SCS 075 | Choosing Knives, Grills, BBQs & Smokers!

In this episode of The Stella Culinary School Podcast, picking out knives, and what to consider when purchasing a smoker, BBQ, or grill this summer. And YES, by popular demand, this episode now has time stamps!

INTRODUCTION

  • 00:00:00 - My Standard Charming Introduction. A Must Watch!

SEGMENT ONE - WHAT KNIVES DO YOU NEED?

SCS 073 | Greek Salad Challenge, Dissecting A Dish's Flavor Structure, & Searing Scallops

In this episode, I lay out the "Greek Salad Challenge" as a homework assignment. The purpose of this challenge is to drill knife skills, and work on creating baseline seasonings through balancing fat, acid and salt.

We then carry this concept over into a lesson on how I would recreate the flavor of a hollandaise sauce if all I had was a recipe and had never tasted hollandaise before. This first principals approach to dissecting a dish through flavor structure will allow you to understand and replicate flavor structures at their most basic level.

Battered Potato Wedges

This simple batter is used in our Batter Fried Wedge Potato video, but can be used for just about anything, especially onion rings. Shout out to Alex Downing who is responsible for developing this recipe. Alex was the Sous Chef at Stella while I was there, and is now the Executive Chef.

New York Style Pizza Dough

How to Make a New York Style Pizza Crust

This New York style pizza crust is formulated specifically for use in a home oven. The addition of the olive oil and sugar help to make the dough extensible and easy to brown. This dough can be further enhanced by delaying fermentation in the fridge overnight, either during the primary fermentation or proofing stage. The longer the dough is allowed to proof, the better flavor it will have.