Whether you’re a newbie or a top chef, there is one word that strikes fear deep into the heart of any cook. Bland. YIKES! Bland is just a nicer way to say boring or flavorless. It means your food isn’t even interesting enough to taste bad; it tastes like nothing. […]
Makes 1 1/4 pounds dough
As recipe writers, we come back to the same phrases over and over. “Mix until light and fluffy…” “…until it doubles in size…” “Working in batches, sear the beef until it is browned all over…” That last one seems the simplest, but it actually tends to cause the most headaches […]
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 […]
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 […]
Here at the CIA, we believe in teaching people how to cook confidently. And while we love sharing our favorite recipes with you, in a perfect world, you wouldn’t need them because you would be busy dinner-freestyling! But to do that, you need all of the information! So today, let’s […]
Sugar is the defining ingredient of candy making. It provides sweetness, bulk, flavor, mouthfeel, and preservation to candies of every description. Without sugar, there simply would not be such a thing as candy. In chocolates, the sugar is already contained in the chocolate itself, and we may add little or […]
It’s safe to bet that most of us don’t have deep fryers ready and waiting, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pan- or deep-fry items for a crispy, crunchy, golden brown exterior. Frying on the stovetop is safe and easy with these tips in mind: Heat the correct amount of […]