Intro

Ch 2.4: Keeping the Edge

23 February 2012 Last Updated on 23 February 2012 Lee Allison

Intro

Here we are over a month into our newsletter and not one malicious threat on our lives or on our kitchen appliances. As of this very moment we believe that we can chalk this up as a win in the good idea department. This newsletter is made possible by readers like you! One small step for chef, one giant leap for chef-kind. We did not have hug that Kitchen-aid for just a few seconds uncomfortably long! You want the cake? You can’t handle the cake! … I uh … lost my train of thought there … so sorry.

Ch 2.3: Making the Cut

31 January 2012 Last Updated on 31 January 2012 Lee Allison

The Classic Cuts

This week is all about the classic cuts. These cuts mostly come from French cuisine and can be found in texts coming all the way back from the 1700 - 1800s.These have been used for hundreds of years by chefs everywhere. Once again this is a “Do it this way” newsletter as the recipe calls for a chiffonade not a shred for a reason. No need to take notes on these. We will give you a nice info-graphic to print out and put on the fridge.

Without further adieu [uh-do] the classic cuts!

Ch 2.2: Basic Knife Skills

23 January 2012 Last Updated on 23 January 2012 Lee Allison

Basic Knife Skills

Hello and welcome to the third installment of “The Skills”. Last week we introduced you to your most commonly used tool in the kitchen … your knife. We went over what you want to look for in a knife, the different styles of knives, and why you want a good knife that feels right in your hands. Now what? Sure “Pointy end goes that way.” (that way meaning AWAY FROM YOURSELF) is not a bad place to start but what about after that? If you decide that you want to try a challenging recipe with your new knife, do you know the difference between a Julienne and a Chiffonade or a Rondelle and a Lozenge? (A what and a what and a what?) Fear not chefs not only will we be explaining what everything is, we will also be showing you how to do it and giving you a neat little info-graphic that you can print out and keep handy in the kitchen for quick reference (infographic is coming at the end of the knife section in two weeks). So let’s dive in to learning about each of these cuts and what they are good for.

Ch 2.1 Knife Intro

09 January 2012 Last Updated on 16 January 2012 Lee Allison

In starting our discussion of cooking techniques we start with the knife. The knife is the basic tool used for breaking things down, removing parts, partitioning or reducing. Anytime you have one large item that needs to have some part separated from other parts or reduced in size you are using a knife or a knife analogue. Blenders, food processors, graters, peelers, rasps; all of these are stand ins for a knife and generally do the same type of job: unwanted parts come off or large parts become small parts. Here at The Skills we are going to spend the next four weeks concentrating on knives. For all cooks they are usually the first tool picked up and it is worth spending the time on them.

Ch 1: Introduction

09 January 2012 Last Updated on 16 January 2012 Lee Allison

Hello and welcome to The Skills! This is The Social Skillet’s weekly cooking skills newsletter. Why does the world need another newsletter, especially a cooking one? Well, we believe that so many folks teach cooking the wrong way these days. They teach a recipe-oriented mish-mash of this and that, none of which really gives you the broad, transferable skill sets that you need to be genuinely successful in the kitchen. Don’t get us wrong, we love recipes. But teaching a pile of recipes with no foundational skills is like teaching a group of football players the playbook without talking about basics. Even the pros practice the core skills like blocking, route running, catching and such. We cooks should do the same as well.

Intro

Ch 2.4: Keeping the Edge

Ch 2.3: Making the Cut

Ch 2.2: Basic Knife Skills

Ch 2.1 Knife Intro

Ch 1: Introduction

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