Now THAT'S Fancy Cookin'

Sophisticated. In terms of food, the word "sophisticated" conjures up images of impossibly glamorous people going to black tie affairs and teasing their sensitive palates with delicate French food and wines that have veritable pedigrees.

As the American public continues to enjoy a revolution in food, it is fair to say that many of us now have more sophisticated tastes than we did, say, twenty years ago. Maybe you now insist on organic produce. Or grass-fed beef. Maybe you insist on local foods. You might be hard-pressed to think of a world cuisine you have not fully explored. Maybe your friends think that you, too would be an Iron Chef, if it weren't for that pesky day job holding you back.

All of this sophistication regarding our culture of food can be considered fun, exciting, nutritionally beneficial, and inspiring. There is something magical about really well-crafted food...just think about your grandmother's pies, or your anniversary dinner, or something else that literally takes you on a mental and spiritual journey every time you call to mind the flavors associated with it. Those insufferable "foodies" are really doing wonderful things for all of us.

But this sophistication also intimidates the hell out of a lot of other people. So much so, they are willing to dig in their heels and never try anything new because it's weird or the stuff of snobs. And the people who feel intimidated by sophisticated food are not necessarily a bunch of backwoods bumpkins. They exist across every class and social line. They may simply be the conservative sort who'd rather be faced with a devil they know at the table versus a devil they don't.

I wish I could explain that most "fancy cookin'" ain't all that fancy. Because the cooking world owes a huge debt of gratitude to the French (and other Europeans) for their inventive culinary ideas, they often put a difficult handle on a realtively easy technique. The cooking shows on TV, fine food magazines, cookbooks, and more are filled with fearsome terms for easy concepts. For example:

REDUCTION SAUCE: You boil a liquid for a long time so that the flavor gets concentrated.
COMPOUND BUTTER: Softened butter with stuff mixed into it.
FOND: The junk that sticks to the bottom of the pan. You can loosen it up with some liquid if you want...puts some more flavor into your sauce.
CARAMELIZED: When food turns brown...it's on the verge of burning, but never crosses the "burnt" line.
BLANCH: Boil something for less than a minute.
MIREPOIX: A bunch of minced veggies that gives a soup or sauce some flavor. You know how homemade soups always seem to have bits of cut-up carrot, celery, and onion? That's "mirepoix"
MISE EN PLACE: Preparing parts of your recipe and setting them aside ahead of time so they are all ready for you when you are ready to throw them into a hot pan.
To SWEAT an onion: Saute an onion until it gets soft.
SAUTE: To cook in a pan with just a little oil or liquid.
BEURRE BLANC: Butter sauce
BEURRE NOISETTE: Browned butter sauce
POT DE CREME: Pudding.
STOCK: Really good, strong broth.
FOIE GRAS: Goose liver.
EVOO: Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Cookbooks love to throw this one around. Most of the time it doesn't matter if you use "extra virgin" or not. It sometimes doesn't even matter if you use olive oil (some other variety may do)
PATE: Special French meatloaf (ok ok...with special meats, but the concept is there)

You see, it's all pretty much jargon. To be sure, it's lovely, useful jargon with subtle nuances, but the jargon nevertheless points to some item or concept that most people over the age of twelve can readily understand...or accomplish on their own. If you can learn some of the wording, you can learn all of the concepts, and no cuisine will ever be too sophisticated for you.