blenders for items that should only ever go into a food processor. Why?

Technology. You and I have either a glass or plastic Kitchen blender or bar blender, you know the kind you make a smoothy or a milk shake with.. But in the last five or tens years technoogy has created Super Blenders (my name for them), that are workhorses with more powerful engines, are more like food processors, and have thick polycarbonate containers that can easily take high heat and internal whacking.

(No joke, while searching for photos on the Net to use for this article of old and “current” blenders, I came across one that said “after the company representative put golf balls in the blender, and later crushed beer cans in it …” I kid you not.)

So here we are watching a show and the cook starts to pour in nuts and clam shells (slight exaggeration for effect) into their blender and turn it on. Or they decide to use the blender to puree a hot soup. No problem — for them.

The major problem is, if we were to try that very same thing with our blenders … from heat or hard elements inside it, our blenders would either crack or warp on the light side, or the contents would completely smash through the glass or plastic, all over the place, including us.

The Great Disconnect

Are the cooks on the boob tube trying to kill off their audience? (In this case, us.) Hell no. They’re just not thinking. (And btw, I blame the show’s producers as much or more. Either way, there’s plenty of blame to go around. I’m just sadly waiting for the first lawsuit to be announced.)

The bad thing is they rarely even warn us anymore. When these professional blenders first came out, some (not all) of the TV host chefs would say this is powerful and maybe “those of you at home watching” should use your food processor. Unfortunately, it’s been years since I’ve heard anyone say it. Yet, they continue to use these super blenders, and we who wish to emulate them or simply try their recipes (that is what they are there for) are going to be in danger.

So, think, be careful. In this day and age of reality television, both the performers and the viewers can easily forget it’s still not the real real world. And that we can’t always do monkey see, monkey do. They are not always going to warn us or be a good example. And when that happens, we have to know the difference and use our own common sense.

I’ll no doubt add to this later — that is, I can easily see having a bunch of little articles on the topic of “cooking math” — but for now, there’s some simple little rules you should know about certain things. We’re talking quantities and proportions, or to put it another way: just how much of what goes with (or into) what.

Funny thing is, a lot of this stuff I’ve stumbled on over time … You can watch these cooking shows on TV and almost never be told the proportions. And hey, let’s face it. As much as one might want to, we just don’t always run back here on the web to find out the recipe of the show that was just on. That means you need a fall-back, a guideline, a rule of thumb.

Among those things that took me a long time to find out was making emulsions and vinaigrette dressings. You see this all the time on TV with the herbs and stuff put in the blender and the olive oil on top. They’ll often tell you everything else in exact amounts, but when it comes to pouring that oil it always seems they eye-ball it, turn off the blender and go “there, ain’t that good”. That was no help.

Anyways, the golden rule is roughly three parts oil to “the acid”. Ok, wait. Aren’t we talking about vinaigrettes? Yes. Then why did you just say “acid”. Don’t I mean “vinegar”? Well, it often is vinegar … but it could be one of three things, namely vinegar, citrus (lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice) or alcohol. Just remember the oil is the 3 parts, the vinegar or other is the 1 part.

Coincidentally just to prove that nothing in cooking — except for baking — is ever exact, and there’s always somebody who does something different … I saw a big-time cooking guy on televsion yesterday who said it was 1 part vinegar to 3 parts “of all of the rest of the ingredients” — not just the oil. Since he was putting mustard and honey in plus a lot of fresh herbs, that meant the oil part was indeed somewhere between 2 and 2.5 parts.

I’m adding this to my article here a few weeks after initial publication: Last night I saw an old episode of Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class with the episode featuring salads. At the end of the program he talks about the perfect vinaigrette (which contains mustard and honey) and he says 4-to-1-to-1 as in 4 parts oil to the one part vinegar and the one part mustard (though you’ll notice he left out the honey part). So that still ends up being very close to what the other guy had said, that’s still around 3 parts oil to “everything else” if you do the math. Yes, it’s presented differently; it seems to be a departure at first, but mathmatically comes out to about the same place as the rest.

