Chef's Notes Plus, Family Fun

Back to School Recipes

Whether you’re a kid going back to school, a parent whose kids are going back to school, a hard-working teacher, or just someone who once went back to school, you know that it can be a tough transition from summer to school. To help, we’ve brought together some of our […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Creamy Corn, Hold the Cream

Corn: looks like a vegetable and tastes like dessert. Enjoying summer corn is probably the easiest thing you do all year. To date, we’ve never met a person who doesn’t like it. It can be eaten raw, but even if you cook it, it takes less than five minutes. It’s […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Oven-Roasting Tomatoes

Roasting tomatoes concentrates the bright sweetness of the ripe fruit. You can use roasted tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes in nearly any recipe for added richness, or in recipes that call for canned “fire-roasted” tomatoes. Choose ripe, flavorful tomatoes for oven roasting. Plum tomatoes are a great choice since they […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Get to Know Rosé

It may seem like rosé has become extra trendy in the last few years, but come summertime along the coast of France (and, well, all over Europe!), rosé is simply a fact of life. And why shouldn’t it be? Rosé (rosato in Italy and rosado in Spanish-speaking countries, alongside the […]

Chef's Notes Plus, Family Fun

Summer School: Reading a Recipe

We know that it’s summer, and that’s supposed to mean no school! But today we’re sneaking in a little lesson to help you master reading recipes. No tests—promise! When you read recipes, you usually start with the ingredient list. And sometimes the ingredient list will tell you how to prepare […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Recipes Between the Lines: Indirect Grilling

Have you ever read a recipe that said, “Prepare your grill for cooking over indirect heat?” And did you think, “Uh, what?” For grilling, indirect heat translates to: not over the fire. When you’re cooking over indirect heat, you’re using the ambient heat of the flames to cook the food, […]

Chef's Notes Plus, Family Fun

You Can Do It! Tips for Homemade Pizza

Making pizza dough is easy! You just mix a few ingredients (flour + water + yeast + salt + olive oil), and ta da! The hard part is shaping the pizza dough. If you’ve ever made homemade pizza, you can probably remember feeling frustrated and defeated as the dough ripped […]

Chef's Notes Plus

How To: Peel Tomatoes

As tomato season ramps up, you may encounter recipes that call for peeled tomatoes. Though this step is always optional (your relationship with tomato skin is your own business), removing the skin and the seeds will create a smooth, refined texture in soups and sauces. Peeling a tomato like a […]

Chef's Notes Plus

How to Cook Beans

Beans and other legumes are considered superfoods, with nutritional benefits that are helpful to people with many types of health concerns or dietary restrictions. Paired with vegetables, beans and legumes can be considered a complete meal and healthy source of protein. Beans are available dried and canned. Canned beans have […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Grilling for a Crowd of 4th of July

Grilling for a party always sounds fun, but inevitably, it ends up being stressful. Your chicken takes forever to cook, the burgers fall apart on the grill, or you over- (or under) cook those beautiful steaks you splurged on. This 4thof July, go easy on yourself and plan a menu […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Try Hibiscus Soda for a Sparkling Summer

It feels like La Croix has somehow become more popular than beer. And while it seems to be available everywhere you go, those of us participating in the great seltzer resurgence of 2019 are from time to time faced with beverages without bubbles. But you don’t have to be part of […]