Good question. A lot depends on what the dish is but off the top of my head I would say I tend to lean towards garlic and lemon. Pasta and Italian type stuff I love crushed red pepper.

Another "What's That There" sauce lover here. Also, I add Tabasco frequently. I go thru a bottle of Tabasco about every other week.

Garlic...it MUST need more garlic! lol

I don't make a lot of sauces or gravy but when I do...I'm generous with the heavy cream.

Buttah. Man can not live by bread alone. He MUST have buttah!

/tricia

Oh Linda I love this! I'm with Triciae, garlic! I also love Worchestersire, the possibilities are endless. For my DH it's Jim Beam Hot Sauce on/in EVERYTHING!!! Gina

When I make spaghetti sauce I always add a teaspoon of grape jelly.

Garlic and salt in savory.
Cinnamon in sweets.

Deanna

Marigene - I do that too!

When I taste a dish and think it's missing "something" I either reach for Worcestershire, lemon, Tabasco or salt. Depends what I'm making.

I add pepper, garlic, Parmesan, onion, celery, other spices only when I think that particular flavour needs a boost.

Garlic! And after that, basil, or thyme, or onions, or yet another bay leaf. I am also guilty of adding a little powdered beef bouillon to gravies and sauces. Don't you just hate blah food?

I use many of the above ideas, depending on what the dish is, but I also think a bit of tomato paste (regular or dried) can add a richness to many dishes. Also, a little dry wine (especially it it's reduced) adds a wonderful touch to stews, braises, and sauces.

Judi

I just put this in another thread! I often add soy sauce or oyster sauce to things for a richer, deeper flavor. I use them in all kinds of cuisine. Not just Asian. I'm like your friend, Marie. Often times just salt boost does the trick.

Wine!

Cream
Celery seed
Butter
Cream
Sour Cream
Bourbon
Wine
Cream
Cheese

Sriracha, specifically the Huy Fong brand. (I've tried Thai sriracha, and prefer the American made Huy Fong brand.)

It's like Tabasco on steroids, pure clean chili capsicum hot-ossity. It's not as vinegary as Tabasco, and a heck of a lot hotter. Since I discovered it I don't use Tabasco nearly as much as I used to. (If you like Tabasco, you'll probably like sriracha.) It's available at most oriental or Indian food stores.

I use it in soups, stir fries, barbecue sauces--anything that would benefit from capsicum heat (as opposed to black pepper heat). Great stuff; I couldn't cook without it.

Here is a link that might be useful: sriracha

P.S. On Iron Chef America I once saw Mario Battalli throw a healthy squirt of Huy Fong Sriracha into something he was making. So if it's good enough for Mario...

For beef based soups, gravys, and stroganoff I find a cube of demi glace really bumps up the flavor. I'm out and need to make some along with some beef broth soon. I freeze cubes of the demi in ice cube trays and then transfer to a freezer bag to have on hand. Then there is the chocolate in chili.....

David

Arley, I was a hot sauce collector; several years ago gave them all up for Huy Fong Sriracha.

heavy cream
salt
lemon juice
chicken stock
thyme
sage
lemon pepper
soy sauce
red pepper flakes
grains of paradise

Mushroom soy sauce. It add so much to all kinds of dishes. A different kind of salt, but much more depth. Quiche wouldn't be the same without it to me. Stroganoffs, stews, any number of dishes. I love garlic and probably use more than many. Not many around here maybe, smiles, but the general public. I never saute it and prefer to use it in dishes where it can cook with liquid for a longish time to make/keep it sweet.

In the sweet arena I too often go to lemon juice to elevate it. I also make sure there is that bit of salt to cut the sweet in many dishes.

The thing I use most often (and in place of salt) is a bit of soup base, generally Better Than Bouillon brand, but the restaurant supply store (Surfas) has Custom Culinary, Gold Label that makes an excellent "Savory Roasted Vegetable Base". It's made in IL, and so you should be able to find it in Iowa easily enough. I buy a different brand of mushroom soup base, and it is also one of my favorites.

In addition, I often add lime juice, mainly because I have so many limes these days. I have even more oranges, but I don't find orange flavor to be as versatile. My lemon tree is not producing as much as it used to, and I think it needs some treatment.

As it turns out, I also use Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce, with the rooster on the label from Huy Fong Foods in Rosemead, CA. I last bought it as Bay Cities Deli, which is nominally Italian, but they have branched out to other cuisines.

I tend to leave out salt in many recipes. If it is a stir fry, I often add tamarind paste. In soups, I often add ginger, as well as garlic, and sometimes sesame oil. I still have sweet basil growing in my yard that I need to use up, as it generally does not last through January.

Lars

Mustard powder..in chicken salad, cole slaw, beef based dishes or soups.., like stews or pepper steak and a dash in spinach salad too.