Chef's Notes Plus

How to Make a Basic Braise—Just in Time for Autumn

Braising, barbecuing, and slow-roasting are all long, low cooking methods that utilize less tender, fattier cuts of meats with a lot of connective tissue. But braising stands apart in that it includes liquid in the cooking process. It is also a combination cooking method—one that uses both dry and moist […]

Chef's Notes Plus

How to Make a Pan Sauce with No Recipe

Just like you, we’re not making fully formed extravagant dinners every night of the week. Sometimes a basic pan-cooked protein + side is as good as it gets, like a sautéed chicken breast or seared pork chop. But just like the foundations of French cooking tell us, nothing makes a […]

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, Family Fun

How To: Scramble Eggs

A person’s favorite food is not necessarily the food a person eats every day. After all, donuts aren’t dinner…most of the time. But if you’re lucky, your favorite foods might be something that you can enjoy often and in a lot of different ways – like baked potatoes or scrambled […]

Chef's Notes Plus

How-To: How to Brown Butter

Brown butter is often called for in recipes and for good reason! In fact, any recipe that calls for butter will taste 100 times better if you take the time to brown your butter. You can use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, AND dessert to add a rich and nutty […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Make Creamy Salad Dressings without a Recipe

As salad dressings go, oil and vinegar—their cute couple name is Vinaigrette—are sort of the popular kids. Everyone likes them, they get along with anyone/salad, and here’s where this metaphor falls apart: you don’t need a recipe. But sometimes a salad and/or your brain are just begging for a creamy […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Making Chocolate Curls to Dress Up Dessert

Chocolate shavings and curls are the simplest way to finish a show-stopping cake or other special occasion dessert. To create chocolate shavings and curls, you need a good-sized block of chocolate at room temperature. You can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate for your curls. Look for larger […]

Pantry, Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments

Mayonnaise

Makes 2 cups mayonnaise We love making mayonnaise the old fashioned way (for special occasions!), but you can also make it in a blender. Follow the directions, plus instead of a bowl, combine the yolks, water, vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a blender, and steam in the oil while it’s […]

Chef's Notes Plus

New Video: Perfect Fried Eggs

Sometimes the classic, tried-and-true way just doesn’t work for you. For me, I was always hung up on the perfect fried egg. Sunny-side-up, runny yolk with a little bit of texture, crisp underneath, and set–not runny–whites. I knew the tricks. After all, I did learn from the best at the […]

Main Dishes

Pasta Sheets For Lasagna, Cannelloni & Rotolo

Makes 1 pound of dough Ingredients 10 oz (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose or tipo 00 flour 3 medium eggs Directions Combine the flour and eggs by hand or using a machine. Knead until all of the ingredients are well combined and the dough is smooth and elastic. Wrap the dough […]