Cheap & Dirty? You are what you eat

I remember eating dinner once with a friend’s family and hearing my friend’s 17 year-old step brother say, “It’s hard to make good food with bad ingredients.” Once I could hear again over the din of my gay-dar, I realized how right he was. I had made that discovery at 34, only a year or two before he made that dramatic statement across a crowded dinner table. I allowed him his early insight because he is a child of privilege. The son of two doctors. I grew up middle-class. In a family of 6, food was for survival. And not much else.

However, once I made this discovery, I couldn’t quite look at dinner in the same way. I knew if I spent a bit more on certain ingredients, meals would come alive. Food wasn’t entirely about survival anymore. It had started to become about pleasure. Spending a bit more on a good olive oil, using fresh ingredients instead of canned or frozen (both of which have their place), or buying good cheese; combined, all of these things made for a great experience.

This all may sound a little strange in the midst of a recession. Aren’t we supposed to be cutting corners? Living more simply? Saving what we can so we don’t get into trouble again? Have you learned NOTHING food_geek?

Well, perhaps.

But say it’s Friday night. You order a pizza ($20) and pick up a 6 pack of beer ($10). You’ve just spent $30 on food and drink that will feed maybe 2 people. Do you have any idea what ingredients you can buy for $30?? I catered the following 5-course dinner party for 15 people just before Christmas:

Course 1. Fresh fig wrapped in prosciutto with balsamic and honey glaze
Course 2. Roasted beet salad with chevre, fresh dill and lemon
Course 3. Seared scallops with cauliflower puree and wilted arugula
Course 4. Pork tenderloin with oyster mushroom and green pea risotto
Course 5. Rum & raisin bread pudding with butter sauce and fresh whipped cream

Five courses for 15 people cost me $100. One hundred dollars! Six dollars and 66 cents per person. For five courses!!

So how WAS that pizza, anyway?

I’m not saying that you need to break the bank on everything. But the following are things for which I will pay good money. For the most part they are like an investment because, properly stored, they will last awhile.

Olive oil: I have a relatively inexpensive bottle for cooking and an expensive bottle for garnishing soups, making vinaigrettes, and finishing tomato sauces

Butter: I like the taste. I also tend to like things that are bad for me. And a little goes a long way.

Dijon mustard: French’s mustard = blech

Good rice: Basmati, Jasmine, Arborio

Black olives: nothing from a can

Balsamic vinegar: the older it is, the sweeter and more flavourful it will be. Look at the label, it should show how many years it’s been aged, displayed either as a number or a number of barrels. 8 years and up is good.

Peppercorns: I don’t buy pre-ground pepper because while there is heat, there is little flavor. And I like controlling how big the grind is. Some things, like steak, should just have larger chunks of pepper.

Salt: Sea Salt, not table salt. I like it a bit coarse.

Maple Syrup: the real stuff

Spices: Everything! I prefer whole seeds - like coriander, fennel, cumin, etc. They stay fresher and hold far, far more taste than their pre-ground counterparts. Grind them in either a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle (but only as much as you need for whatever you are making).

Fresh herbs: Nothing lights up a dish like fresh herbs either thrown in at the end of the cooking process or added, freshly torn, to the plate. It can be difficult to buy fresh herbs in quantities that won’t go bad, so I usually have a small garden (indoor in the winter, outdoor in the summer) of my favourites… Italian parsley, thyme, basil, cilantro and chives.

Having certain ingredients in the house, for me, is an invitation to start cooking. Sometimes, when I buy something special, like truffle oil, I’ll just uncork the bottle and smell it. It smells rich and earthy and extravagant and it makes me want to find a reason to use it. Good ingredients can be a source of inspiration to create something wonderful. And they are extra special if you are creating it for just yourself.

Roasted Beet Salad

1 bunch of organic beets, with beet greens attached
Good Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 lemon
1 package of chevre (goat’s cheese)
Fresh dill

Preheat oven to 375F
Cut off beet greens and save for another dish (they are delicious cut up and sauteed briefly in olive oil or butter).
Peel beets and cut into quarters.
Drizzle with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil, shiny side IN. Place in oven for approximately 45 minutes - 1 hour. You’ll know when they are done by sliding a knife into the center. If the texture feels consistent the whole way in (firm, but not crunchy), they are done.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. They can be served either warm or cold.
Get yer rasp out and remove the zest from lemon. Mix zest with beets.
Squeeze a little lemon juice and drizzle a little more olive oil over beets - enough to coat
Roughly chop fresh dill and mix with beets. Quantity depends on how many beets you have cooked, and how much you love dill.
Taste and add more salt or pepper, if required
Plate beets either alone or on a bed of arugula, also dressed lightly with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Place several small pieces of chevre on top and around beets. Or don’t and make it vegan.
Garnish with larger piece of dill.

Serve and enjoy.

Written by food_geek

food_geek was once a successful finance professional. Tired of money, nice things, equity, and the possibility of retirement she decided to pursue a career in the food industry at age 35. She is now a sous chef at a small restaurant in a tiny Quebec village where she works the fry station. She looks forward to being promoted to Manager, Drive-Thru. food_geek has been cooking professionally for 30 months.