Are You a Gourmet?

What exactly does it mean to be a gourmet? Does watching public television cooking shows on Saturday morning while folding the laundry count? How about being fascinated with Julia Child and having all of her cookbooks on your Amazon wish list? Knowing what zest, garam marsala and charcuterie mean, does this qualify you as being a gourmet? Where did the term come from and what exactly does it mean?

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A gourmet is someone with a discriminating palate who is savvy when it comes to fine food and drink. The word comes from the French word groumet which defines a person in charge of the wines at a meal. While this definition is a start, most people think they have a discriminating palate, but discriminating between a Big Mac and a Whopper probably doesn't count. What exactly are gourmets discriminating about? Who decides what is and isn't gourmet? From my research, I have come up with three things that qualify a person to call themselves a gourmet. While not an exhaustive list, qualifying in each of these three categories is a good indication that you can call yourself a gourmet.

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If you still don't own a blender because you are saving up for a Waring or refuse to brown your bagels in anything other than a Dualit toaster, you are good in the first category of gourmet, knowing your equipment. Note that I don't say you need to own this equipment to be a gourmet, just know what it is and have a sincere desire to own it all someday, like when you win the lottery and can actually afford it. A few of the necessities in a gourmet kitchen include a Cuisinart food processor, Emilie Henry bakers, All-Clad pots and pans, Viking range, SubZero built in refrigerator, Kitchenaid mixer, Espressione espresso machine, Wusthof knives, and a Polder thermometer and timer. You will also need to include fine china, silver cutlery and beautiful table linens. Doing some calculations from the Williams Sonoma site (which should be one of your favorite places to shop), a fully equipped gourmet kitchen including service for 8 would come to over ,000.00 This figure doesn't even start to cover the many food items you should have.

That brings us to our next category, food. Do you know terms such as foie gras, sevruga, gravlax, fleur de sel, truffles (not the chocolate kind) and herbes de provence? Have you ever eaten any of them? If you can answer yes to most of these, you are a definite gourmet. A good gourmet kitchen will be stocked with the finest wines, caviars, cheeses, produce, meats, breads and pastries. It will also have multitudes of herbs and spices as well as liqueurs and natural extracts. Hundreds of volumes of cookbooks are also a necessity and must include authors such as Jacques Pepin, Simone Beck, James Beard and of course, Julia.

The last area that defines a gourmet is drive. This means wanting to constantly learn more about fine foods and wines. Taking vacations to France and Italy are a start as well as visiting wineries, fish markets and farmers markets everywhere you go. Food should be an obsession, not just a past time. Magazines such as Saveur, Cuisine, Cook's Illustrated, Fine Cooking, Gourmet and Bon Appetit should dot the landscape of your home. You should also have a strong desire to take cooking classes and cooking vacations and your ultimate dream would be to one day attend "Le Cordon Bleu" cooking school in Paris. Yes, knowing French is a strong plus.

If you can say you qualify in even two of these categories, I would say you are a budding gourmet. Three would mean you are definitely a gourmet. Now that you have qualified yourself as such, don't hesitate to share it with others. Remember, however, that they may want you to actually cook something for them since they assume all gourmets can cook. This, however, was not one of the qualifying factors, so don't feel pressured if actually using your gourmet items scares you. Instead invite them to a gourmet restaurant and correct their pronunciations of items on the menu. Knowing the equipment, understanding the names and tastes of the foods and having the desire to cook someday is all you need to be a gourmet. Besides, who has time to cook when you are so busy learning to be a gourmet?

Copyright 2006 Emma Snow

Are You a Gourmet?

Emma Snow is a gourmet and freelance writer. Writing for Gourmet Living http://www.gourmet-living.com and BBQ Shop http://www.bbq-shop.net .

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Dinner Party Meal Ideas - Gourmet Champagne Chicken

This luxurious chicken recipe combines the salty flavor of prosciutto, the acidity of champagne and the aromatic flavor of fresh tarragon to get a startlingly good dish. Even though this is a gourmet recipe, there is nothing difficult about making it and if you are looking for dinner party recipe ideas this one is great.

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Serve it with garlic mashed potatoes or rice. This recipe serves four people. You only need half a cup of champagne for this so choose a good one and serve the rest with the meal. A dry champagne suits this recipe best so pick something sufficiently dry.

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This recipe is great because it is so simple. You just need to saute the ingredients, add the poultry, and then keep it in a warm oven while you finish off the sauce. Even if you are new to making such recipes or using ingredients like these you will find this a very simple dish to prepare. Obviously, your guests do not need to know how easy it is, so you can keep that bit of information to yourself!

When pounding the chicken, use the flat end of a meat mallet or, if you do not have one, a wooden rolling pin. The pointy end of a meat mallet is designed to tenderize tough steaks and it will tear your chicken to pieces, which is certainly not the effect you want.

What you will need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup all purpose flour 4 finely chopped slices prosciutto 2 finely chopped shallots 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup fresh tarragon 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup dry champagne Salt and black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to the lowest setting. Stretch some plastic wrap over your work surface and put the breasts on it. Put more plastic wrap over the top, and then flatten the chicken breasts to half an inch thick using a rolling pin or the flat end of a meat mallet. Combine the flour with some salt and pepper in a pan and coat both sides of the chicken in it. Shake off any excess flour.

Heat a skillet over a moderately high heat, then add the oil, and heat it for half a minute. Saute the shallots for three minutes or until they are translucent. Add the prosciutto and saute for one minute.

Add the butter and heat it. When it starts to foam, add the breasts, and cook for a couple of minutes per side or until golden brown. Take the chicken out of the pan and put it in a shallow pan covered with foil. Put it in the oven to keep warm.

Add the champagne to the pan, scraping up any stuck-on bits from the bottom. Add the tarragon and cream and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer it for a couple of minutes, then put the chicken back in the pan and simmer it for another minute or until the sauce is thicker. Serve the meal immediately with your chosen side dishes.

Dinner Party Meal Ideas - Gourmet Champagne Chicken

If you are looking for something simple you might want to make a baked chicken rice recipe. Alternatively gourmet chicken recipes such as the above champagne chicken dish or even chicken cordon bleu are easier to make than you might think and are impressive enough to serve to guests.

BonelessChickenRecipe.com - Chicken so delightfully moist, you can almost smell it through your monitor.

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