The Supermarket Gourmet
by Buck Reed
What is cheating exactly? In life, we are taught not to drive on the shoulder to avoid a traffic jam. But who is to say that you shouldn’t do that? Why can’t we just ignore the rules, throw caution to the wind, and just save ourselves some time and keep moving forward? Because some things are just wrong. The culinary world is no different. There are just some things you do not do, and there are some things that are just not that bad.
Take Yankee pot roast. I have a crock pot of it going right now. I could make it from scratch, but I opted for the Lipton Onion Soup recipe. This recipe is so standard for this dish that they don’t even print the recipe on the box anymore. Sure, I can take the time to purchase all the ingredients, measure them out and prepare it from scratch. But what would be the point. Lipton makes a product that not only makes an okay soup, but a really good pot roast as well. I would go so far as to say a better pot roast than one made from scratch. Clearly, no one is going to culinary jail over this dish.
Is it cheating if it makes a better dish or is it a question of having the time we save for something else. Sometimes, we must take the time to learn how to properly utilize a product in order to use it to make things not only easier, but better as well. That goes for working dishes made from scratch, as well as using a short cut.
For instance, take box cake mixes. There are a lot of mixes that make cakes, but they are seldom as good as ones baked from scratch. But, if we take a little time and do a little research, we will find several ideas that can kick that mix up a few notches. Try adding an extra egg to the mix and using mayonnaise instead of vegetable oil. Also try substituting milk for the water, or even better, if you are making a chocolate cake, use coffee or cola. Adding a couple of dollops of sour cream will help make your cake moist. For the price of a few extra ingredients, you can have a significantly better product.
Short cuts are no different than lining your pans with aluminum foil before you turn them into a mess. If you learn how to properly use short cuts, you might find yourself cooking more often. And if these ideas do save you a little time, use it to look up some ideas for your next short cut.
What is your culinary cheat/shortcut? Is there a product that comes in a box that helps you in the kitchen? Let me know at rguyinthekitchen@aol.com.
