  
The Guiding Beliefs of The
Xperimental Chef . . .
Simply put, Xperimental Cooking is putting YOU in
charge – you’re the boss of the kitchen! You choose the
ingredients you like and whip up meals to suit your
specific tastes. Forget about strictly following
recipes that are complicated . . . that requires you to
buy special ingredients you will only use once then
store till they expire . . . that calls for you to
measure out precise amounts of each ingredient. All
that is required is for you to have fun and Xperiment
with blending ingredients that you like. Let your
imagination rule . . . pick the items and create your
masterpiece; from types of meats and vegetables, to how
they are cooked, to what beautiful arrangement on your
dinner plate.
Let’s go through a simple example together to introduce
you to Xperimental Cooking . . .
Imagine you are going to prepare the main course for
lunch or dinner; what shall it be – beef, chicken, fish,
lamb? Let’s say you pick fish . . . then go see what
you already have in your kitchen; or better yet go off
to the market and see what the fresh catch of the day
is. You go to the
seafood section and come across fresh
Salmon fillet that’s going for a good price, so you pick
up the quantity you need for the family.
Next, you think of what will go well with Salmon –
pasta, potatoes or rice? What vegetables will be good –
cabbage, carrots, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes? You walk
over to the vegetable section of the market and decide
on potatoes; then you pick up broccoli, lemon and
mushrooms that look good. You think that some garlic &
onions will go well with the mushrooms when stir-fried
and pick up some. Finally, you come upon cherry
tomatoes that can add color to your masterpiece.
Back home in the kitchen, you think of how to do the
potatoes . . . will it be french fries? No, you can get
that at McDonalds. How about baked potatoes?
It takes
quite a while to do; and oops,
you
ran
out of
sour
cream
just the other day.
Then how about boiled potatoes?
(follow these pictures as you read on . . .)
You peel some potatoes and boil in water for about 10
minutes.
Test with a
fork to
confirm that
they are
cooked
 (the fork will easily pierce through the center
when done; boil longer if the center is still hard). While the potatoes are boiling, you slice up the
mushrooms and onions, then pan fry with some oil and
chopped garlic to add flavor. You cut the broccoli into
small chunks and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes; shorter
if you like it on the crunchy side, longer if you prefer
them softer.
Next, you clean the Salmon and cut it into several
pieces. Pan-fry with a bit of butter or oil, turning
about every minute till they are done in about 5 minutes
or so, depending on how hot your pan is.
Now
to assemble everything on the dinner plate . . . you
arrange some broccoli into a ball on one side, add the
fried mushrooms & onions next to
it.
You slice one boiled potato, place it on the plate and
melt a spoon of butter on top; sprinkle some salt and
black pepper if desired. Finally, on goes the Salmon;
you mix a sauce of melted butter, lemon juice and tomato
ketchup, spread it on top of the Salmon and top with
sliced cherry tomatoes. You creation is ready to be
served; well done!
Now,
wasn’t that really easy to do? To stretch your
imagination, consider these modifications to your
creation . . .
Instead
of boiled potatoes, how about doing mashed potatoes
instead? For the vegetables, use something that you
like better – carrots, corn, peas, lettuce, asparagus,
etc. Try a different type of fish – Cod, Snapper,
Trout, Sea Bass . . . or even switch to meat if you do
not favor fish; how about beef, pork, chicken, lamb?
Forget about making the sauce and go with squeezing a
wedge of lemon onto the fish and tomato ketchup on the
side to save time and get down to eating faster?
As
you can see, there are many ways to customize the meal
to each individual’s fancy, so have fun Xperimenting
and enjoy your very own special creation.
While you enjoy the wonderful meal you have just
prepared,
consider following me regularly to discover how fun and
easy cooking really is and experience various foods from
around the world. Best of all, you will see how simple
it is to customize meals to suit each person you are
cooking for. Join us as we conduct Xperiments in
cooking that will turn you into a chef and gourmet; its
so easy anyone can be successful without trying too
hard. Soon, you will impress your friends and family
with many wonderful dishes you can whip up!
Let's begin with
The Secrets to
Great Cooking
. . .
 
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