So, making sauces, vinaigrettes, etc. Remember 3 (oil) to 1 is the ratio. Unless you want it otherwise. Adjust as you see fit.

I personally enjoy white wines over reds. Some say I must not have a cultured palette therefore. I tell them take a long walk off a short pier. I like what I like. You like what you like. Neither of us is wrong. It’s called a preference. Take your snobbery elsewhere and stuff a cork in it.

And then to really tweek the wine snobs — that’s not why I do it, again, it’s my preference — when I do have red wine, I like mine chilled. No doubt that statement is sending many a sommelier into a hissy fit on the light side, and for others a full-fledged turrets syndrome attack. C’est la vie.

That Room Temperature Statement

This is my personal gripe: “Red wines should be at room temperature.” Because this has been apparently handed down for hundreds of years, the wine snoots take it as “the credo”. Thing is, they may not be so much wrong. It’s just the snoots seem incapable of grasping a common sense truth: that when someone 400 years ago uttered that, they did so without the having envisioned central heating.

My point: Whose room temperature? What room temperature?

Seems everyone has heard of the red wine at room temperature statement, but it’s exact origins and timeline can’t be pinned down. For me, I’ve always thought this notion came from Europe and somewhere around or after the Renaissance. I’m not sure if this is true, but thinking of the height of wine making in Western culture, one things of kings, castles, friars and abbeys. It seems logical.

As for the present, I’d say the average modern household, at least in America is probably 68-72°F. In a restaurant, it often tends to be a bit warmer than I would like, usually 76-78°F. Not sure why, though I can guess everything from trying to pack in patrons, poor ventilation and heat just escaping from busy kitchens is as good an answer as any. All I know is restaurateurs tend to take the “room temperature rule” literally and without compensating for history. For one last time, let me shout it from the rooftops — and the wine cellars — no one ever meant for red wines to be served at 75-plus degrees!

Interestingly enough when I started this article and I began searching around the web to add some hard facts to bolster my case, I came across a lot of opinions, and a few interesting facts. To my delight it seems where my strong feelings on this matter were once rebellious and contained among a very small piece of society; today there’s a whole lot more people similar feelings on the subject.

From 2basnob.com: “Most people know to drink red wine at room temperature, but that is not really true. Unless of course, you keep the temperature in your house similar to that of an old English castle. Most reds taste best between 62°F to 65°F (16°C to 18°C).” Regarding drinking temperature, I think this guy is pretty close.

From CellarNotes: “Cellar temperature is usually about 55 degrees which is perfect for storing wine”. In terms of cellar temperature, this is the one most often given. Yet (as you will see in a minute with the “lager proof”) it’s still a higher temperature than a medieval cellar.

What’s the problem you ask? How to get a more accurate reading of what the temperature of a medieval castle’s cellar or a castle’s “great hall” where the wine and food was served. And where and when? Fall in a castle in London? Winter in a monastery in Vienna? Spring in a cloister in Budapest? And shall we choose 1812 or 1492 or when exactly? Too many variables. Some generalities (as above) could be made, but still, nothing scientific or more specific.

As to dating, I came across this in my searches this from a Barnes and Noble bookeditor: “That well-worn phrase was developed over 300 years ago in England when people gathered around the fireplace for warmth, but the rest of the room was cool.” So, pre-1700 in other words. I have no problems agreeing with that. The time a bit more pegged down; that major issue of temperature remained.

Lager Brewing Pinpoints Temperature

Yes, it was beer of all things that for me, gave me conclusive evidence. Specifically, the secret of red wine “room” temperature comes from the history of lager. What does making beer have to do with making wine? They were kept in the same places. It was on one of those Discover Channel type channels and a program on the History of Beer I saw a few years back, that I finally got my scientific answer. And that is that lager only ferments at a specific temperature range.

