What are Clone Restaurant Recipes?

Ever wonder what clone restaurant recipes are and whether they are really as good as the real thing?  As a personal chef I have.  They are supposed to be an exact duplicate or copy of the dishes you order from your favorite restaurant. My conclusion is that some are like the creations they represent and some are not.

Many home cooks replicate clone restaurant recipes in their own kitchens.  They are able to make the food taste like the real thing.  There are secret recipe cookbooks that are written by personal chefs or commercial cooks who have researched and tested various methods to come up with their own versions of dishes from famous eateries.

I, myself wondered about recipe secrets, so I invested in a couple of cookbooks that contain clone restaurant recipes from some of America's most popular establishments.  For the most part, they are simple and easy to make in your own kitchen.  Others are more complicated for new home cooks and take a great deal of time to prepare.

Even for more established cooks and personal chefs, demystifying these copycat recipe secrets can be a challenge.  However, there is great joy in having prepared a menu that includes a clone restaurant recipe that tastes like you would expect when you order it.

Do you have some favorite restaurant dishes you wish you could have without going out?  Maybe it is the Tequila Lime Chicken from Applebee's or the Olive Garden Sangria or T.G.I. Friday's Mocha Mud Pie.  Ready to try your own clone restaurant recipes at home?  Click the image below and order the Secret Restaurant Recipe cookbooks now.

Local Farmer's Market Season is Coming

The season of fresh fruits and produce from local farmer's market is just about here.  It is great to be able to sample foods all during the year from faraway places, however, there is nothing like takting  foods that were grown in the morning and on your table in the evening or afternoon.

Every time I go, the sights and smells of fragrant fruits and brightly colored vegetables: green, purple, yellow and red; always make me want to cook something.  The rich array of farmers and their wares make for an exciting trip to the various markets in our area.  Just deciding what to buy and prepare is an adventure.

In fact, I have to keep myself from buying too much, although it does not seem to have prevented me from finding something good to cook even if I overindulge in my purchases.  Nothing is wasted.

It is also the time when local bakers and home pastry chefs bring out their best offerings.  I have sampled some fabulous pot pies, fresh apple tarts and bread puddings.  Yes, farmer's market season is one to look forward to.  If you are like me, you can hardly wait.  And, if you live in Maryland, like me, the offerings are limitless.

Deep Dish Pizza Pie Crust and the Unique Taste of Anchovies

If you are anything like me, there are many foods that you will cook or prepare and others you will steer clear of.  For me as an example: Deep dish pizza pie crust.  I love deep dish pizza especially with the unique taste of anchovies; I just don't make it.  Why? you  may ask.  Because the crust is made with yeast.

Now, I grant you that breads and pizza doughs are delicious when they are made with yeast.  Homemade yeast rolls are heavenly.  However, cooking with yeast is not popular with me.  Something always seems to go wrong.

And, yet, I make deep dish pizza pie with a yeast crust and it is fresh!  It does not come out of a box.  I get it from the refrigerated section of my favorite store.  I roll out the dough to which the yeast has already been added and add my favorite toppings--fresh mozzarella, plum tomatoes, Italian seasonings, garlic, basil, onions and my very favorite topping; anchovies.

And, speaking of anchovies: they are not just for deep dish pizza; they go with many foods.  Pasta, many kinds of salads, (the most popular of these is the Caesar), dressings, spreads for meat and even in potato salad; all of these benefit from the unique taste of anchovies.

So, I don't know about you, you may like to cook with yeast.  If not, look in your neighborhood or town that has refrigerated ready made deep dish pizza pie crust.  I have even heard more than one chef talk of going to a pizza parlor and buying dough.  I have not done that yet.  Adding the unique taste of anchovies will give you an unexpected treat!

Small Kitchen Big Taste

For 25 years, I lived in a one bedroom condominium in Washington, DC.  I truly loved living in the city even though I grew up in the small Naval Academy town of Annapolis, Maryland.  I had always dreamed of being able to cook in a large kitchen.  My condo kitchen was not like that; it was tiny.  Not only was there was no room for a table, I couldn't even get a chair in it.

The place was so small that I had to store my pans and cookware on the tops of the cabinets and inside the oven.  The cooking area was less than minimal.  By the time I put a microwave and a toaster on the counter, there was no room to slice and dice vegetables or anything else.    None of that ever stopped me from making some great meals, though.  I made it work.  From my small railroad-car sized kitchen, I was able to create some big tastes: dare I say, masterpieces.

I always had to be careful when cooking anything that had the least amount of steam or smoke, because the smoke alarm would go off at the drop of a hat.  Funny thing, I think I may have changed that alarm battery one time in all those 25 years.  It always went off.  I had to run around looking for a newspaper or a magazine or anything to wave directly under the alarm to get it to stop making that horrendous loud noise.  I always imagined the neighbors running to call the fire department, however, no one ever did, thank goodness.

The whole experience was an exercise in getting big taste out of a small kitchen.  My friends always thought it was an astounding feat that sI could cook just about anything in that space.  Yes. I must say that some amazing meals came out of that miniature caboose.