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How to Make Fresh Pasta

Making fresh pasta is often considered a daunting task by many. But it need not be after you read Chef Jim Berman's "how-to" article on making fresh pasta.
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How to Roast a Chicken and Other Savory Foods

To look in any dictionary under the word "roast" will most likely yield a definition such as "to cook foods using dry heat in a contained oven or near an open flame". Sounds simple, right? As with anything though, a roast can be made as uncomplicated or elaborate as one decides. I personally like to keep things simple. Once, while taking a course on French Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I witnessed a chef roasting three capon. As simple as it sounds it was one of the most beautiful yet laborious roasts I had ever seen....
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How To Make Marinara Sauce - and Tomato Concasse

So, where does the sea fit into the picture? In discovering the land of tomato sauce invention, marinara takes us to Naples, on the west coast of Italy. Coast. Sea. Tomatoes do not grow in the sea. Rather, the fishermen whom were fed pasta with marinara made their living on the sea. Marinaro, sailor. Or so goes the tale. ...
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How To Make Roux (Making Sense of Food Thickeners-Part II)

In Part I of this series on food thickeners we looked at a variety of different items that can be used for thickening. In this part we will be focusing exclusively on flour, as a thickener, as that is what most people turn to when something needs thickening....
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How To Make Fresh Ricotta

The best thing about making your own ricotta is the cost. It is less expensive, ounce for ounce, than the commercial stuff. ...
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Making Sense of Food Thickeners - Part I

We rarely think when it comes to thickening soups and sauces. We usually just reach for that box of cornstarch are whip up a quick batch of roux, never really thinking of what we are doing. But do you really understand when to use one thickening agent over another? Why do most gravies use flour or a roux and why do many fruit desserts use cornstarch, arrowroot or tapioca? ...
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How To Make Spring Rolls

Let's deconstruct what you know of spring/eggrolls and rebuild them; not that there is anything wrong with what is out there now, but together we can make them better. There is more to a good spring roll than little bits of pork and overcooked cabbage. Do not shy away; across the garden awaits the promised land. ...
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How To Make Corn Beef Hash

My first experience with homemade hash came about while working at a roadhouse in northern New Mexico. The owner was insistent on making his self-proclaimed famous Red Flannel Hash for St. Patrick's Day. He chopped russet potatoes, corned beef, canned beets and yellow onions and mixed everything together with some seasonings that I do not recall as well as some cooked mashed potatoes, as a glue to hold the mass together, I suppose....
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How To Make Hot Chocolate

There is very little right with instant hot chocolate. There is no fire-breathing, red-bellied, god-fearing soul to it. Ain't got no soul, ain't got no love. Plain as that. I'm all for shortcuts. I am. Seriously....
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Proper Poaching

Welcome back to class! Hopefully you have had a month of successful grilling! What have you grilled that was really great? Please send us an e-mail (chefs@cheftalk.com) and we will share it with the class next month....
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