Three Tips for Everyday Meals

When the art of cooking turns into the chore of making everyday meals, we could all use two or three tips to keep things interesting. None of these ideas are new to the world of cookery, but they all tend to be overlooked by those of us who learned from our mothers, rather than from the Culinary Institute.

Tip #1: Caramelize those onions. I thought that's what I was doing by browning onions in oil over medium high to high heat, until they are transparent and beginning to brown. No, that is sauteing. Caramelizing is done over low to medium heat and takes about three times as long to get the onions nicely browned. But, oh, the difference! Caramelized onions are not just browned at the edges, but all the way through, without a hint of scorching. The fragrance tells you something has changed before you ever get the onions near your mouth. Trust me, caramelized onions can transform any dish.

Method: Peel and slice the onions. Don't get hung up at this stage, just slice the onions without cutting your fingers. Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy skillet until the oil shimmers. I prefer olive oil in a cast iron skillet, but a good quality stainless steel will do the job. I don't recommend skillets with non-stick coatings. That's what oil is for. Olive oil combined with a bit of butter or bacon grease is good, too.

Toss the sliced onions in the hot oil until they are well-coated, then lower the heat to medium or medium low and busy yourself with the rest of the meal. Check back on the onions when they begin to smell yummy; they will have lost a lot of their water and become limp. If they are beginning to stick, that's okay, just give them a stir, add a dash of salt, lower the heat a bit, then leave them alone again. Just let them cook slowly this way for 20 minutes or more. Keep the heat low enough so the onions don't become crisp. The longer they cook this way, the sweeter and more deeply colored they will become.

Use caramelized onions on hot sandwiches or to top off steak or chops, or use them as the basis for soups, stews or casseroles.  Make a big pan and keep extra in the refrigerator for evenings when you don't have an extra half hour at the stove. Caramelized onions need not completely replace sauteed and browned onions in every dish. But it's a great technique to add to your culinary repertoire. 

Tip #2:  Add an Anchovy. Yes, seriously, it will be good. I know anchovies are little salty fish, but I promise they will NOT make your dish taste like little salty fish. Be brave. Try it. At worst, you'll lose a couple of bucks on the experiment. At best, you'll discover a new path to deliciousness.

For my first effort, I bought the smallest reclosable jar of imported anchovies I could find. A Spanish brand had been recommended, but I had to make do with Morrocan, packed in olive oil.  (If it's in olive oil, how bad could it be?) As I used a pickle fork to pull one of the bony little fillets out of the jar, I almost lost my nerve, but I went ahead and tossed the thing into a skillet of simmering meat and veggies. Sure enough, the nasty little critter melted away into the broth, leaving no evidence of its passing. Until I tasted the dish.

The only word that describes the effect of the anchovy is the Japanese word umami. English has no equivalent, although "savory" might come close. Perhaps it is similar to the effect of monosodium glutamate (MSG) without the toxicity. Or, with King Lear, one could compare unsalted meat with salted.

When and where to add an anchovy or two? You could let the term "savory" be your guide. When a salad dressing needs "a little something," or when a pasta dish seems a little too dull. Perhaps when you're weary of the same old cheese sauce, or when you don't want the leftover stew to taste exactly like last Thursday's stew. Experiment. I think you'll like it.

Tip #3: Toast It. Lots of stuff besides stale bread is better when toasted. Just about any type of nut or seed is more flavorful when toasted before stirring into a batter or sprinkled over a dish. Almonds, walnuts, cashews and pecans are all improved by a few minutes in a hot dry skillet. Simply toast until you notice the nuts beginning to brown, then tip them from the skillet into the rest of the ingredients. When used as toppings or in salads, toasting in butter and salt is well worth the extra minutes. A touch of sweet, whether white or brown sugar or honey, is also a fine idea. All of this also applies to sunflower, sesame and flax seeds.  

Quite a few herbs and spices benefit from toasting or "sweating" as it is sometimes called. Cumin seeds, coriander, caraway and fennel seeds can be toasted until they release their aroma. The flavors of curry powder, cloves, ground nutmeg and even rosemary can be intensified by brief heating in a dry pan before being ground and added to any sauce.

Having said this, I want to be careful by saying this technique is for hard seeds or bark spices. It does not extend to the leafy herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme and other fresh green herbs. But that could be Tip #4 to improve any everyday meal: use fresh green leafy herbs - you'll be glad you did.

Now, how do you keep things interesting in the kitchen? Got any tips of your own for everyday meals?