Techniques of Cooking I - 6 Week Series

This series will introduce you to the skills essential to good cooking, and the principles behind them.  Whether you are new to the kitchen or have been cooking for decades, you’ll learn about food and how to cook it in ways that will elevate your cooking to entirely new levels.

Week 1 – Knife Skills: Kick off this in-depth series by slicing and dicing your way to culinary proficiency. Learn how to select and sharpen knives, practice a variety of cuts, and work with uniquely shaped vegetables.

Week 2 – Eggs: Did you know the 100 folds of a classic chefs’ toque are said to represent the many ways a chef can cook an egg. Learn about the science of cooking an egg in many forms from whole to yolks and whites to foams. Recipes may include hollandaise sauce, omelets, soufflés, and custards.

Week 3 – Soups and Stocks: A good stock is the foundation of all great cooking. Start with the basics: beef, chicken, veal, and vegetable stocks. From these bases, you will make a variety of soups, like Southwest squash, fennel corn chowder, and vichyssoise.

Week 4 – Dry Heat Cooking: Discover the difference between radiant, conduction, and convection heat sources through roasting, grilling, and sautéing. You’ll learn and practice with the cuts of meat best cooked by the dry heat method. Possible recipes include skirt steak, grilled swordfish verde, and honey spiced pork.

Week 5 – Moist Heat Cooking: Learn the braising, stewing, and poaching methods categorized as moist heat cooking. Utilize the stove top and oven to discover differences between techniques, and the benefits of using aromatic stocks. Tackle recipes such as Ossobuco, braised short ribs, and rabbit fricassee.

Week 6 – Master Sauces: Nothing elevates good home cooking like a masterful sauce! This course will explore the classic mother sauces and their myriad of flavors, textures, and colors. Applying the skills you’ve honed over the past five weeks, you’ll learn the secret to making a truly impressive dish.