How to cook a gourmet meal for under 1$ in Dominican Republic!

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
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There is nothing gourmet about spaghetti and chicken meatballs.

Gourmet would be hand made pasta from scratch or at the very least a manufactured pasta made from 100% Durham wheat. Meatballs for spaghetti are usually beef or pork. I have never been offered nor have I seen spaghetti paired with chicken meatballs on a menu. Like chicken wieners, I know they exist but I would never eat one.

I think it is great to show how one can be thrifty at the grocery store with a little bit of effort in the kitchen beyond opening a can but gourmet is a real stretch for this particular video.

A real pasta sauce made from fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices would alone cost more than the entire meal option presented. But it is a step up from Ramen Noodles so I'll concede that point.

Gourmet (US: /ɡɔːrˈmeɪ/, UK: /ˈɡɔːrmeɪ/) is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, often quite rich courses. Historically the ingredients used in the meal tended to be rare for the region, which could also be impacted by the local state and religious customs.

Good luck Sofi.
 

ese tipo

Newbie
Apr 12, 2019
97
58
28
There is nothing gourmet about spaghetti and chicken meatballs.

Gourmet would be hand made pasta from scratch or at the very least a manufactured pasta made from 100% Durham wheat. Meatballs for spaghetti are usually beef or pork. I have never been offered nor have I seen spaghetti paired with chicken meatballs on a menu. Like chicken wieners, I know they exist but I would never eat one.

I think it is great to show how one can be thrifty at the grocery store with a little bit of effort in the kitchen beyond opening a can but gourmet is a real stretch for this particular video.

A real pasta sauce made from fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices would alone cost more than the entire meal option presented. But it is a step up from Ramen Noodles so I'll concede that point.

Gourmet (US: /ɡɔːrˈmeɪ/, UK: /ˈɡɔːrmeɪ/) is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, often quite rich courses. Historically the ingredients used in the meal tended to be rare for the region, which could also be impacted by the local state and religious customs.

Good luck Sofi.


Damn! for the life of me I don't get this site sometimes.I've seen people be so cordial then I see a post like this.If we're going to get involved in semantics...yes by no means this is gourmet! but when I go and visit the DR by the time I tally up all I've spent between airfare,logdging,car rental, trips to la Sirena,pricemart etc.I would welcome and appreciate a home cooked meal for 100 pesos! I for one would like to see more videos like this I hope OP and his wife keep em coming I would like to see if I can make them here in the states
( won't be under $2 that's for sure ) and get me primed up for my next trip over.BTW if this however was just a little ribbing between 2 friends then please pardonnez mois for intruding.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
7,090
2,963
113
Then maybe we should call their site "Strawman Gourmet" or "Almost Gourmet". C'mon give me a break and try to understand advertising this as promoted is, quite honestly, fraud. Misleading. Why in so many instances does a simple post on this forum board turn into exactly like the above.? Now we will have 155 pages of discussions of "gourmet".

If you're so intent on "wanting a home cooked meal for under 2 bux, why don't you first understand the COL in the DR and educate yourself on what you don't know. For example: Do you know the cost of one pound of plum tomatoes? A box of angel hair pasta? Two table spoons of virgin olive oil? Garlic? Grated cheese?
There is a tread here started a couple of months ago on the COL for your reference. In the future my recommendation is; take your boxing gloves off first, before you start cooking. It will improve the flavor chef. Buen apetito!
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
I enjoyed watching the video, easy to follow and clear (sayonara, your wife is lovely, too). This YouTube channel is exactly what many Dominicans need, and today the internet is more available on phones, even in the campo. Definitely a step up from using ketchup on spaghetti (yes, I’ve seen that). I occasionally make meatballs in DR, and everyone is always fascinated, as if it’s magic, so I applaud this tutorial. I’ll add that turkey meatballs are common in the US these days, and it’s only natural that chicken be used in DR. Less expensive than beef and pork, and healthier.

The remarks about gourmet are rude and uncalled for, and they stop NOW. Some you you need to remember the old saying “If you have nothing nice to say......”
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,504
5,932
113
dr1.com
Looks good, and good luck with her cooking show. Does she use real italian pasta or Dominican? We eat pasta on a regular basis and my wife will not use the Dominican pasta any more. Certainly if one uses local ingredients( produce especially) it is far cheaper to eat here than most countries. Garlic is 200 pesos a lbs though.
 

sayanora

Silver
Feb 22, 2012
1,621
36
48
She just used whatever the cheapest package of pasta was that she could find, it wasn't easy to cook for 2 for under 2$ ! The good thing about garlic/onions is you can buy 5 pesos of each in the colmado.
 

