Williams Sonoma - Junior Chef Master Class

PHOTO GRAPHY BY

AUBRIE PICK

Juni

or

MASTER

CLASS

CHEF

C ONTENTS

Geing Re ady to Cook 7 Basic T echniques 8

Breakfast

Soups & Salads 33 Snacks 47

Mains 61

Desserts 93 Basic Re cipes 122 Index 1

S AUCEPA N

MIXING BOW LS

COLANDER

CAKE PA N

LOAF P AN

MUFFIN PA N

CUTTING BOARD

PIZZA PEEL

OVEN MI TT

STRAINER

LADLE

TONGS

CHEFS KNIF E

BREAD K NIFE

SMALL S ERRAT ED KNIFE

PARI NG KNIFE

CARVING FORK & KNI FE

PIE DISH

ROLLING PIN

LARGE POT

FRYING P AN

SAUT PAN

BAKING DI SH

METAL SPAT ULA

WOODEN SPOON

WOODEN SPAT ULA

SILICONE SPAT ULA

LARGE BAKING D ISH

WIRE WHISK

Getting ready t o cook

ORGANIZA TI ON

Learning to cook like a master chef is su re to be a fun and rew arding ex perience, but i t is a talent y ou will likely need to perf ect ov er time and with some effor t. T he first lesson ev ery young chef ne eds to learn is th e practice of mise en place, literally ever ythi ng in its place. Be fore you begin to coo k, read throu gh the recipe from star t to finish and get out the in gredients and equipment yo ull need. Prepare the ingredient s in advance as much as possible and assem ble them neatly ar ound yo ur work area for eas y access . The re cipes in this boo k will note the be st tools fo r particu lar tasks, but there are a few basic t ools yo u should try to hav e on hand fo r essential foo d preparat ion and cooking techniques.

KNIVES

Start w ith a basic set of kn ives, th en add more specialty knive s as you det ermine yo ur cutlery needs. A paring knife has a small, ta pered blade that is best for small -scale wo rk such as peelin g, co ring, trimming, and slicing small fruit s and vege tables. A chefs kn ife has a large, ta pered blade well suited to a variety of kitchen ta sks, such a s chopping, dicing, and slicing medium to large fruits and vegeta bles. A long serrate d knife , commonly know n as a bread knife, is designe d to slice through thick, soft bre ads or cakes . A small serrat ed knife is a good too l for slicing through sm aller soft fruits and ve getables, such as citrus and tomato es. A carving knife has a long, narro w blade designe d to easily slice through meat and maneuve r around bones. Pair it with a carving fo rk to stea dy the item you are c utting.

POTS & PA NS

Two saucepans , one 2 quart and one 4 quart , are best for sto vetop cooking. Use a large pot , 6 quart s or more, fo r boiling wate r, making soup, and co oking large ingre dients. A saut pa n has high, straight sides to help pre vent fo od from boun cing out of the pan when it i s being stirred , turned, or flipped ; it usually also has a th icker bot tom design ed to conduct and ho ld heat well , and a lid fo r containing evaporati on while cooking. A frying p an , also known as a skillet, is a broad pa n with sides that flare outward, making it useful fo r cooking fo ods that must be stirred ofte n or slid from the pan; it s best to hav e at least tw o fry ing pans, one small and one large, to use depending on the amo unt and size of the ingred ients you are cooki ng.

COOKING TOOLS

Within a short reach of y our cook ing and preparation area should be all the simple to ols you will comm only need: a wooden spoon or other large spoon for stirring, a silicone spat ula for folding ingre dients to gether , a metal spatu la for flipping ingre dients while co oking (o r a wooden o ne for nonstick pa ns) , a slotted spo on for scoop ing up solid ingredien ts while leav ing liquid behind, tongs for turning ingredients while cooking, a wire whisk for quickly bl ending liquid ingre dients, and a strainer for draining liqui d from solid ingr edients.

INGREDIENT PREPA RAT ION

Once you r tools are assembled, i t s t ime to re ady your ingre dients. R inse fresh frui ts and vege tables in water , then prepare them as reque sted in the recipe. Ke ep your hands and work ar ea clean and p ut every thing aw ay as soon as y ouv e finished us ing it. Also, be deliberate in every thing yo u do, whether it s wielding a knife o r tasting a salad dressing to see if it needs more salt. Y o ur finished dishe s will benefit from the ext ra effo rt.

KNIFE S KILLS

Learning how to choose, hol d, and use a kn ife is especially import ant for y oung cook s. When selecting a kn ife, conside r the item t o be cut, then pick out a knife th at is both suit able for the task and feels co mfort able in your hand.

Holding a Kni fe Hold the knife firmly by the h andle, as if you were shaking someone s h and. Hold dow n the item y ou are cutting with yo ur other hand, placing the fl at side of the food dow n to ke ep it steady wheneve r you can. Curl under the fing ers of the h and that s h olding the food so yo ur kn uckles kee p your fing ertips out of harms way. Wit h the tip of the k nife pointing d own, start to cut, br inging the handle up and down and keeping the knife facing aw ay from y our body .

Chopping Grasp the handle of a chefs knife and, with your other hand, st eady the t op of the knife blade near its tip against the c utting board . Raise and lower the knife handle in a chopping motion, slowly swinging the blade back and fort h across th e food until the

desired te xture is achieve d, ranging fro m coarsely chopped, to chopped, to finely chopped, to minced . Coarsely chopped fo ods are quit e chunky , w hereas minced food s are reduc ed to smal l bits.

Slicing Place the fo od on the cutt ing board and s teady it with your fr ee hand, t ucking yo ur fingert ips in tow ard your palm and keeping th e side of the bl ade gently against your kn uckles. Wit h the knife h eld in your other hand, c ut slices of the desir ed thickness .

Dicing Cut uniform slice s (w orking lengt hwise if the ite m is oblong) , cut the slices again to make strips, th en cut across the s trips to mak e cubes.

MEASURING

Use a set of measur ing spoons (u sually / teaspoon, / teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon ) to measure small amounts o f liquid and dry ingredients .

Liquids Measure liquids in clear measuring p itchers with rulers printe d on the side and a lip for pouri ng. Place the measuring pitc her on a flat surface , add the liquid, and check the measureme nt at eye level t o make sur e it is accurat e.