Tag Archives: culinary school

Crab Enchiladas with Bacon and Orange Sauce

Crab Enchiladas with Bacon and Orange Sauce

This recipe is compliments of our cooking school, where I sometimes teach classes (I teach at a school as well as offer private cooking classes out of my home). I changed it a tiny bit. I like to think of it as enchiladas for guests. I make enchiladas all the time… [more] for my family: midweek. I toss together chicken, some salsa and bottled enchilada sauce. Roll ‘em up, sprinkle with

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what are your favorite kitchen tools?

what are your favorite kitchen tools?

I knew it.
I had my favorite kitchen tools as a cook. But then I went to culinary school. And wondered if my favorite, lovingly-worn out kitchen toys would start getting less attention. Get left on the shelf, forgotten in a drawer—icons of a novice cook. I remember watching myself… would my preferences completely change [because of culinary school] or would I retain my enthusiasm for using kitchen shears? Will… [more]

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5 weird things I learned at culinary school

5 weird things I learned at culinary school

Sure I learned how to fabricate a chicken and make bechamel; we clarified butter and practiced our knife cuts. We used chinoise to strain our sauces and hailed the art of cooking an egg. We used bain maries and whisked emulsions, studied food culture across the US and learned to look at plate presentation with a trained eye. I adored culinary school… [more]. But beyond the cooking basics, I

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Central Plains Cuisine

Central Plains Cuisine

The central plains (across the midriff of America) is considered the bread basket of the United States. It has a ‘corn belt’ and a ‘wheat belt.’ (Much of this info is borrowed from book American Regional Cuisine).
This region is the main source of food crops for the US. Beyond grains, you will find dairy farming and cheese making, an abundance of game, poultry and freshwater fish.
In American Cuisine—one… [more]

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Pacific Northwest Cuisine

Pacific Northwest Cuisine

When you think Pacific Northwest cuisine (PNW), what comes to mind? Perhaps stone fruit, nuts, berries, fish, shellfish… maybe mushrooms or lettuce greens such as nettle, dandelion and sorrel.… [more] Here is a quick list of ‘typical’ PNW foods, as relayed by my American Regional textbook:
Alaskan Halibut
Apples
Asparagus
Berries: blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, lingonberries, raspberries, salmonberries, strawberries
Cherry
Farmstead Cheese: cougar gold, tillamook
Clams: Geoduck, Manila Clam, Razor Clam
Crabs:

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you quesadillas will never be the same: green chili chutney.

you quesadillas will never be the same: green chili chutney.

The truth is, I often make quesadillas. They are a knee jerk response to ‘what’s for lunch’? In their simplest form, I just make them with cheese and refried beans… and maybe a smear of salsa if I add in a few extra seconds for prep. I am a big fan of crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, so my humble little lunchtime quesadillas often spend 2-3 minutes… [more]

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Californian Cuisine

Californian Cuisine

For class, we would often do culinary summaries of various regions around the U.S. I enjoyed learning about various individuals who made significant contributions in the evolution of Californian cuisine. It is a huge, wonderfully productive state, famous for their fusion, fresh and locally farmed foods in addition to their international success in the wine industry (see the movie Bottle Shock—it’s great). Here was my summary:
California produces more crops… [more]

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Tex Mex Cuisine

Tex Mex Cuisine

I took a class called American Cuisine. Each week we would focus on a different region of America, to familiarize ourselves with its flavors, historical influences and topography, and  how they informed the table tops in this part of the country.
One week was all about Tex Mex. Texas is its own unique state, unlike any other. ‘Tex-mex’ cuisine was born out of poor man’s Mexican food and includes corn,… [more]

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Southern Cuisine

Southern Cuisine

I am taking a culinary class called American Regional Cuisine; in it, we are reviewing popular, familiar and historic cuisines in varying parts of the country. This is a quick sketch of Southern Cuisine:
Big meals, barbecues, fish fries and iced tea. Southern hospitality has a reputation for invitation, exuberance and an abundance of comfort food. Southern cuisine comes from: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina & … [more]

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Asian fare: spring onion pancakes

Asian fare: spring onion pancakes

I am taking Asian cuisine this quarter. It is not my usual fare—though I enjoy the flavors and am intrigued by the many tastes. In fact, I had a choice of a handful of different classes and effectively made myself take Asian: just for exposure sake. Asian cookery is known for its different techniques and emphasis on texture; it is often quite counter to what is ‘classic’—aka French—cuisine.
Some of… [more]

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