From Wikipedia: “Lager is the English name for bottom-fermenting beers of Central European origin. They are the most commonly consumed beers in the world. The name comes from the German lagern (”to store”). Lagers originated from being fermented in the cellars of Eastern European castles and monasteries which became quite cold. Lager yeast is a bottom-fermenting yeast (e.g., Saccharomyces pastorianus), and typically undergoes primary fermentation at 7-12°C (45–55°F) (the “fermentation phase”), and then is given a long secondary fermentation at 0–4°C (32–40°F) (the “lagering phase”). During the secondary stage, the lager clears and mellows. The cooler conditions also inhibit the natural production of esters and other byproducts, resulting in a “crisper” tasting beer.”

Aha! No guesses of room temperature or cellar temperature. A specific chemical reaction that is only achieved as a certain temperature range. Definite proof if not to the temperature of “the castle’s great hall”, then for certain on the cellars. 45-55°F was the temperature of the cellars in Europe. The same ones where they kept their wine — including red wine.

Let’s Bring This Up to Date

A modern refrigerator tends to be between 35-38°F. And the range of a living room to a restaurant’s “room temperature” is 70-76°F. Of these two places and temperatures, which is closest to the room temperature of a European wine cellar of 400 years ago? The fridge!

Now going around the Net, those who believe in the colder red wine say having it permanently in the fridge is too cold for a variety reasons. That too cold is nearly as bad as too warm. So the conventional wisdom is place your bottle of red wine in the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving.

To be candid, I’ve been keeping my reds in the refridgerator with my whites for days or a week on end. They say that’s too much. I’ll keep an open mind for one reason. I’ve never tried in “between”. My rallying against the too hot, was to go to fridge, which may have been an extreme a bit too much the other way. So, I’ll give it a try at the somewhere between temp before making an opinion. (And of course I will let you know the results).

Now, all of this having been said, something you need to know. It’s up to you. If you like red wine cold, do it. Heck, if you really do like red wine warm, go ahead and do that too. Anyhow the next time some snoot says “you are mistaken, this must be at room temperature” you can educate him on the science and history of distillation, fermentation and historic temperature variances.

Ok, so if the fridge takes care of the at-home thing … What to do at restaurants then? Get into a brawl? Submit to hot lousy wine?

That B&N editor I mentioned above suggests to simple tell the waiter to place the bottle in an ice bucket for 10-15 minutes and then come back and serve it. I then found very similar recommendations elsewhere — including from some restaurant critics. The revolt begins!

Who knows? At this rate, maybe restaurants will actually start to get a clue and start serving reds chilled without having to be lectured. Meanwhile, educate and get your way. Next time you want a chilled red and the waiter starts his nasally intonation about “room temperature” you tell him to stick it … in the ice bucket. And ignore the upturned noses and muffled throat-clearings when they do so. The customer is always right. And you and I are the customer. Cin cin!

Where does cooking inspiration come from? Well I can only say where it comes from for me. And it’s a variety of sources. Hmm, before I go on, I should explain. I’m not talking about following existing recipes, I’m talking about making my own up.

Often they are inspired from other recipes. I might be watching at television cooking show and say, hmm, that’s interesting. But you know, I’m not sure I really like that particular ingredient. I think if you switched that with this, it would taste much better. Come to think of it, I’m not too impressed with that second ingredient either. Not only would this other thing go better with theirs, in my opinion, but with the first switch, this would defnitely enhance that as well.

It often comes from several recipes. Hmm. Now this person did it this way. And that chef did it that way. And the third cook it the other way. I think they all had something, but not one of them got it on the money, I’m going to take the best part from each and fuse it into a totally new one of your own design.

Sometimes it comes from meals I’ve had before at a restaurant that I recall enjoying so much that I want to recreate them as closely as possible, or maybe some sort of variant on it.

Sometimes it’s looking at an item, at the store, on a television commercial, a website, my own frig and saying what can I do with this that’s not the same. Sometimes it’s the ingredients or the spice that makes me say, do I have anything in the house that I could do something with that?

On occasion one is motivated to do it because there’s a batch of lefovers and a desire to “do something else” then just reheat them. On other occasions, like bravery or an episode of “Dinner: Impossible” it’s thrust upon us. Such as when there’s unexpected company coming and you have 45 minutes to make some special from “nothing.”

