Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Recipes Between the Lines: Caramelizing Onions

The phrase “caramelized onions” is tossed out on menus or recipes like they’re no big deal. Standard, everyday stuff that people are making in their kitchens after a long day at work.  The reality of caramelized onions is a little different. Yes, they’re simple to make. Slice onions and cook […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Recipe Conversion Handbook

With the world at our fingertips, trying new recipes has never been easier. But looking far from home for a new recipe can mean unfamiliar units of measurements that can make planning, shopping, and cooking just a little more difficult. If grams and milliliters have you scrolling past great new […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Parts of a Chicken, and When To Use Them

Boneless, skinless chicken breast is one of the most popular items in American homes, and no wonder. They’re easy to pick out, easy to store, and easy to cook. But whether you’re tackling new recipes, shopping a great sale, or figuring out exactly what is in your CSA box, sometimes […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Using Candy Molds

Using molds to make hard candies is very easy and requires only the desired molds suitable for use with sugar. There are different types of molds available that can be used with hard candy; metal molds, either heavy cast molds or lighter stamped molds, are the most common variety, and […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

French Aperitifs

If you have been to France, you know that the bars there bear little resemblance to American watering holes. Over there, when you go into a bar for something to drink, you’ll most likely be enjoying coffee, water, or what the French drink before dinner–an aperitif. Since aperitifs precede dinner, […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Conquer Pie Dough

For many home bakers, creating a flavorful, tender pie or tart crust is a fearful and challenging process filled with questions. How is it that some home bakers consistently produce flaky, crispy, and tender crusts or shells while others consistently find this task so daunting? As pie and tart dough […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Big Game-Day Foodie Face-Off

You don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy The Big Game, especially when there’s a great spread. Chips and dip, fried foods, and pigs in a blanket are all favorites, but we love the tradition of serving regional foods from the competing teams. This year, we’re looking to (in […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Scaling Baking Recipes Up and Down

Doubling or tripling recipes or cutting them in half successfully requires more than simple multiplication. Recipes for baked goods rely upon a number of “sensitive” ingredients, such as leaveners, flavorings, seasonings, and thickeners. These ingredients don’t scale up or down directly in proportion with other ingredients. If you are planning […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Common Baking Problems and What They Mean

Even the best-tested recipe can have flaws. After all, we don’t all like our cookies, cakes, or pies exactly the same. Someone’s perfect chocolate chip cookie might be too crisp for you, or too chewy for someone else. The beauty of at-home baking is that you are in charge of […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

5 Easy Fixes for Soggy Mushrooms

A beautifully golden brown mushroom that’s slightly crisp on the exterior, but tender and flavorful on the interior, is not a difficult outcome to achieve. And yet, it is one of the biggest challenges for CIA students and home-cooks alike. After observing the struggles to cook mushrooms with results that […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Recipes Between the Lines: Hot Water Bath

If you’ve ever encounter a recipe that told you to, “Bake in a hot water bath” with no further instruction, keep reading. Some ingredients are just more sensitive than others, and as you discover more about food, you learn how to handle even the most delicate of ingredients (talking about […]