How to Become a Better Cook
These small practices will have a big impact on your cooking.It doesn’t take a culinary degree or pricey equipment to become a good cook. It does, however, take an understanding of the intangibles that aren’t always written out in recipes. Those soft skills are a big part of the classes in Superior Culinary Center’s Cooking School, where we go beyond the recipe and help you acquire habits you can use every time you enter the kitchen. Here are five small but important ways to immediately improve your cooking.
Our team has accumulated hours of experience in restaurants, while travelling, and in the test kitchen. Let them help guide you through the simplest and trickiest parts of your culinary life.
1. Read the Recipe Carefully:
A skill that often gets overlooked by new cooks is how to read a recipe. If you don't read the recipe through at least once—preferably twice—before you start cooking, you won't realize that you need to brine that chicken before frying it or chill the croissant dough for hours before rolling it out. It also will help you identify ingredients that might be used more than once that should be divided as necessary before hand. Chef Sammy, who swears by reading the recipe before starting to cook, attests that this kind of attention to detail makes the entire cooking experience less stressful and much more enjoyable.
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Tips for Teaching Your Kids to Make Their Own Lunch
Tired of spending time and energy putting together creative, healthy lunches only to see the food come home untouched? Handing lunch-making duties over to your kids might be the answer.
When my son was in third grade, he stopped eating the lunches I packed for him. I tried letting him pre-order each week’s meals, so I’d know exactly what he wanted. I tried using bento boxes and nifty cookie cutters to make the food more fun. I tried packing homemade, nutrient-enriched versions of junk food. It all came home, mostly untouched. And then it hit me: maybe if my son packed his own lunch, he’d be more interested in eating it.
I spent a little time planning before I broached the subject with him. First, I made a list of all the lunchbox-friendly foods he liked that I’d feel comfortable with from a nutritional standpoint. Then I separated the list into categories: protein, vegetables, fruit, grains, and snacks, and made a chart for the refrigerator—nothing fancy, but if he hadn’t known how to read, I would’ve included pictures of the various foods, too.
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Choosing Wellness - Health, Mindfulness, Fitness & More
When it comes to wellness, you’ll likely come across a wide spectrum of advice, products, and methods for how to do it “right.” You’ll be tempted to crave the perfect, healthy Instagram lifestyle. You may even ride the rollercoaster of yo-yo dieting, being “good” while adhering to strict guidelines, only to return to your comfort foods with the added guilt of not having sustained some absurd expectations. Sound familiar?
Well, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way! You can be healthy AND indulge on occasion, because life shouldn’t be about perfection or the stress of limitation. Wellness is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s what you do most of the time that really matters.
At SCC, we have an 80/20 ratio that helps keep wellness in perspective. That applies to food, exercise, and most other self-care. If you take good care of yourself at least 80% of the time, and you feel good, then your body can handle the other 20%.
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The Best Appetizers for Your Fall Party
Summer is almost over and Fall is upon us, and if you are planning a backyard bash to get the season started off right, then you need to be thinking about the right appetizers. We’re going to take a look at some favorites that can keep guests satisfied until the main event without detracting from the meal itself. Here’s our list of the best appetizers for your 2019 Summer is almost over Party!
Hot Appetizers:
Pulled Turkey Sliders
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Instead of serving mini hamburgers, get festive with pulled turkey sliders. Add some slaw to complete this mouthwatering appetizer.
Chicken Skewers
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Nothing quite screams summer like eating meat from a stick. Add a tasty dipping sauce, and you have a sure crowd pleaser.
Turkish Spiced Meatballs with Pomegranate Yogurt Sauce
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These Turkish meatballs are so juicy, light, and flavorful—not to mention easy—they'll be the star of any cocktail party at which they make an appearance.
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Fresh Ideas for Your Next Company Picnic
Summer is almost over, but it’s the perfect time to schedule a corporate event for team building or even just to boost morale. Here are 5 ideas you may be able to incorporate in your next company picnic.
#1: A Mediterranean Menu:
With so many turning to a healthier diet, a Mediterranean meal at the company picnic is sure to please. Classic items to have on the menu include a Greek salad, hummus, marinated olives, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, lamb, and baklava for dessert.
#2: The Perfect Venue – A Sports Field:
This is the perfect venue for a company outing, especially if families are invited. You have a great opportunity to enjoy a meal but also some outdoor recreation (as long as the weather cooperates). With so many present, you may have to use signup sheets to keep the number of players reasonable for sports like softball or volleyball.
#3: Themes for Grown-Ups – Concert/Dance Party
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Hiring a DJ or a band for a company picnic is a great way to keep grown-ups happy. This is ideal for a company event where the kids won’t be under foot.
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Cake Mixing Methods: How to Get the Results You Want
There are so many ways to mix up cake batter. Maybe you’ve always wondered why; maybe you never thought about it until now. But each technique is based on specific ingredients and results in a different final product: from a light as air cake, to one that’s sturdy enough to hold up in wedding tiers.
Common ways you might see cake mixing methods written in a recipe:
“Cream the butter and sugar together.”
“Combine dry ingredients. Add butter and mix until it resembles sand.”
“Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir together.”
Which way is best? We’ve recently baked cakes using six of the top mixing methods. Read on to see just how different cake results can be, depending on the steps in which the batter is blended.
#1 Blended
Example: Carrot Cake
Cakes made with this method - very moist; a great candidate for adding mix-ins. Basically stir together and go. The blended method is the easiest of all cake-prep types. Blended cakes are typically made with oil rather than butter, since oil is much more easily incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. Blended cake batter tends to be more liquid than most; oftentimes the recipe will call to “pour” the batter into the pans, rather than scoop.
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© 2019 The Superior Culinary Center
4550 South Brust Avenue, St. Francis, WI 53235
800-963-4300 l 414-671-1200 l info@supequ.com
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