Other times it doing something common and saying there must be a way to pick his up, take it to that next level. I recall when i was first dabling with cooking and I looked at tasty but same old tuna fish salad and thought, what if besides mayo I added some of this creamy italian dressing? Mmm-mmm. Simple but gave it a nice blast of taste. I wouldn’t want it all the time, but once in a great while, I do enjoy having it again.

Funny, creamy italian dressing also played a part in another of my very early, and successful, experiments. Cooking chicken breasts in the oven, and five minutes before they come out, I poured some creamy italian on it. Woohoo! Shocked the family. It’s another super simple way to perk up something from the norm and give it a totally different, better dimension. And again, once in a great while, I’ll remember it and do it to this day. It really is the epitome of simple and delicious at the same time. Give it a try yourself.

So, whether it’s adapting an existing idea, bettering it, taking two or three different versions fo the same recipe and making your own fusion, or looking at a cut of beef, or a bottle of vanilla extract or even a bottle of salad dressing — cooking inspiration comes from many places. Just let it flow. Shake off the old ideas of “it has to be this way” and ask yourself: “what can I do that I’ve never done before?”

And finally, don’t let the mistakes derail you. Yes, you may have messed up dinner. You may have screwed up five bucks worth of chicken or be sorry you wasted your last bunch of tomatoes on something unappealing. Learn from it. And grow. And try again!

What makes for great cooking? Two simple things: How it’s cooked and what’s in it. And when it comes to the latter, we need to look at the concepts of complimenting and contrasting.

Whether it’s making a single dish or the entire meal “go up another notch” lies in the complimenting and contrasting. Let’s bring this down further. Complimenting is comparatively easy, contrasting isn’t. And of the two, it’s the more important element. And that’s what we’ll be concentrating on.

My favorite definition for “contrasting” I’ve found is “to set in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences”. When it comes to cooking, then, make that: “to showcase or emphasize flavors”.

There’s no way not to for a moment go “zen” on you here. Because this is definitely one of those cases of what is called “yin and yang”. Out of curiosity I took a look at what Wikipedia had to say about “yin and yang” (which was a ton) but two defining phrases stood out among the rest: “complementary opposites rather than absolutes” and “combining to create a unity of opposites“. These are totally perfect definitions when applying this concept to the art of cooking.

In the ingredients of a single dish

Let’s start out by examining something that almost everybody is familiar with, a substance which contains a large amount of ingredients, with complex and contrasting tastes, high notes of robustness and low notes of subtly, and can vary greatly from one cook’s recipe to anothers: namely, barbeque sauce.

For me, I usually start with a ketchup base, then some worcestershire, then some dijon mustard (mild hotness, lots of tang), a bit of cayenne for true hotness, some honey to offset with sweetness, cumin for a more neutral base with a natural smoky component, ginger to add sweetness and tang and smidge of heat; soy sauce to both calm it down and introduce the element of saltiness … Getting the idea? It’s the balanced harmony of these contrasts.

Speaking of BBQ, another recipe pops into mind, last year put together basically a rub and mixed in a little oil making a thick dark strong paste and covered it all over these eight boneless chicken thigh pieces, let them marinate a little then placed them on the grill. Juicy on the inside, crust on the outside, quite seasoned and lots of “zing”.

I served them on potato rolls with mayo and tomato. Very very simple, but you see how everything else counter-balanced the heat of the main component of the chicken: the tangy and sweet freshness of the tomato, the wet coolness of the mayo and even the sweetness of the bun. Big thumbs up all around from my guests! (And hey, dark meat, very flavorful and yet price-wise we’re talking cheap eats, too!)

In the meal, between the various dishes

Here’s some simpler examples. Ever have buffalo chicken wings? Essentially these hot wings are almost always accompanied with a side of blue cheese dressing and some celery to provide a coolness factor. Another example is the basic vinagrette for salad. The two main ingredients are the oil and the acid; the former usually from olive oil, the second from either vinger, citrus (often lemon, lime, or orange juice) or alcohol. And then there are the rest of the ingredients (which could include salt, pepper, honey, dijon, basil) again adding some contrast. And speaking of salad, in a restaurant what often comes with one but bread or breadsticks. Why? To offer a more neutral component to balance out the salad. Salad is zesty; bread is crunchy, perhaps a little buttery. That’s why they often go so well together.

