Seafood lovers! You don’t want to miss the joys of grilling this summer! With just a few tips and tricks from our seasoned CIA chefs, your next barbeque is sure to go swimmingly! Chef Sandy Sauter A clean and well-seasoned (with oil) grill is crucial for seafood, since it tends […]
Handy Conversion References
When you work in food and recipes every day, converting cups to tablespoons and ounces to grams becomes sort of second nature. But if like most people, your brain space is occupied with… well, more important things, here are a few handy reference charts for when you need them. We’ve […]
Holiday How-To: Make-Ahead Vegetarian Thanksgiving Gravy
There are plenty of reasons why you might not have a turkey on your Thanksgiving table this year, but our firm stance is that no turkey does not have to mean no gravy. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or just not a big fan of turkey, gravy is still […]
Home School: Blanching Vegetables
Our new feature, Home School, will highlight the methods and techniques that we use in the kitchen everyday. Whether you’re new to daily cooking or just need to freshen up on some of your skills, we’ll focus on the basics to help you deal with limited ingredients and limited time! […]
Home School: Deep-Frying
Frying is not something most of us do often. Spoiler alert: t’s not the healthiest method of cooking, but also, it’s a little messy, it makes our houses smell like a fast food restaurant, and for some people, it can seem scary! But deep frying does have its place in […]
Home School: Par-Baking Pie Dough
Many pie and tart shells require partial baking (par baking) or fully prebaking the empty crust prior to filling. This method is termed blind baking. A pie or tart shell can benefit from partially baking before filling if it will be filled with a fruit that produces a significant amount […]
Home School: Prepping Vegetables
From trimming and peeling to slicing and dicing, many vegetables and herbs need advance preparation before they are ready to serve or to use as an ingredient in a recipe. Presenting perfectly cooked, aesthetically beautiful dishes begins with the mastery of these fabrication techniques. The best dishes begin with the […]
Home School: Risotto (yes, it’s easy!)
Risotto is a dish we most often eat at restaurants, reinforcing the illusion that it’s difficult to prepare. Sorry to spill the beans, restaurant chefs of the world, but despite being creamy and decadent, risotto is actually really easy to make and not nearly as time consuming as you might […]
Home School: Sautéing
If there is one cooking technique you really need to know, it’s sautéing. Sautéing is how we can most easily cook a tasty chicken breast, yummy veggies, and quick stir-fries. It’s quick, requires basic tools, and is, frankly, hard to mess up. Sautéing and the closely related technique of stir-frying […]
Homemade Peanut Butter (So Easy, It’s Nuts!)
Peanut butter is pretty much a Top 10 Best Food, and everyone has their favorite brand. But here’s a little secret about peanut butter: it’s one of the easiest foods to make, (seriously, you don’t even need a recipe) and it is endlessly customizable. In fact, you can even replace […]
How to Carve Your Thanksgiving Turkey
To make the most of large roasted foods, such as turkey, they must be carved into portions correctly. After roasting a turkey and letting it rest, transfer the bird to a carving board (a cutting board with an indentation around the edges that captures the juices released during carving). If […]
How to Choose Corn on the Cob
Sweet and tender corn is a pinnacle of summer, enjoyed raw, grilled, on the cob, or off. It is a plentiful and inexpensive ingredient that adds a burst of sweetness to any dish, and, boy, do we cherish it. Before you’re able to enjoy the perfection that is summer corn, […]