15 of the best cooking tips we’ve learned from chefs this year. Like 2020, 2021 is a year of continued exploration of home cooking. While some of us (me) are severely exhausted from banana bread and others (me too) have given up on sourdough. Also we continue to try new recipes, participate in virtual cooking classes and improve our home cooking equipment. And, every year, we continue to learn from the chefs.
At Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in September, we were joined by some of the biggest names in food, who have shed light on everything from veggie burgers to birria. Paola Velez continues to bake beautiful pastries in our Pastries with Paola series, and many chefs have featured their best on Chefs at Home. So here’s a rundown you can really use – the best cooking tips we’ve learned from chefs this year.
Immersion mixers make great whipped cream
Who knows? Well, Paola Velez did. In an episode of Pastries with Paola where she makes Maria Cookie Icebox Cake, the pastry chef demonstrated that you can easily use a blender, like the one you would use to puree soup. “You would never make ice cream any other way, because it was just chef’s kiss,” she says.
Sourdough belongs to the pudding
In another episode of Pastries with Paola, Velez makes a guava and cheese pudding, inspired by the recipe of her husband’s 101-year-old grandmother. And the bread she uses is sourdough. “The layers of sourdough give it a spicy taste.”
The best cookies contain butter and fat. Carla Hall creates her unusual, soft, fluffy cookies using a combination of cold mashed butter and vegetable fats.
Bake your cakes longer
Martha Stewart tells Food & Wine Classic in Aspen: “People are often afraid of baking pies, cakes, and pies for too long. But pies in particular “should be baked until they’re beautifully golden. It may seem like a long time, but the end product is certainly worth it.” It should have a nice brown underneath.”
Stewart shares that another important step to achieving the perfect fawn look is topping your sugar crust:
“The sugar on the crust not only makes the cake look good but also creates a delicious crunch.”
The coriander stalks will be kept
Claudette Zepeda was also at Classique this year, where she demonstrated her famous birria recipe. Zepeda urges the public to never throw away their coriander sprigs because they are full of flavor. On top of the banh tet, she included the chopped stems along with the leaves to get the best flavor out of the herb.
Barista-style oat milk is a great base for sorbet
Salt & Straw co-founder (and head of the ice cream maker) Tyler Malek demonstrated how to make oat milk and strawberry ice cream, using the same oat milk you would use for a latte ( like Oatly) to achieve the creamy texture.
You can use Goldfish to make ice cream cones
Chef, activist, and Studio ATAO founder, Jenny Dorsey, whipped up banana rum ice cream in cheddar cheese and pretzels, and our lives will never be the same.
Garlic should come last
At Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Guy Fieri says that when he puts vegetables in the pan, he always puts the garlic last and recommends you do the same. “If you want to go wrong, make the garlic first. Always the onion first,” he said. “Garlic is added last, as soon as the nutty caramel comes in, add the liquid.”
Radishes belong to the desert
Krystle Swenson, pastry chef at The Social Haus at green o in Montana, tells us she prefers to bake with chopped parsley instead of carrots. Then she topped her cake with whipped cream frosting, crisps, and fried sage topping.
Everyone deserves a really good vacuum cleaner
It’s expensive, but chef Barbara Lynch says the Avid Armor vacuum is a game changer for her. She told Food & Wine: “It’s convenient to help me organize leftovers and I don’t have to find the right Tupperware lids. “It also has a marinade stopper that can seal liquids without a vacuum, and I love using it to preserve my bountiful garden vegetables, as well as homemade ketchup and jams.”
Caesar salad is best served when grilled
Chef Danny Grant tells Food & Wine: “One of my favorite baked goods is romaine and I use it as a base for Caesar salad. “It enhances the flavor of the dish, giving it a smoky, almost indulgent flavor that makes it incredibly satisfying. Lightly coat half a romaine with oil and bake the cut side for 1-3 minutes, until when the leaves are lightly burned. Add all your favorite Caesar salad dressings, olive oil, lemon, and lots of black pepper on top.”
Instant coffee is a game changer when it comes to baking
This trick in and of itself isn’t new, but it’s new to me. Ina Garten’s Double Chocolate Cake gets most of its richness from instant coffee in the topping and a cup of hot brew in the dough. My friend and colleague, image editor Sarah Crowder, says she always has instant coffee on hand thanks to this Garten Cake recipe. After I make it and devour it, I will do the same.
Reduce alcohol before cooking for more flavor
At Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Ludo Lefebvre says that before making coq au vin, he likes to reduce the wine (ideally Burgundy) first to concentrate the flavors.
Shallow poaching is the perfect way to cook salmon
Food editor Mary-Frances Heck shows how to poach shallow salmon under a cartridge, a circle of parchment, to get super tasty, tender fish in minutes. (This method works with any soft fish, such as halibut, redfish, or grouper.)
Harness the power of mushroom juice 카지노사이트. At this year’s Classic, Fieri had a great trick for cooking a mushroom-flavored broth, which you can use in savory recipes that require extra water to enhance the flavor. Simply wrap the mushrooms in plastic and microwave them until cooked to your liking (and ooze a flavorful broth.)