Like the title suggests, what ingredient do you add to a particular dish to give it that ‘L’agniappe’ that makes a dish yours?
For instance, when making traditional American potato salad, I’ll add some plain yougurt to cut the mayonaisse and my salad is just enough different that it’ll get remembered (in a good way.)
What are your secrets?
I add a bit of Chardonnay to almost everything I cook. Adds a great taste and no one can figure it out.
My favorite “secret ingredient” comes from the movie Kung Fu Panda. I’ll say no more, to avoid spoilering.
I use sugar as a spice in most anything involving tomatoes or meat.
I use verjuice instead of either vinegar or wine in sauces and stocks. Except for risotto, where I use vermouth for the first liquid after sautéing the leek/onion/garlic/arborio base.
A sprinkle of onion powder on most meats adds a bit of depth of flavor. Quick and easy.
I use port when a recipe calls for red wine, and sherry when a recipe calls for white wine.
I’ve also got a big jar of Genuan spice mix from the Discworld cookbook which I add sparingly to tomato-based sauces.
Add Summer Savory to any dish that has beans, lentils, peas, etc. Sometimes called the Bean Herb in the past, it will enhance the flavor of all such dishes.
Is panda a red or a white meat?
I like to grate some fresh nutmeg whenever I think it’ll work.
fish sauce in anything i can sneak it in to.
Same here. Fish sauce works as a savory element in many applications. Anchovies, too. Both are great in stews. You only need a little bit, it won’t taste fishy, but make everything more “meaty” in flavor.
Thirded. I’ll cheat sometimes too and use straight-up MSG if I think that fish sauce’s funky flavor might actually be noticeable in the dish.
One thing I’ve noticed beyond that is that most people undersalt their dishes woefully, or salt at the wrong times in the process. (too late usually)
So I guess my secret ingredient is salt, judiciously used.
Smoked paprika is a wonderful addition to bean and lentil soups, devilled eggs and Bloody Marys.
Two:
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[li]Onion powder in mashed potatoes[/li][li]Pickled banana peppers and some of the liquid blended into hummus - it’s not so much so as to taste like the peppers, but it definitely adds a certain something that people always love.[/li][/ul]
Cayenne pepper goes in both Alfredo sauce and in my homemade mac and cheese. Seriously - it needs to be in there. Yum.
A drop of dark sesame oil in any stew or soup.
Coriander is the primary flavor in my wildly popular “Lemon Cream Sauce”
A touch of grated fresh Cardamom in Gingerbread.
A whisper of cardamom and a sprinkling of orange juice in Sugar cookies, pound cake, and other baked goods with a primarily Vanilla flavor.
Green pepper, blended and sauteed, then added into marinara sauce.
Oh, same here. I’m not ashamed to use MSG. I always have Accent on hand (or add MSG via something like a bouillon cube). Most of my meals don’t bother with it, but whenever I’m doing a soup or stew that I want to give an extra savory kick to, MSG does the trick.
Garlic in anything that’ll take it. Sometimes not enough to taste, but it makes everything else taste better.
I add a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters to scrambled or deviled eggs.
I have a secret ingrediant that I put into pretty much everything except water.
Long pig.
Not sure this is a secret or not, but whenever i mention it people look at me sideways… but I always add nutmeg to my white lace mashed potatoes. Everyone loves them as the nutmeg really opens up the flavor IMO.
Mace. Mace is my secret ingredient. But I’m not prepared to reveal what recipe I use it in.