Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - Page updated at 03:03 PM
The Seattle Times Cooking School
Our cooking series takes you back to school. Gather your ingredients, bring your appetite for learning, and let's cook together.
This Month
KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Preparing Dutch Baby pancakes
What is it that turns four ordinary ingredients -- butter, eggs, milk and flour -- into such a regal creation as the Dutch Baby pancake? Is it magic? A culinary sleight of hand that only the gifted cook can pull off? The Dutch Baby, its golden bowl shape ripe for filling with the freshest seasonal fruit, is indeed a showstopper dish. But it's one that brings even the most unlucky cook success.
A quick reference guide.
Just how much is a pinch?
Tips for selecting the freshest sea fare -- from fillets to steaks.
Learn the basics to making a Northwest favorite. Find out how to dig your own clams, shuck them and turn them into tasty meals.
Seafood is as versatile as chicken, with a sumptuous range of flavors and melt-in-the-mouth textures.
Put away those same tired recipes and expand the vocabulary with a few new preparation and cooking techniques. Let's take a look at the possibilities.
The perfect roast chicken will have a crispy skin and moist, flavorful meat. Here's how to get such results in the home kitchen without breaking the budget.
The humble pot roast can be a nearly effortless meal for family and friends.
A meat thermometer is a cook's best friend when cooking pork.
The foundation of pan sauces are the crusty juices that form on the bottom of the pan when food is browned, sautéed or roasted.
Think of a marinade as an aromatic spa for food, bathing it in a blanket of moisture that enhances both taste and texture.
Here's a fresh look at a timeless classic. Learn the basics to preparing a chef's salad, how to make the proper cuts, the freshest dressings, and the best produce to use.
It's been said that if you know how to prepare a well-balanced vinaigrette, you know how to cook.
The secrets of intriguing Indian spices
The culinary traditions of India bring to mind seductive aromas and mysterious flavors. What, for instance, is that elusive taste in the chicken masala you order at your favorite Indian restaurant? It's not anything like the bottled curry powder that's been sitting on the kitchen shelf for years.
Cooking School "how-to": Preparing Indian spices for cooking
Take your choice — moist or dry — when cooking the wide array of fresh vegetables that will be out there for the picking in coming months.
Cooking School "how-to": CeCe Sullivan on preparing artichokes for sautéing
The arrival of tender spring vegetables opens fresh possibilities. How to get the best from each stalk and leaf is at the heart of this lesson.
It may be passé in low-carb dieters' circles, but pasta makes a great, quick dinner for many. Plus, it's economical. Here's a quick tutorial.
Learn the science behind what makes fruit ripe and read our tips for picking produce at its peak.
Knowing how to bring out the juicy, complex flavors that are the essence of berries is a lesson in simplicity.
Easier to make than pie, these fragrant desserts offer intense fruit flavor. What separates the three desserts are their toppings, which offer contrasting textures and flavors to the velvety fruit fillings.
The bread is made with few ingredients and simple preparations, and it can be finished with a variety of creative toppings both savory and sweet.
Elaborate breads were historically formed and baked as a tribute to the end of sparse winter meals and religious fasting.
Quick breads are leavened with baking powder or soda instead of yeast, so they don't require a rising time, and they're a snap to put together. Sounds simple enough, right?
Elaborate breads were historically formed and baked as a tribute to the end of sparse winter meals and religious fasting.
For someone without a lot of canning experience, strawberry jams are a good starting point.
Northwest stone fruits — peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots and plums — are perfect partners for the canning process.
When it comes to canning this particular fruit-of-the-vine, there is a catch. The pH level changes rapidly in tomatoes as they mature.
Dressing up cakes and pastries is easy with these handy tips from our resident home economist.
There's a profusion of products to assist in preparing the Thanksgiving feast. Some are kitchen staples, others worth a splurge. Here's a guide to help you decide.
A primer
Choosing the most important tool in the kitchen — the knife — requires care and attention. Here's a look at our tips for buying, sharpening, cleaning and properly storing knives.
For centuries diverse cultures have prepared flavorful and healthful dishes using this method. Learn how to successfully infuse this style into contemporary cooking.
Here's how the braising technique works.
What we love most about foods such as fried chicken and fish is the savory, crusty skin. Of course we know that all that fat from cooking in oil isn't good for us, so the concept of oven-frying is an attractive one.
Not all pounds are created equal
What's in a pound? That depends on what you're measuring.
For this month, our test kitchen duplicates a busy workweek at home.
KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Preparing Dutch Baby pancakes
What is it that turns four ordinary ingredients -- butter, eggs, milk and flour -- into such a regal creation as the Dutch Baby pancake? Is it magic? A culinary sleight of hand that only the gifted cook can pull off? The Dutch Baby, its golden bowl shape ripe for filling with the freshest seasonal fruit, is indeed a showstopper dish. But it's one that brings even the most unlucky cook success.
A quick reference guide.
Just how much is a pinch?
Tips for selecting the freshest sea fare -- from fillets to steaks.
Learn the basics to making a Northwest favorite. Find out how to dig your own clams, shuck them and turn them into tasty meals.
Seafood is as versatile as chicken, with a sumptuous range of flavors and melt-in-the-mouth textures.
Put away those same tired recipes and expand the vocabulary with a few new preparation and cooking techniques. Let's take a look at the possibilities.
The perfect roast chicken will have a crispy skin and moist, flavorful meat. Here's how to get such results in the home kitchen without breaking the budget.
The humble pot roast can be a nearly effortless meal for family and friends.
A meat thermometer is a cook's best friend when cooking pork.
The foundation of pan sauces are the crusty juices that form on the bottom of the pan when food is browned, sautéed or roasted.
Think of a marinade as an aromatic spa for food, bathing it in a blanket of moisture that enhances both taste and texture.
Here's a fresh look at a timeless classic. Learn the basics to preparing a chef's salad, how to make the proper cuts, the freshest dressings, and the best produce to use.
It's been said that if you know how to prepare a well-balanced vinaigrette, you know how to cook.
The secrets of intriguing Indian spices
The culinary traditions of India bring to mind seductive aromas and mysterious flavors. What, for instance, is that elusive taste in the chicken masala you order at your favorite Indian restaurant? It's not anything like the bottled curry powder that's been sitting on the kitchen shelf for years.
Cooking School "how-to": Preparing Indian spices for cooking
Take your choice — moist or dry — when cooking the wide array of fresh vegetables that will be out there for the picking in coming months.
Cooking School "how-to": CeCe Sullivan on preparing artichokes for sautéing
The arrival of tender spring vegetables opens fresh possibilities. How to get the best from each stalk and leaf is at the heart of this lesson.
It may be passé in low-carb dieters' circles, but pasta makes a great, quick dinner for many. Plus, it's economical. Here's a quick tutorial.
Learn the science behind what makes fruit ripe and read our tips for picking produce at its peak.
Knowing how to bring out the juicy, complex flavors that are the essence of berries is a lesson in simplicity.
Easier to make than pie, these fragrant desserts offer intense fruit flavor. What separates the three desserts are their toppings, which offer contrasting textures and flavors to the velvety fruit fillings.
The bread is made with few ingredients and simple preparations, and it can be finished with a variety of creative toppings both savory and sweet.
Elaborate breads were historically formed and baked as a tribute to the end of sparse winter meals and religious fasting.
Quick breads are leavened with baking powder or soda instead of yeast, so they don't require a rising time, and they're a snap to put together. Sounds simple enough, right?
Elaborate breads were historically formed and baked as a tribute to the end of sparse winter meals and religious fasting.
For someone without a lot of canning experience, strawberry jams are a good starting point.
Northwest stone fruits — peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots and plums — are perfect partners for the canning process.
When it comes to canning this particular fruit-of-the-vine, there is a catch. The pH level changes rapidly in tomatoes as they mature.
Dressing up cakes and pastries is easy with these handy tips from our resident home economist.
There's a profusion of products to assist in preparing the Thanksgiving feast. Some are kitchen staples, others worth a splurge. Here's a guide to help you decide.
A primer
Choosing the most important tool in the kitchen — the knife — requires care and attention. Here's a look at our tips for buying, sharpening, cleaning and properly storing knives.
For centuries diverse cultures have prepared flavorful and healthful dishes using this method. Learn how to successfully infuse this style into contemporary cooking.
Here's how the braising technique works.
What we love most about foods such as fried chicken and fish is the savory, crusty skin. Of course we know that all that fat from cooking in oil isn't good for us, so the concept of oven-frying is an attractive one.
Not all pounds are created equal
What's in a pound? That depends on what you're measuring.
For this month, our test kitchen duplicates a busy workweek at home.
CeCe Sullivan demonstrates recipes and techniques:
CeCe Sullivan talks you through these basic skills:
Prepare artichoke bottoms for sautéing.
Form dumplings for steaming using wanton wrappers.
Decorate cakes and cookies, or pipe out whipped cream for pies or cream puffs.
Here's how to knead yeast doughs such as focaccia.
Prepare these sea treats for half-shell, pan-frying or deep-frying.
One of the prettiest cuts in cooking — great for salads.
A classic cut for sturdy vegetables, cheeses and meats.
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