My mother got me to love apple sauce as much as she does. (Btw, we’re not talking bland super-pureed apple sauce, btw, we buy the big plastic jar that has “natural” and “chunky” on it. We also get the one that has some cinnamon added.) Often when I serve something hot like my spanish rice dish, apple sauce provides a welcome cool down on the side. Sometimes when I can’t think of something else to go with a zesty tomatoey pasta dish, again apple sauce provides a welcome change for the palette. Same reason garlic bread marries so well with pasta.

Even with the accompanying beverage

I bring this concept of contrasts not only to a single dish or meal on the plate but whenever possible to the accompanying beverage itself. If I’m having something hot and “basic” — chicken wings, hot nachos — I might go with something like a light beer.

If it’s spicy but a bit more complex such as say gumbo or a spicy rice concoction or a curry, I’ll again usually go “opposite” with a contrasting light, sweeter wine such as White Zinfindel or maybe a fruity Rheinhessen with it; if I’m in the mood for something non-alocholic then a glass of ginger ale or lemony iced tea goes well.

On the other hand if I’m having something more meaty and robust, let’s say a thick steak or pork chop, I tend to go more for something complimentary instead, such as a deep red Merlot or an amber lager such as Yuengling. (If you don’t know Yuengling, try it. It’s much better in my opinon than Sam Adams, which gives too much of an over-hops bitter after taste; Yuengling doesn’t. Alas, it’s sold in only ten eastern states currently. On the west coast, I suggest Anchor Steam.)

To the next level

Funny how folks look at things differently. Often if someone sees a recipe for something like a mango or pineapple salsa, first thing they say is “yuck, why put that hot stuff with that nice sweet fruit?” When (to me, at least) the idea is 180 degrees: let’s add some sweet fruit to that hot salsa. Either way, it’s a more interesting and a more complex taste. Very often the same folks who initially heard that and thought it would be terrible, change their minds when they are actually taste these “conflicting” combinations together and go “yum”.

What we’re talking about above is doing something where the average person doesn’t expect it to work together. Everything says to them that’s not right; but then they taste and the tongue tells them otherwise.

Even big time chefs can be fooled at times. I love it when I’m watching some sort of cooking competition on television and this happens. Every once in a great while you’ll have a couple of food judges say “I really didn’t think the X would play off the Y, but it works. This is amazingly good.” And the next judge agrees, saying “It was a total surprise to me too. I would have thought the X would have overwhelmed, or bounced off the Y, instead it actually brings out a more robust component of the Y.” In short, even in the land of haute cuisine, one chef can come across a food combination that is so opposite to another, yet together work so well, that even other experienced chefs or foodies can be blown away by it.

Anyways, I think when it comes to complimenting most people have that down pretty well — baked beans go with hot dogs; mashed potatoes are a must with meat loaf;, etc — without going into to it at all. It’s the yin and yang, the contrast, the balancing of textures and the playing flavors off each other that most cooks need to work on. And when you bring these different tastes into harmony, into that “unity of opposites” that’s when you’ve taken normal cooking up to a much higher level.

We all love fresh herbs. And yes I too highly recommend them. But let’s face it. We can’t all just walk down the street or hop in the car and get fresh herbs every day. Sometimes not even every week and with a three to five day shelf life, very often life intrudes here in the real world enough, that by the time you’re finally ready to cook that put-off (and put-off and put-off) dish you’ve been wanting to do, you go in the fridge only to find wilted, blackened or spotted, but definitely unusuable herbs. So often, it’s the dried herbs and spices we lean on to get the job done. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that! We all do it.

Here’s some of my thoughts about those things that make food go round. Spices and liquor.

