I saw a financial expert on a television show this week who challenged viewers who have debt to avoid dining out at restaurants for a whole month. Though it may be difficult to believe, American consumers spend over $400 billion dollars a year at restaurants. For many families, going out to dinner might be a regular activity for relaxing and enjoying time together. I know when I was young, my family loved to go out for dinner. It always seemed like a special treat.
If you have developed a taste for your favorite foods, it might be difficult to stop dining out. But, eating at home does not mean that you have to forego your restaurant favorites. There are many websites that offer “copy cat” recipes for restaurant favorites. Sometimes these are spot-on in reproducing the restaurant dish, and sometimes they need some tweaking. It is helpful to find sites that have reviews from users, who can advise how accurate the recipe is in reproducing the restaurant experience.
This past weekend I recreated my favorite restaurant deep dish pizza. The secret was allowing the dough to rise in a cake pan before baking the pizza in that pan. I also made breadsticks that were very similar to those from this restaurant. The spice and cheese blend sprinkled on them tasted exactly like the restaurant version. I even found a recipe to replicate the pizza sauce.
What are your favorite restaurant dishes? Have you tried to recreate them at home?
Hint: have teenagers who feel deprived if you won't take the family out to eat? Challenge them to find "copy cat" recipes online. Set aside time on the weekend to cook together instead of going out to eat.