I've seen a lot of cooking videos lately, including some starring really talented chefs, zesting lemons and other citrus in a less than effective manner. In this short video, I demonstrate what I believe to be the best way to zest a lemon and other citrus fruits.
Look it. No more messing around.
This is what you've been training for all year.
Hosting and cooking for Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl for cooks. It's the one day you have to get in the kitchen, and show your family and friends why YOU ARE THE BEST COOK THEY KNOW!
The above video playlist exists to serve that goal!
For this month's Stella Culinary Cooking Challenge, I wanted to get back to basics, focusing on a couple simple techniques, and reinforcing the skill set of separating flavor structure from technique.
Learn how to cook Potatoes a la Burton, an easy & versatile approach to making any number of roasted potato dishes. Burton Potatoes are unique because we combine the normal two stage cooking process of boiling, chilling, and roasting, into one singular step. This leads to a more flavorful potato while streamlining the kitchen execution.
Before we get into how the potatoes are actually made, it's important to note that this technique requires a GOOD non-stick pan that isn't beaten up or scratched. And no, unfortunately, a cast iron pan will not work for this process.
When cooking chicken thighs, pan roasting is usually my go-to technique of choice. It's incredibly simple, fast, and results in a delicious, crispy skin with succulent, juicy meat, every time. The fat and brown bits left over at the end of pan roasting can be harvested to make a delicious vegetable side, which I demonstrate using Chinese long beans. Once you try this pan roasting / sautéed vegetable side combo, I'm confident it will become a mainstay in your cooking arsenal.
I walk you through the process of making seafood ceviche using the "Flavor Punch" approach. This is the exact method we use to make our signature ceviche appetizer served at The Shore Restaurant, but what's most important, is the methodology behind building an intense yet balanced flavor structure.
The basic process is this:
In this episode, listener questions covering flavor structure and sauce making are answered. If you want to have your question answered on an upcoming episode of the show, you can leave me a voicemail thru this page here, call the hotline (775-204-8389), or e-mail me, Jacob@StellaCulinary.com.
In this video, how to make batter fried wedge potatoes!
In this video, I demonstrate how to make seasoned wedge potato fries. To get that perfect crispy exterior and soft, almost mashed potato like interior, we first blanch in acidulated water, then par fry and freeze.
For more videos like this, check out our hamburger cooking resource page at: https://StellaCulinary.com/hamburger
Lear how to make French fries at home, just like the ones you get at McDonalds.
A traditional french fry is usually blanched twice in oil; once at a lower temperature to soften the fry and cook it through, and once at a higher temperature to crisp and brown the fry. While this gives you good results, they still don't have the crisp exterior and mashed potato like interior that french fries served at McDonalds and other fast food restaurants do.
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.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into pizza, discussing Neapolitan, New York, and Chicago style. Since great pizza is all about the dough, we tie together everything learned in our bread series, and discuss why we apply certain formulations to achieve specific results.
To get the most out of this episode, you will need a basic understanding of the baker's percentage.
In this video I demonstrate how to make a Neapolitan pizza from start to finish in a wood fire oven. Please see recipe section below for links to tomato sauce and Neapolitan Pizza formula.
In this video, a simple bechamel based white garlic pizza sauce. This is the sauce I use to top my Sicilian style pizza with chicken, bacon, tomatoes and wilted spinach.
In this video I demonstrate how to make a simple, raw tomato sauce used for our Neapolitan and New York style pizzas.
Simple tomato sauce used for Neapolitan style pizzas. Although traditionally San Marzano tomatoes are used, you can substitute fresh plum tomatoes that have been blanched and peeled. The ideal tomato will have bright acidity and high mineral content for a more complex flavor.
In this video I demonstrate how to simply dress a salad using oil and vinegar. As simple as this process is, I'm always surprised how many people don't fully grasp (and frequently use) this approach.
The truth is, once you master this technique, you can quickly create any number of delicious salads, especially if you stock your pantry with a few good oils and vinegars.
Look up a classic recipe for glazed vegetables and it will resemble those demonstrated in my turmeric-glazed carrots video. In this classic approach, root vegetables are covered with water and wine, a knob of butter and a pinch of sugar are added to the pan, and the whole mixture is brought to a simmer. As the liquid simmers and reduces, the starches and sugars contained in the vegetables help to thicken the sauce and emulsify the butter.
Chicken and dumplings has to be one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It's easy to make, delicious, and soul-satisfying. In this video, we play on this southern classic by utilizing our leftover Thanksgiving turkey, turning our flavorful stuffing into dumplings.
For best results, start with a home made turkey stock (we have a separate video on this in our related section below).
In this video we take our leftover turkey and gravy, and turn it into a delicious pot pie. This is a simple dish that will feed an army and quickly use up all of your Thanksgiving Day leftovers.
The crust for this pot pie is a simple 3-2-1 pie dough. This means 3 parts AP flour, 2 parts fat (in this case butter), and 1 part ice cold water.
