How to Cook Everything.

Bake, blanch, shock, boil, broil, parboil, simmer, steam, sauté, stir fry, pan fry, deep fry, roast, grill, pressure cook, poach, braise, stew. phew. If there is a way to cook something, we learned it this past week. Sooooo, I’m good to graduate now, right?

Good Food + Good Technique = Great Cooking

The ingredients and the recipes are the easy part. This week was a crash course in mastering the technique. We fired up the convection ovens, grills and woks for the first time in the program. I seared and charred all the things, including my arm, but that’s another battle scar story for another day.

We were introduced to a new Chef for some of our training. Meet Chef Rich LaMarita. He taught us how to fry things. And yes, we do fry things in Health-Supportive Culinary Arts. Not mad about it. We made some mean tempura onion rings that I did not photograph, because they disappeared before I could snap.

Here’s something I did take a photo of that was also delish. We sliced tofu and sprinkled it with organic cornmeal before pan frying in a cast iron skillet and topping with caramelized onions.

Chef Celine had us experiment with different styles of potato mashers to master the art of the puree. I’ve never used a potato ricer, but it was quite fun. It’s essentially a giant garlic press. Oh, and if you’re a mashed potato aficionado, neverevereverever mash them in a food processor or Vitamix. It’s blasphemous. Also, they will turn into a gluey, mucousy mess. Her description, not mine. Yum.

To braise simply means to cook whole pieces of something (meat or veg) in a small amount of liquid, covered. And just in case you wanted a cooking terminology lesson, “stewing” is exactly the same thing just with smaller, cut up pieces.

We braised endive, leeks, and fennel in a sautoir after pan searing them for a touch of color.

And BEHOLD: z roasted vegetable. I included a before and after, in case you didn’t know what roasted vegetables looked like.

But also, if you’ve never made your own roasted red peppers (for salads, pasta, hummus, dips, etc. etc.). Do it. It’s so fun. You take it from this:

To this. With the help of a very large flame and some tongs. Then you steam it in a covered bowl, and the skin peels right off. It’s not as grotesque as it sounds. But then again, it’s Halloween week, so I can say it was oddly satisfying to wipe the skin right off with you hands. Ok, I’ll stop.

Actually, speaking of blood and gore, I watched Chef nick her finger demoing these Walnut and Currant Stuffed Baked Apples. It made me realize that the few times in my life I’ve seen someone slice their hand with a knife, it was for apples. They really are dangerous. The wicked queen in Snow White was really on to something.

I will say that the non-bloody Baked Apples were to die for.

Ummm , can we talk about braised cabbage for a second? Do y’all eat cooked cabbage straight up? I really never have. I don’t know if I’ve been living under a rock, but my life is forever changed. I’m going to eventually write out the very simple recipe for that Braised Purple Cabbage up there to share. And if you come over for dinner anytime in the next 4-5 years, expect to eat cabbage.

Also, I’d like to take a second to commend every person that has mastered the perfectly poached pear. Mine was a major fail. If I could show you a burnt pot of sticky mess, I would. But alas, I didn’t find it appropriate to whip out my phone in that moment. I will be practicing. That is our midterm.

Last, but not least. Well, maybe it is the least because Baba Ghanoush is just meh to me. But, we made Baba Ganoush! We roasted 1 eggplant the same way we made the roasted red peppers, and puréed it with tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. It was super simple if you’re into eggplant. The labels you see were just our group names…there were no apples in the baba ganoush.

Alright, my friends, I’m off to class! See you next week! And in the meantime, beware of apples.