CHAPTER 1

Creating the Restaurant Feeling at Home

Many families eat out about three times per week. If you have a large family or even a small family
with big eaters, you know that the cost of this adds up quickly. With prices rising in all areas of retail,
it can be a good idea to have a less costly alternative to dining out. Your family will truly appreciate
the effort you make to get a restaurant-quality recipe to serve for everyday meals. In most cases,
restaurant recipes have taken a lot of years to perfect, but you can have them, tried and true, to serve
up piping hot to your family.

Become a Restaurant Detective

Wherever your tastes lie, it is no longer difficult to find out the ingredients in most restaurant recipes.
With a little detective work and a quick visit to the local grocery store, you can be serving up a
dinner that no one will be able to resist. You will be amazed at the savings you will accumulate when
you use a copycat restaurant recipe instead of dining out.
If you are having a party, you can make a copycat restaurant recipe that will have your guests
swearing you purchased it from the restaurant that made the dish famous. You can enjoy the attention
your cooking will bring when you decide to make a copycat restaurant recipe for your next party or
potluck dinner.
Just because you cook your own food doesn't mean it can't be as delicious as a five-star restaurant;
all you need are a few simple tools. You don't have to be a master chef to cook like one, either. The
equipment needed to prepare the recipes in this book are broken into appliances, cooking gadgets,
cookware, and bakeware. You will also learn the terms and techniques needed to make a wonderful
restaurant-quality meal.

Appliances and Cookware

Appliances

These appliances will provide the greatest convenience and versatility in your kitchen:

Electric mixer — A portable handheld mixer will do well for all of the recipes in this

book.

Blender — This kitchen helper cuts time instantly by blending, chopping, and puréeing

foods.

Deep fryer — A small Fry Daddy is the best at regulating the temperature of the cooking

oil when deep frying meats or vegetables.