I’m no chef. I can barely make ice. But yesterday I made some Mac + Cheese and added a hit of Chili Powder. It was Mac + Cheese times awesome!
What weird or secret ingredient do you add to ordinary dishes to make them taste like magical rainbows?
Glace, primarily Veal.
I sometimes make my own, but mostly buy it frozen from here.
A little glace goes a long way. Want a nice sauce for that steak? Deglaze your pan with a little red wine, throw in a block o’ glace and a bit of mustard. Yum Yum.
Want to brighten up soups and stews? Glace.
Fish? Poach it in a little fish glace.
Oh, and butter, too. Butter is the other secret ingredient. Everything is better with butter.
Toasted sesame seeds and dark sesame oil makes all sorts of things taste better.
“You might say the secret ingredient is salt.” - Marge Simpson
Oddly, the second time in two days I’ve been able to use that line.
I used to put a dash of nutmeg in my breading for fried stuff (chicken, venison, pork chop, etc.). I haven’t made anything like that in ages, tho.
Cilantro. Fresh (not dried), chopped cilantro. Especially in anything with chicken or beef.
Take some ground beef (or black beans if you’re doing a vegetarian dish), fry it in some oil with onions and cilantro, stir in a squirt of ketchup and then drop that bomb on top of your Mac and Cheese with chili powder.
Summer savory. It’s best with beef, but I’ve found that a touch of savory improves nearly any meat dish. It probably improves most vegetable dishes, too, but since I prefer my veggies raw, I couldn’t really say.
Maple syrup (real syrup, not Log Cabin) works in a vast array of foodstuffs. I don’t overuse it, but replacing a bit of the sugar in a concoction or adding a hint to savory or other wonders adds a charm that, if done with a light enough hand, is generally magnificent yet remains unplaceble.
Subtle tweaking of sugar and acid can often drastically improve a dish. I make a simple caramel sauce by cooking sugar until light brown and then adding just enough water for it to flow nicely. I also use Citric acid to add just a bit of brightness as well. At the levels you add it, I can’t tell much of a difference between citric acid and lemon juice and getting just a tablespoon of lemon juice can often be inconvenient so the powdered form works great for me.
I’ll second that. Salt is without a doubt my secret ingredient. A lot of people would be very surprised at just how much salt goes into the food at their favorite restaurants.
Actually, I keep a ramekin of a salt & pepper mix (about a 2 to 1 ratio) handy for seasoning most everything.
Mine is my meatloaf topping. Mostly molasses. Really really good.
Sour cream (or plain yogurt) in brownies.
Holy shit, I’m so going to do this!!!
I’m getting very hungry here.
I am no stranger to salt. It’s what makes a potato taste like a potato. And makes pasta editable. It turns corn into love, and french fries into art. But I wouldn’t call that a (secret) ingredient. Most people know when salt has been used, and it’s so essential to cooking, I just assume it’s in everything.
Also, is Summer Savory the same thing as MSG? 'Cuz, I lurve MSG.
Never tried the chili powder in Mac n Cheese, but always add a few shakes of Tapatio. Mmm mmm good.
Mmmm.
Chili powder in one hand, hot sauce in the other… now put yer hands together. Mac + Cheese has just been nuked from orbit.
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Garlic powder, or, if it’s a fancy dinner, roasted garlic, mushed up nicely.
I mixed in about two heads worth of roasted garlic in with my mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, along with white pepper (no unsightly black specks for me!) and voila! No leftovers.
Pork…
My mother used to make this fish dish that everyone loved… 
Penzey’s spice blends - the Parisian Bonnes Herbes and the Tuscan Sunset in particular - can perk up nearly any bland dish. I often add them to frozen vegetables and it makes a huge difference without adding extra fat and calories like butter.
Nope (thank Og). Summer savory is an herb, Satureja hortensis. Winter savory (Satureja montana) is similar in flavor, but less sweet and more pungent.
I prefer the subtlety of summer savory, but I will use winter savory in a pinch. 