| You know that, here at Local Saute, we're Foodies for sure, but we're not the pretentious type of foodie who turns a snobby nose at a good ol' fashioned, barbecued hot dog. Nevertheless, we do have our limits, and putting ketchup on a hot dog is walking that fine line. Does ketchup taste revolting? No. Is it kind of a reminiscent-to-your-childhood guilty pleasure? Not necessarily. With french fries, perhaps... and maybe on a hot dog for some of you, but I just can't do it. I guess that makes me a bit pretentious to not allow ketchup (no matter how "fancy" it may claim to be on the label) on my hot dog, but dammit, at least I'll eat a grilled hot dog, unlike some of you out there. |   |
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 Dried herbs have their place when cooking. Generally, fresh anything is better than non-fresh anything, but there must be some use for dried herbs, otherwise there wouldn't be a mile-long rack of them at the grocery store. What gives? As we all know, fresh herbs deliver a taste that is unparallelled by their dried counterparts, but there are times when fresh herbs just won't do the trick, at least not as well as you'd like. For instance, when making pasta sauces, soups or other dishes that can take a while to cook, your fresh, green herbs turn black pretty quickly.
While you may get the desired flavor out of fresh herbs, your presentation will suffer. No one wants to eat black, limp oregano, basil, rosemary or other herbs.  A common mistake with cooking seafood is that, since some people are afraid of that "fishy" taste, they season the hell out of it to try to mask it. On top of that, they often feel the need to deep-fry it. I'm as big a fan as anyone when it comes to great seasonings, and ESPECIALLY deep-frying fish (or anything else, for that matter), but I just think more of us should get to know the flavors of our seafood before we decide to falsely flavor it with seasonings.
Here are your ingredients for your next seafood dish: fish fillet of your choice, salt and pepper... AND NOTHING ELSE. Trust me. Once you've cooked seafood with just salt and pepper, you'll learn the true flavor of the fish and then you'll be able to pair it with other seasonings, side dishes, sauces, wines, etc. For instance, when I first ran across Basa Fillet (also called Swai Fillet), I decided to give it a shot. It's a white fish. I've cooked halibut, snapper, cod, catfish, tilapia... how different could it be?  Making pasta sauce from scratch is fine and dandy, but it is time consuming. It can take all day - literally - to get the down-home, straight-outta-Italy flavor you want. But buying a jar of marinara or pasta sauce at the grocery store just seems so... so... non-Foodie. A lot of us just can't bring ourselves to do it. That is, unless, we buy the pricey stuff, but then we always think to ourselves, "Man, ten bucks for pasta sauce? I could have made it myself for way less." But then we're taken back full-circle to the beginning of our dilemma of not having the time to do it the way we want..
Here's a way to compromise in every direction. We're talking low cost, high flavor, no extra time, and probably even better tasting than some of the run-of-the-mill Italian restaurants in your area:  Cooking with cast iron adds awesome flavor. Non-stick this, teflon that... whatever. Cast iron is the way to go for almost everything I cook. There are very few things that I don't cook with my trusty, perfectly-seasoned, black-as-night cast iron frying pan. Steak, fried chicken, seafood, quiche, bananas foster - you name it, I've cooked it in that bad boy and I'll never need a new pan.
I remember when I put "cast iron frying pan" on our wedding registry. My wife (then fiancee) thought I was nuts, as did everyone else who saw the list. But my sister was there for me. She saw the light (being somewhat of a Foodie herself). She remembered me talking about cast iron some time before that, so she knew I was serious when she saw it on the list, and voila! My new wife and I were on our way to culinary bliss. While I'm not blessed with a cast iron skillet that was handed down from generation to generation in our family, I am blessed nonetheless. When I bust that old clanker out in front of guests, they ask me what I'm gonna do with it. My typical answer is, "There ain't nothin'' you can't cook in one of these! Now STAND BACK!" For the sake of blogging, I'll specify: |
Local Saute Foodie Blog
Our independent restaurant guides are helpful, but when you can't go out to eat, our Foodie and Cooking Blog will help you make it a great night in the kitchen. 
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