How To Look & Cook Like a Chef: A Culinary Instruction Guide & Recipe Book

By Johannes Willem Pot

A culinary instruction guide and recipe book for home chefs who always wanted to attend culinary school.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9780989429917

Book preview

16    Sweets

Chapter One

(Brief !) History of Food

Well, here we go. Welcome to my book (or should I say YOUR BOOK). This book will help you understand the theory and technical side of cooking, because cooking is actually just a matter of applying heat to a protein or vegetable. But the fun comes from manipulating all these food stuffs by using a combination of food cuts (to allow for even cooking), spices and herbs for manipulating flavor, heat (dry, moist or a combination) to get the most flavors from the food and finally, food presentation.

Anyone who has cooked can understand the draw of the kitchen. The aroma and sounds that fill the air are what home is about. It has always been a time for families to get together and talk about their day. We even look to food as a reason to get together with friends and catch up on events in our lives since we last met.

In the past, food meant fire. Fire meant safety from wild animals and warmth in a dangerous environment. You can still see these traits in humans today.

EXAMPLE:

Have a party and invite a small group of friends. Place food around the house so your guests can wander around and eat anywhere they like. Now, start cooking in the kitchen! Chances are very good that someone will come into the kitchen to see what you’re up to. A second person will investigate, a third and so on. Someone will offer to stir the pot or sauté some onions in a hot pan.

If you’re like me and have Chef friends over for dinner, tease them. Place a pan on the stove under low heat and put something, ANYTHING in the pan. They will not be able to resist going to the pan and giving it a little flip or a little jiggle. It’s a condition many Chefs have. Many older Chefs go through years of rehabilitation to try and cure this yet unnamed neurosis.

Finally, the reason we find cooking so interesting is that cooking connects us with the past. Whether it be old family recipes you remember growing up or recipes of great chefs of the past created for Kings and Queens. You do not need a culinary degree to create great food. All you need is a desire to try something new.

And while your at it….create a bit of your own culinary history by experimenting with flavors and techniques.

In our own kitchens we are all GREAT CHEFS !!!!

Chapter Two

Setup

SET-UP is called MISE EN PLACE (MEEZ IN PLAZ) in French. It is a term used religiously by Chefs around the world. It translates to EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE! In order to have a clean, organized and well run kitchen, everybody must practice mise-en-place!

The best example of this is to watch a GOOD cooking show. Ever notice how clean the work area is? When the Chef comes in, he/she is well groomed in a clean starched uniform. When a Chef begins to assemble the dish, the cutting board is clean and secure to the table by a wet cloth or non-skid pad. The knives are set next to the cutting board so as to not cut the Chef accidentally. The Chef has several CLEAN towels (one wet) for clean-up of spills and hands. All the needed ingredients are on the table ready to be cut or measured. There is NO running around looking for ingredients.

Before you start cooking, assemble ALL the ingredients (this includes measuring cups, spoons, bowls, etc) in the cooking area. This will make it more fun to prep (prepare) your dishes.

I have written these recipes so you can assemble your dishes with the minimum of effort and the best use of MISE EN PLACE.

Chapter Three

Sanitation

In this day and age we can all relate to the fear of contamination. We see it in the news telling us of a recall of spinach, lettuce, beef, and so on. As you see, no food is immune to contamination or bacterial growth.

The best way to help prevent illness due to food contamination is to expect ALL foods to be contaminated until washed and cooked properly.

When dealing with fruits and vegetables, always wash and preferably submerge fruits and vegetables in water and shake them to remove any dirt. Natural & Organic does not mean the product is safe to eat. Natural fertilizers can be as dangerous to your health as pesticides.

WASH EVERY PRODUCT !

Rinse meats as well as produce.

All proteins such as beef, seafood, chicken etc, should always be considered contaminated before cooking. According to Health Department sources, you should consider the proteins to be most dangerous in their raw state and understand how to properly store raw meats so not to cross contaminate other foods or meats.

Examples of cross contamination:

Raw chicken should NEVER be stored in the refrigerator above any other food. Drippings from the chicken will cause the bacteria salmonella to spread to uncontaminated foods.

Remember to store all raw meats in covered containers.

When preparing raw foods, always use clean and sanitized cutting boards. Boards can be sanitized easily by mixing one capful of bleach with one gallon of water.

NEVER use the same cutting board for cutting meats and produce without completely sanitizing the cutting board between uses. I always cut my fruits and vegetables before cutting any proteins. And always cut chicken last due to dangerous