1. Onion salt, Garlic salt, anything spice that has added to it “salt” — with the exception of true, actual 100% salt — there’s only one thing you have to do. Which you must do … toss them out!! You want onion powder and garlic powder! It’s partly the health thing, but it’s as much the control thing. If a bunch of your spices are putting salt in, then how can you possibly control the salt intake or the salt amount in your dish? You can’t. So “powder”, yes; “salt”, no.

What about celery salt? There is no celery powder. Ok, one exception. Although really, just use salt and buy fresh celery, it’s cheap. But if you have to, one exception and use sparingly.

2. Any spices that have been sitting around forever — replace them!! You know what I’m talking about. The little white and red tiny tin of cinnamon and paprika at the back of your cabinet, the one’s from the Johnson Administration. Yeah. Out! Buy fresh ones. You’ll be glad you did.

3. Every time you go to the market grab a few new spices you’ve been wanting to try. Over time build up a nice stash, a spice “armory” where you can do almost anything. Then maybe pick a country, a region or type of cuisine … say Asian … pick up some soy sauce and some ground or powdered ginger (hey, yes you can use it in cookies for Christmas as well) and some dark Soy Sauce if you don’t have it already … maybe next time, get your some Chinese Five Spice Powder … next time, think Southwestern or Mexican and pick up some cilantro and some tabasco or hot sauce …

4. Cooking wine? Toss it out! Even before you toss out the dried spices with salt! Yuuuck! Simple rule: If you can’t drink it, do not not not cook with it! Never never never! It’s yet another way they sneak salt in. Another way you lose control. But worst of all, it tastes rotten. Anything that tastes horrible if you were to gulp some down, is going to taste that way when you put it your cooking. Simple.

One wine I can’t live without: Marsala. You want to perk up pork chops? This is it. You may never do a pork chop without this after you’ve had it. Plus it’s good with steaks. And Chicken Marsala is definitely among my (many) favorite meals.

5. And while we’re at the market pick up some liquor along with your wine. Don’t drink alcohol? No problem. It’s still a very often used ingredient in cooking and heat burns it off.

Most of you need no convincing, but for those who might … Don’t you have extracts in your kitchen? No doubt even if you don’t bake you probably have vanilla extract. So what are extracts exactly? Concentrated flavorings either diluted with alcohol or fermented (aka pretty much started out as alcohol) from berries, fruits, roots, beans of the type of extract. If that doesn’t convince you alcohols are a major part of the seasonings of cooking, then nothing will. Well, at least until you actually taste the difference yourself (for you first timers).

You’ll need Rum for Caribbean foods as well as in Italian and American cakes and cookies. Tequila of course for some Mexican dishes. (Tequila and lime chicken is yum.) Even chain restaurants like Bennigans have gotten in the act with such entrees such Jack Daniels sauce atop steak.

Heck I use Godiva chocolate liqueur in chocolate chip pancakes (though admittedly cream de cocoa would be a lot cheaper – but I happen to have the Godiva, so what the heck!) This is unusual because normally I substitute Triple Sec for Grand Marnier. (Why? Same reason I don’t use filet mignon in a beef stew.) So yes, swinging “upscale” with the Godiva is only because it’s on hand.

What else? Hmm, just the other day I splashed some Southern Comfort and some sugar on top of fresh strawberries while making the topping for an Italian cheesecake. Turned out to be a nice choice. Couldn’t even taste it, yet it gave the sauce an added character that was definitely appreciated.

To sum up, yes, use fresh when you can. But there’s nothing wrong with dried — unless it’s been sitting on your shelf 10 years.

Experiment! Buy one or two of what you might consider more unusual spices every shop and built up your spice arsenal. Never buy dried spcies with salt in them, and same goes for so-called cooking wine. There is no such thing as “cooking wine”, remember that; there is simply “wine”. And while you’re add it get some stronger liquor for your cooking too. Without seasonings dishes are blah. With the same old four or five seasonings only, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

So, boost up that spice arsenal and you’ll be making Cajun one day and Greek the next. And you’ll also take your normal every-day “same old” dishes and “up them” to a new level.