Going Gourmet, the Newbie's Guide to Gourmet Cooking Part 5

Mastering many Cooking Styles is another way to increase the diversity of your meals. Brush up on your cooking skills by not only practicing the various Styles of Cooking, but also by paying close attention to the details of the cooking process, what each Cooking Style does to your food and the resulting appearance, taste & texture.

Experiment with variations to the standard method (different temperature, time, sequence, combinations, etc.) and observe the results.

Learn new Styles as you come across them, and also try your hand at inventing new ways to cook. There are many methods of cooking your food; some more conventional like Baking, Barbecuing, Braising, Roasting, Stewing and Steaming.

Some are more exotic like cooking meat on a slab of hot stone. So do try out the various cooking styles on your favorite foods and discover which are to your liking.

Also experiment with combinations; for example you can first steam a lobster, then cut it open and put some cheese in before grilling for a short while to melt and brown the cheese sauce.

Think of new ways to cook, after all its just applying heat to food.

You can also broaden your knowledge and skills by observing how people of various lands cook their meals in special ways when you travel.

Presentation

The final element is how you serve up the feast that you have prepared. Food Presentation is the art of making your meals visually appealing.

Since the objective is to serve up something that will look good, experiment with what you think will look nice when assembled together. If you want to keep it simple, just focus on the dish and what is to be put on it.

If you want to pull out all the stops, then go with a theme of your choice and dress up everything, including the dining room.

Let's run through some ideas to move you along . . . On the simple end of the scale, all you need to do is select a suitable bowl or plate and arrange your food on it, then add something to garnish.

The easiest is to place all your food onto serving plates for your guest to help themselves. Select large enough bowls and plates, matching if desired, that can hold the amount of food you have prepared.

You can fill a serving bowl with soup and sprinkle some chopped spring onions on top to garnish. Fish can be served on an oval plate, or one of those fish shaped dishes, and you can arrange some lettuce and round slices of lemon to decorate.

For prawns, try arranging them in a circle on a round plate, and put sauce for dipping right in the center. You can be more creative when you do individual servings.

For the main course, you can simply lay out the meat, potatoes and vegetables on different sectors of the plate in a traditional manner; just remember to include ingredients with nice colors and arrange them in your chosen pattern.

Try using carrots or tomatoes to add bright orange or red to your dish. Use corn, pasta or potatoes for a dose of yellow.

How about tri-color pasta to really mix up the colors? Appetizers and desserts are my favorites as you can really let your imagination go . . . and come up with really delightful creations.

Try using a Burgundy wine glass for your shrimp cocktail, then plant a stick of celery with the leafy end up on one side and garnish the lip of the glass with a circular slice of lemon for a lovely presentation of this favorite appetizer.

Now go forth and create visual masterpieces to serve your guests; they will surely be astonished at your work of art.

If you need more ideas, you can always look at how the chefs at your local restaurants present their dishes, or you can flip thru food magazines, or surf the internet for tons of ideas to get you on your way.

Now that you know the secrets to gourmet cooking, all you need to do is to start cooking; after all, as the saying goes . . . "Practice Makes Perfect."