PHOTOGRAPHY BY
AUBRIE PICK
Juni
or
MASTER
CLASS
CHEF
CONTENTS
Geing Ready to Cook 7Basic Techniques 8
Breakfast 11
Soups & Salads 33Snacks 47
Mains 61
Desserts 93Basic Recipes 122Index 126
SAUCEPAN
MIXING BOWLS
COLANDER
CAKE PAN
LOAF PAN
MUFFIN PAN
CUTTINGBOARD
PIZZA PEEL
OVEN MITT
STRAINER
LADLE
TONGS
CHEFS’ KNIFE
BREAD KNIFE
SMALL SERRATED KNIFE
PARING KNIFE
CARVING FORK & KNIFE
PIE DISH
ROLLING PIN
LARGE POT
FRYING PAN
SAUTÉPAN
BAKING DISH
METAL SPATULA
WOODENSPOON
WOODENSPATULA
SILICONESPATULA
LARGE BAKING DISH
WIRE WHISK
Getting ready to cook
ORGANIZATION
Learning to cook like a master chef is sure to be a fun and rewarding experience, but it is a talent you will likely need to perfect over time and with some effort. The first lesson every young chef needs to learn is the practice of mise en place,literally “everything in its place.” Before you begin to cook, read through the recipe from start to finish and get out the ingredients and equipment you’ll need.Prepare the ingredients in advanceas much as possible and assemble them neatly around your work area for easy access. The recipes in this book will note the best tools for particular tasks, but there are a few basic tools you should try to have on hand for essential food preparation and cooking techniques.
KNIVES
Start with a basic set of knives, then add more specialty knives as you determine your cutlery needs. A paring knife has a small, tapered blade that is best for small-scale work such as peeling, coring, trimming, and slicing small fruits and vegetables. A chefs’ knife has a large, tapered blade well suited to a variety of kitchen tasks, such as chopping, dicing, and slicing medium to large fruits and vegetables. A long serrated knife, commonly known as a bread knife, is designed to slice through thick, soft breads or cakes. A small serrated knife is a good tool for slicing through smaller soft fruits and vegetables, such as citrus and tomatoes. A carving knife has a long, narrow blade designed to easily slice through meat and maneuver around bones.Pair it with acarving fork to steady the item you are cutting.
POTS & PANS
Twosaucepans, one 2 quart and one 4 quart, are best for stovetop cooking. Use a large pot, 6 quarts or more, for boiling water,making soup, and cooking large ingredients. A sauté panhas high, straightsides to help prevent food from bouncing out of the pan when it is being stirred, turned, or flipped; it usually also has a thicker bottom designed to conduct and hold heat well, and a lid for containingevaporation while cooking. A frying pan, also known as a skillet, is a broad pan with sides that flare outward, making it useful for cooking foods that must be stirred often or slid from the pan; it’s best to have at least two frying pans, one small and one large, touse depending on the amount and size of the ingredients you are cooking.
COOKING TOOLS
Within a shortreach of your cooking and preparationarea should beall the simple tools you will commonly need: a wooden spoonor other large spoon for stirring, a silicone spatulafor folding ingredients together, a metal spatulafor flipping ingredients while cooking (or a wooden one for nonstick pans), a slotted spoonfor scooping up solid ingredients while leaving liquid behind, tongs for turning ingredients while cooking, a wire whiskfor quickly blending liquid ingredients, and a strainerfor draining liquid from solid ingredients.
7
INGREDIENT PREPARATION
Once your tools are assembled, it’s time to ready your ingredients. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables in water, then preparethem as requested in the recipe. Keep your handsand work area clean and put everything away as soon as you’ve finished using it. Also, be deliberate in everything you do, whether it’s wielding a knife or tasting a salad dressing to see if it needs more salt. Your finished dishes will benefit from the extra effort.
KNIFE SKILLS
Learning how to choose, hold, and use a knife is especially important for young cooks. When selecting a knife, consider the item to be cut, then pick out a knife that is both suitable for the task and feels comfortable in yourhand.
Holding a Knife Hold the knife firmly by the handle, as if you were shaking someone’s hand. Hold down the item you are cutting with your other hand,placing the flat side of the food down to keep it steady whenever you can. Curl under the fingers of the hand that’s holding the food so your knuckles keep your fingertips out of harm’s way. With the tip of the knife pointing down, start tocut, bringing the handle up anddown and keeping the knife facing away from your body.
Chopping Grasp the handle of a chefs’knife and,with yourother hand, steady the top of theknife blade near its tip against the cutting board. Raise and lower the knife handle in a chopping motion,slowly swinging the blade back