Julian Serrano offers advice on how to stretch a dollar to make an inexpensive dinner seem likean opulent one.
1 Start a meal with tapas, meze or dim sum. An impressive succession of small dishes will create a feeling of abundance. And it will serve as a fun contrast to a simple, satisfying main course like the chicken and chorizo ragout that Serrano serves at this dinner party.
2 Comparison shop for specialty ingredients. One-stop shopping may be more convenient than bargain hunting, but it can also be more costly. For instance, the 7.6-ounce jar of piquillo peppers used for the marinated cauliflower and the goat cheese empanadillas on Serrano's menu cost $10 at one specialty food shop but only $7 at another.
3 Take advantage of low-cost ingredients that have become chefs' favorites; your restaurant-savvy friends will appreciate the cachet. The white button mushrooms and cauliflower that Serrano favors here are two of the humblest foods in the produce section, but their honest flavors have made them increasingly popular, even at high-end restaurants.
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