George101

Member
Jul 9, 2017
33
3
8
This is a lovely video. That high level of loveliness definitely attracted some under rock dwellers. So funny. Please post more videos like this, it is refreshing.
 

tripp789

Member
May 4, 2018
65
20
18
My wife is starting a cooking channel on youtube and thought this might be a good place to share her video on how she cooks a gourmet meal for 2 for under 100 pesos.. check it out!

In spanish BTW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTQXQXJYX4&t=9s

Congratulations! I think the idea is great!

My biggest complaint about this site is that some of the posters can’t help themselves from making snarky and rude comments about trivial things. Perhaps a reflection on their own trivial lives If I can be a bit snarky myself.

Tell you wife to keep it up! 99% of us wish her great success.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
3,271
1,162
113
It’s hard making a meal for 100 peso and appealing..great job..don’t worry about negativity it’s called island fever ;)
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Post after midnight and it is likely you will only find the nocturnal under rock dwellers out and about.

Some get it some don't. This month it appears that I am on a bit of a language jihad. This is was not my first post about the incorrect usage of an English word. I'm not trying to be the language/grammar police but merely point out some of the many examples of language laziness that seems to be increasing on these pages of late.

While my message may be interpreted as a bit harsh, that usually only happens with those who speed read through the content without pausing long enough for any sort of enlightened comprehension to take hold. The entire piece was focused on a single word and why the choice to use that word caught my attention at 1:00 am.

I did point out that I thought it was a good idea for the concept of the video to be presented and I did wish Sofi good luck at the bottom but I suspect that the daytime "slow cook your brain" sun worshipers probably didn't make it that far before pounding the dislike button and displaying their limited reading comprehension.

That's one of the nice things about DR1 and the DR in general, it can appeal to all types. The quality of the video is by the way I feel top notch and that meal just may be of interest to a large segment of the local population; Just not the part that considers themselves gourmets or who repeatedly drop more than $100 pesos on drink after drink, hour after hour at their haute culture watering hole on Pedro Clisante Este.

Viva ground chicken parts. Staple of the cost obsessed shopper. It's wonderful and tastes just like everything else (apparently). What's not to like about faux pasta that costs the same as a packet of faux tomato paste - gourmet indeed, Dominican style, where results rarely exceed the hype.

Just great another morning screed. A lost cause is a lost cause, so moving on...
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Post after midnight and it is likely you will only find the nocturnal under rock dwellers out and about.

Some get it some don't. This month it appears that I am on a bit of a language jihad. This is was not my first post about the incorrect usage of an English word. I'm not trying to be the language/grammar police but merely point out some of the many examples of language laziness that seems to be increasing on these pages of late.

While my message may be interpreted as a bit harsh, that usually only happens with those who speed read through the content without pausing long enough for any sort of enlightened comprehension to take hold. The entire piece was focused on a single word and why the choice to use that word caught my attention at 1:00 am.

I did point out that I thought it was a good idea for the concept of the video to be presented and I did wish Sofi good luck at the bottom but I suspect that the daytime "slow cook your brain" sun worshipers probably didn't make it that far before pounding the dislike button and displaying their limited reading comprehension.

That's one of the nice things about DR1 and the DR in general, it can appeal to all types. The quality of the video is by the way I feel top notch and that meal just may be of interest to a large segment of the local population; Just not the part that considers themselves gourmets or who repeatedly drop more than $100 pesos on drink after drink, hour after hour at their haute culture watering hole on Pedro Clisante Este.

Viva ground chicken parts. Staple of the cost obsessed shopper. It's wonderful and tastes just like everything else (apparently). What's not to like about faux pasta that costs the same as a packet of faux tomato paste - gourmet indeed, Dominican style, where results rarely exceed the hype.

Just great another morning screed. A lost cause is a lost cause, so moving on...

You just don’t get it. Stop obsessing over the word gourmet. If you find a way to make a palatable meal for 100 pesos, using imported San Marzano tomatoes and DeLallo Italian pasta (sold at La Sirena), please share it with us. I hope you’re as cute as Mrs. Sayonara and speak Spanish as well too.

View attachment 3179
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
The clock (time of day) means little when we have posters from various time zones.

Now Gringo posting after 1am..... that's local time.....he might be howling at the moon !!

late to bed or early to rise ??

hahaha