You don't need to be rich, or have a ton of money to make food taste good. When I was in culinary school, years ago, we had a teach who was trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and as a seasoning for everything we used a mixture of equal parts salt, pepper, garlic power, onion power. Alternatively we had one made with white pepper when you wouldn't want little black specks in whatever it was you were seasoning. I know these are some of the cheapest seasoning out there to buy, and probably much more cost efficient to make your own blends than purchase the ones out there! Does anybody else have a "secret" mixture they use? Or any other seasoning tips to make anyone seem like a "real" whiz in the kitchen?
I certainly do consider myself to be a great cook. The only spice I ever use is Cayenne. Occasionally for some meals I'm cooking, I'll include some herbs to improve the flavor. But apart from that, I depend mostly on my skills to cook a great meal. For that reason I'm obliged to add this: how you cook your meal does matter.
The key to flavorful food is the seasoning. My favorite spices are cumin and garlic powder. I use them everyday. Salt and pepper are staples. I also use cinnamon, cayenne and turmeric. I plan on learning how to cook some Indian dishes. I'm going to have to purchase additional spices. I'm looking forward to it.
Hah! I recently had to go to a pot luck (okay it was at my boyfriend's, so I was happy to) but still hadn't had anything prepared about an hour to go. So I mixed up some Kraft macaroni and cheese, and stirred in lots of fresh herbs and some cherry tomatoes. It looked FANTASTIC and people were so impressed... until I told them it was Kraft mac and cheese But now I know. The secret to making any food look awesome (and taste awesome) - just add fresh herbs!
The funny thing is that what you're describing is how I make Kraft mac & cheese for dinner once a week. It's basically a blank canvas and you can add anything from bacon to herbs and scallions. My kid loves Kraft mac & cheese.
I started experimenting with a lot of the inexpensive spices at many of my local grocery stores and these days one of my favorite go-to seasonings is the Spice Time brand garlic pepper seasoning. It's got just the right ratios of salt, pepper, garlic and a little bit of sugar. Plus all the components of it are ground evenly so you don't wind up with some of the ingredients separating and settling to the bottom of the bottle constantly. That was another problem I was often running into with many of the other spice blends I tried. That or they contained too much sugar and were too damp as a result and would often solidify into hard rocks that wouldn't shake out well. Personally I've grown tired of many of the more popular seasoned salts like Lawry's or Morton's - they have too distinct of a taste to them that they stand out too much in dishes. The thing I like about the Spice Time Garlic Pepper seasoning is how neutral it is and balanced in flavor. Plus that little pinch of sugar in it helps things brown nicely and gives a little bit of a balanced "umami" flavor with the salt.
