I have discussed ingredient substitutions in classes, and I will probably go on mentioning them here in my blog. They’re not cheating, they don’t fundamentally detract from the recipe and they’re not wrong. Purists who click their tongues are nothing but elitist food snobs who can’t think in the kitchen the way a chef thinks. And anyone who disagrees with me so far should remember that many of the original, classic recipes bear no resemblance to their modern day counterparts.

Substitutions should redefine a dish, not sabotage it. Here’s a classic example. A la Florentine is a well-known preparation of with spinach and typically Mornay sauce. Whether your protein is chicken, mullet, pork or eggs, the preparation remains the same.

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Which is your favorite salsa? Crushed Tomato Salsa, mild Crushed Tomato Salsa, hot Fresh Tomato Salsa, mild Fresh Tomato Salsa, hot Corn and Black Bean Salsa Salsa? Isn't that a dance? View Results  Loading ...

It’s always fun to take the same ingredients and turn them into very diverse products. In my Sauteing & Frying II class, it was almost the same mise en place for each of the dishes. This week, it was salsa for the Game Day Gourmet class. I prepared two versions of tomato-based salsa. The principle for the dishes was to make it thin enough to be used for a dip, dry enough so that it didn’t make the chips too soggy, and to add the heat in layers so that it was flavorful and fiery.

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