This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
Properly cooked! (the taste)
Going out to a restaurant is getting harder at the moment. In France, at least, you have to try and find one that has agreed to pass on the new lower rate of VAT at anything other than a symbolic level, and there aren't many.
And then, most importantly, you have to find a good one: one where you can some out saying “Ah, that was a good meal!”, where you can still remember the menu several days later, and where you can confidently send friends without risk of them trying to sound polite when they tell you afterwards “Err, it was… hmmm… not bad.”
And then, most importantly, you have to find a good one: one where you can some out saying “Ah, that was a good meal!”, where you can still remember the menu several days later, and where you can confidently send friends without risk of them trying to sound polite when they tell you afterwards “Err, it was… hmmm… not bad.”
Last modified on: February 6th 2011
Properly cooked! (the taste)
Personally, I'm fond of classing restaurants in this way: a month later, can I still remember at least one of the dishes I ate there? If I can, it's a really good restaurant, if not…
In fact, it seems increasingly rare these days to come across something that actually has an outstanding flavour, which makes me want to go back for more and wipe around the plate with a bit of bread.
It's the flavour that comes of being what I call “properly cooked”, difficult to describe because it depends on the choice of ingredients, sometimes the cooking methods used, sometimes both.
An example to illustrate what I mean: hachis parmentier (the French version of cottage pie) is a good old standby, but how often do you eat one which tastes like it should? Alas, too rarely! So often it's just cooked mince with mashed potato dolloped on top and, if you're lucky, a bit of (tasteless) grated cheese before it goes in the oven.
Therein lies the problem. For the dish to have its proper flavour, of course the meat needs to be well cooked, but it is even better if it is left over from another meal. The second cooking releases different flavours. The mashed potato also needs to be good, made with proper potatoes, butter and cream if possible, not the instant stuff reconstituted with water. Last, but not least, the cheese on the top should not be that awful tasteless plastic-wrapped Emmenthal, nor (even worse) ready-grated straight out of a sachet, but real good cheese, like a piece of Comté or a mature farmhouse Cheddar, that you grate fresh onto the potatoes just before the dish goes in the oven.
Of course it takes longer to make, but what a difference compared with those insipid offerings found in bad restaurants and canteens.
A restauranteur reading this might well be saying by now something along the lines of: another ranting amateur who has no idea that in the kitchen time is money! Of course, chef, of course! But you know very well yourself that a real well-made hachis parmentier gets better with each reheating (or almost), so why not make a large quantity in advance and reheat it as necessary? I'm sure the customers would come back for more...
P.S. Please note that etiquette normally requires that one does not wipe the plate with one's bread in a restaurant, which is a rule I always ignore!
In high-class French restaurants you might find a spoon at the side of your plate intended to permit the discreet consumption of any remaining sauce in civilised fashion: it's totally inefficient and, above all, instantly renders cold anything that you might have struggled to collect in it.
Long live the bit of bread! [Translator's note: the French have this habit of mopping up sauce with bread so deeply ingrained that they even have a word for it: “saucer”, literally, “to sauce”.]
In fact, it seems increasingly rare these days to come across something that actually has an outstanding flavour, which makes me want to go back for more and wipe around the plate with a bit of bread.
It's the flavour that comes of being what I call “properly cooked”, difficult to describe because it depends on the choice of ingredients, sometimes the cooking methods used, sometimes both.
An example to illustrate what I mean: hachis parmentier (the French version of cottage pie) is a good old standby, but how often do you eat one which tastes like it should? Alas, too rarely! So often it's just cooked mince with mashed potato dolloped on top and, if you're lucky, a bit of (tasteless) grated cheese before it goes in the oven.
Therein lies the problem. For the dish to have its proper flavour, of course the meat needs to be well cooked, but it is even better if it is left over from another meal. The second cooking releases different flavours. The mashed potato also needs to be good, made with proper potatoes, butter and cream if possible, not the instant stuff reconstituted with water. Last, but not least, the cheese on the top should not be that awful tasteless plastic-wrapped Emmenthal, nor (even worse) ready-grated straight out of a sachet, but real good cheese, like a piece of Comté or a mature farmhouse Cheddar, that you grate fresh onto the potatoes just before the dish goes in the oven.
Of course it takes longer to make, but what a difference compared with those insipid offerings found in bad restaurants and canteens.
A restauranteur reading this might well be saying by now something along the lines of: another ranting amateur who has no idea that in the kitchen time is money! Of course, chef, of course! But you know very well yourself that a real well-made hachis parmentier gets better with each reheating (or almost), so why not make a large quantity in advance and reheat it as necessary? I'm sure the customers would come back for more...
P.S. Please note that etiquette normally requires that one does not wipe the plate with one's bread in a restaurant, which is a rule I always ignore!
In high-class French restaurants you might find a spoon at the side of your plate intended to permit the discreet consumption of any remaining sauce in civilised fashion: it's totally inefficient and, above all, instantly renders cold anything that you might have struggled to collect in it.
Long live the bit of bread! [Translator's note: the French have this habit of mopping up sauce with bread so deeply ingrained that they even have a word for it: “saucer”, literally, “to sauce”.]
Lasts posts
Add a bay leaf
Bay leaf: small in size, but big in flavor. You'll find it in hundreds of recipes, and it's often added to cooking meat, in a sauce or broth, usually accompanied by other herbs or products. It's a staple of Provençal, Mediterranean and Oriental cuisine, but not the only one. Usually, in a...July 31th 20255355
Parsley stems
Parsley, whether curly or flat, is a delicious ingredient in many recipes, where it is used both raw and cooked. When used raw, in a salad for example, where it always provides, alone or with other herbs, a remarkable freshness, only the leaves are kept. And when used cooked?July 28th 2025787 13
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...July 13th 20251,1635
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.July 1st 20251,1875
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...June 29th 20251,0745
Other pages you may also like
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules! By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good. I have friends who...July 3rd 20219,4925
Fried potatoes or fried mash?
In cooking there are a lot of dishes that appear to be extremely simple but which can actually prove to be very tricky. Amongst those that I'm aware of having this reputation are omelette and fried potatoes.February 6th 201122 K4.5
Maillard reactions
This subject cropped up recently in a discussion with my three charming nieces; do you know what Maillard reactions are? With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour...January 28th 201535 K4
Good fridge management
We all have a fridge at home – it's an indispensible part of the kitchen and so much a part of the furniture that we tend not to pay it much attention. But often, out of habit, we don't use it properly. Here are a few tips to help you get more from your fridge. .April 19th 201127 K4.4
Preservative oil, an asset for taste
When you prepare a dish using an ingredient that has been preserved in fat, for example a springtime mixed salad with tuna in oil or sun-dried tomatoes, you're probably going to make a french dressing (vinaigrette) next. In that case, why not use the preserved oil from the tuna or tomatoes?June 5th 20245,1735
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 1 comment already posted on this page