These Three Strange Items Will Make People Think You're a Great Cook

Nathan and I inevitably wind our Sunday's down in the kitchen. Cooking alongside him is truly one of my favorite things to do. 

Tonight he marinated and grilled up some steak and since I don't eat meat I whipped up some egg whites and veggies to sneak in some greens for him and protein for me. For a little taste of home, I also mixed up some tangy grits, oh, and some cookie/muffins for good measure. 

Here's the thing. 

I'm not a great cook. I am a good cook. The difference, I believe, is in that I have little patience and a very unreliable memory. While, I can taste and season my way through almost everything, I will never remember what I did that made a dish so good the last time, and for some rebellious reason I simply refuse to follow any recipe to the T.  

But. 

There are three ingredients that I swear will have you feeling less like Betty CROOKer and more like Julia Child... while still totally being a kitchen crook. 

SMOKED PAPRIKA

Have you ever been to Williamsburg, Virginia? You know, the restaurants where character actors still cook and heat their homes using wooden fireplaces? Well, it smells like that. To me, Smoked Paprika adds a hint of smokey 1776 to any dish. It is hearty and homey and delicious. I've scrambled it into eggs, seasoned shrimp with it, mixed it into soups, blended it into gazpacho, added it to guacamole. It gives a hint of flavor that your guests will have a hard time putting their finger on. They might think that flavor came from an intricate combination of another 14 seasonings. This is exactly what you want.  I use it in nearly every savory meal and constantly have to restock my reserve. 

SOY SAUCE

Everyone has a bottle, and perhaps some packets from 1999 in their home. I learned very early how versatile traditional soy sauce is (I have a low sodium bottle right now - not quite sure why). 

Go ahead and drizzle a little over your poached eggs. Try it. You'll understand. Soy Sauce provides a salty savory taste that would require many more ingredients to try and emulate. This has been my secret weapon when I've run out of vegetable broth, or stock for a soup. 1/8 cup of soy sauce for every cup of water used does the trick. I am a firm believer that soy sauce totally works as a flavorful accent in just about every kind of savory meal. I also sometimes drizzle this on avocado. AHhmazing. 

APPLESAUCE

My Southern family/friends are going to hate me for this one! I always keep a couple jars of unsweetened Applesauce on hand to substitute for butter or oil in recipes while baking. While this can sometimes lead to a more fluffy, muffin-like texture, everything that I have concocted using this substitute tastes just as yummy (I am still experimenting with bananas and avocado for the same purpose - but with a little less success). 

If the recipe calls for: 

1 cup of Butter - Replace with 1 cup of Applesauce 

1 Cup of Oil - Use 1 cup of Applesauce and reduce some of the other liquids called for in the recipe (or not, I've forgotten - go figure - that last suggestion a few times and I think the baked goods have turned out just fine. 

By far the most important step in making a healthy substitution while cooking is to keep this fact a secret from your husband until he eats it. Somehow - husbands seem to enjoy your baking less if they know you left out the butter. 

Have any tricks that I can steal and put up my sleeve too? Do Share!