Cooking for rookies Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 31 2008 03:12 AM By Iuliana Petre
Killeen Daily Herald

In a cook-off competition against world-renowned chefs Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray, Kenneth Montgomery, the executive chef at Killeen's Shilo Inn, would blow away the competition with a port wine sauce reduction.

Made with cabernet, merlot and port wines, the port wine sauce reduction is Montgomery's own recipe, and one he would serve with a red meat.

A veteran chef of 20 years – Montgomery has worked as an executive chef for the last 12 years – he can rattle off recipes and cooking techniques from the top of his head.

Montgomery knows what it takes to succeed in a professional kitchen. On Tuesday, he offered some pointers on how to succeed in the home kitchen.

For the rookie cook, Montgomery offers as a starting point, sharpening one's knife skills and remembering to always handle food safely.

"Cook foods to a proper temperature and clean up as you go," Montgomery said. "You don't want to get anyone sick."

For cooks really starting from scratch, stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, carry a sturdy brand of utensils and supplies.

"(Bed, Bath and Beyond) carries really nice culinary sets good for household kitchens and good enough for professional kitchens," Montgomery said.

It's on to the basics: selecting a recipe, buying the groceries and getting started.

For recipes, Montgomery won't send you to a bookstore, but instead to the Internet, where Web sites like the Food Network's foodnetwork.com, stock an endless supply of how-tos and a recipe box, which anyone can personalize to add, organize and share recipes.

And when it comes to cooking, "it's hard to really screw up," Montgomery said. "If you're going to create something, I recommend you write down your game plan. You can put anything with almost anything, just figure out what you want."

For those not brave enough to take such a serious plunge, Montgomery recommended following a recipe and then trying different ingredients or techniques.

"Follow a recipe's basics, but expand from it. But, try it on yourself, don't experiment on a dinner party," Montgomery said.

Unfraid of taking risks in the kitchen, Montgomery offered up a way to pair meats and side dishes.

Figure out what that animal would eat in its natural environment. Whatever that animal eats is what goes well with it, Montgomery said.

Giving some examples he suggested corn, wheat or another earthy-type food such as beets, as a side for beef, and berry-rich dishes as a side for duck. And for fish, like salmon, Montgomery acknowledged the difficulty of pairing a vegetable but recommended tomatoes, cream or a mustard dill sauce.

When it comes to drinks, the rule of thumb remains that red wine is paired best with red meats and white wine is paired best with fish or chicken. But beer is different.

Dark beers, like Samuel Adams, are great when paired with fish and beef, and ambers are best paired with chicken.

Regular beers, like Budweiser, Bud Light or Miller Lite, are best for battering.

"There are only certain foods that can stand up to something that strong," Mongtomery said of dark beers, adding that the flavor of regular beers is not very strong.

With these simple guidelines in mind, Montgomery's final recommendation is "be creative, be imaginative and don't be afraid to step outside the box. Try something. You never know, you might create something. But, practice, practice, practice."

Contact Iuliana Petre at ipetre@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7469.