Tips for Creating Restaurant Meals at Home

Not Made of Money posted about recreating their favorite restaurant meal at home and gave a few helpful tips about doing it yourself. Here are my tips on the topic as well:

• The next time you're at the restaurant, ask what's in the dish. Don't say you're going to recreate it at home, but your server should be able to tell you most, if not all, of the ingredients. (You can always claim various food allergies/sensitivies to get a list of the ingredients if they're not forthcoming - it's not that unusual: my grandmother won't eat garlic.)
• Copykat.com has a decent list of chain restaurant recipes so you might want to check there first.
• If you're making a complicated meal, start slow. Recreate your favorite part of the meal and serve it with dishes you're familiar with and comfortable preparing. This will help ensure all components are ready at the same time and that you're not sitting down to eat three hours after you'd expected.