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gourmet cooking at home

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A lot of people are missing their favorite restaurants right now. While many are turning to takeout or delivery, the food is just never quite the same by the time it travels in your car –or the delivery driver’s car — and makes it to your table.

Even when you put plenty of effort into your own cooking, sometimes it seems like there’s just a little magic about a restaurant meal that it’s hard to get at home. It’s tough to put one’s finger on exactly what restaurants do to make their dishes just a cut above the rest. Why are they so special? Why do they feel different than home-cooked meals? At this point in the pandemic, everyone can probably use some ways to get excited about their own cooking. You may be fresh out of ideas and dreading rather than looking forward to mealtime. As is the secret to surviving many elements of the pandemic, it’s important to find those little tricks that make life at home feel like it’s taking place somewhere else. Like turning your backyard into a drive-in movie theater. Or turning your balcony into a Tikki bar. Or, using these tips to elevate your meal to restaurant quality.

gourmet cooking at home

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Get those garnishes

When you get Pho, noodles, or curry, you find those garnishes that make all the difference, like chopped green onions or toasted sesame seeds. A tostada salad has tortillas strips and cilantro. A great creamy pasta dish has a handful of fresh parsley, tossed on at the end. You may find thinly sliced radishes over enchilada plates. Think of those little something extras that restaurants put on your favorite dishes. You can absolutely buy them at the store, and keep them on hand for your food.

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