Cooking 101 Recap: Week III

Hi everyone! Chef Barton here with our weekly Cooking 101 recap. After a week off last Tuesday so everyone could enjoy Mardi Gras, we got back on schedule last night with session three of our Cooking 101 series. This week featured the "Garde Manger," or cold section of the kitchen.

We talked about strategies for putting together great looking contemporary cheese boards, crudité platters, fruit platters, and antipasto displays. We also prepared several dressings from scratch and everyone got to try their hand at making their own vinaigrette. The ranch dressing I made with homemade mayo came out a little thin but tasty - I think I got carried away with our housemade buttermilk!

We also tasted many different salad greens to showcase the wide differences there are of greens there are to choose from. We saw some different salad presentations with "bowls" made from baked parmesan cheese, or frico, and also created a thinly sliced cucumber round just large enough to hold some greens. Interesting presentations to think about the next time you're hosting!

This week, we also gave our student chefs the chance to win their very own Northeastern logo wooden cutting board. Two lucky students, Chef Alexa and Chef Kate, each left last night's class with a new cutting board - just another tool that they can impress their friends and family with!

Each week we're building on what we've learned from the previous weeks: menu building, stocking your pantry, nutrition, shopping, and knife skills. Next week we'll be creating stocks and sauces. Do you know what the five mother sauces are and how to prepare them? Our ten Cooking 101 students will after next week!

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