Every Sunday I somehow get up before noon & go to the Williams Sonoma Cooking demos in my nearby mall. I've been trying to learn how to cook. Before August, the extent of my cooking was chocolate-covered strawberries & bad instant coffee. lol. Not any more. In these demos they teach us the essentials of cooking. What certain terms are, some recipes, & of course we get to try out some of the yummy treats. This class yesterday really cheered me up a bit from the debacle that was Saturday as well as all your, "Kick his ass" comments. =P Thank you btw. I will deal with that properly when the time comes. I am nobody's door mat or at their beckon call.
This Sunday's demo was actually very interesting & I have a few tidbits to share with you that I learned. The topic was Pan-frying & Sauteeing. Both are done in a pan but they are two completely different things.
Pan-frying is cooking in alot of oil at a steady temperature to cook the food evenly.
Sauteeing is the opposite. Not so much oil in the pan & smaller portions of food to cook.
Deep-frying is when the food is completely submerged in oil & you don't have to turn it over to cook the other side.
Now the great instructor, Kathy, advised that the temperature of the oil in pan-frying should be about 320-330 degrees. Cooking at this temperature ensures the crispy outside & the moist inside. This way, for example, if your cooking chicken at this temperature, like in the demo, the oil should remain in the pan, not on your chicken so you don't get a greasy mess. OH and the pans that are appropiate to pan-fry in should be made of aluminum or stainless steel. Regardless of what you are cooking, add the oil first and heat it, then add the food.
What's nice about these demos is that it's right in front of you. You get to see what happens when you accidentally add water to the oil & see the splattering. You can smell the aroma of the butter & the olive oil she used to sautee the bacon in. (Delicious btw). And of course you get to taste what she made. There was a sauteed dish of cabbage, onions, and bacon. Firstly I didn't even know there was boy cabbages & girl cabbages. Apparently she used a boy cabbage. lol. Wel it was soo yummy!!
They also taught us how to clean up after using oil to cook. Do NOT PUT EXCESS OIL DOWN THE SINK!!!. And NEVER HANDLE HOT OIL. So what do you do? She said to let it at least cool off & try to soak it up with paper towels. If there is too much oil in the pan, then you can actually freeze it in a tuperware container, then throw it out. Not too bad of a tip. =)
I like going to the demos, not only because they are free, but I do feel like I'm learning something from them. Watching Top Chef & Iron Chef I'm starting to realize Ohhh so they are sauteeing the mushrooms...Ohhhhhh. lol. Eventually I'll learn how to cook, right now demos it is. =)
I hope I taught you a lil something today. One day down, 4 more days to the weekend. Whew.
25 comments:
looks like fun, makes me want to do a demo!
great blog!
xo,
owl-wings.blogspot.com
thats so cool, I wish I had somthing like that I could go to.
You always make these cooking classes sound like SO much fun and I really want to attend one...sigh.
I wish I had the time. I barely have time to blog. Lol.
Hopefully one day I will get in the kitchen and be able to use all your tips! :P
That is so cool that they offer this! I would love to be able to go to one. I need to learn a lot! Hope your week is starting off well!
Cooking is always fun. I like to attempt to cook something that has the potential of tasting yummy or horrible. It is like a challenge, you know? How will it taste?
Well, sounds like you are having tons of fun in these classes.
Buenos deseos,
Aquiles
I heard about those cooking demos! I've never been though! I've always wanted to take a cooking class, in college, but for some strange reason you have to take a semester of safety before taking the actual cooking class.
That chicken looks good, but hey fried everything looks good!
Secretia
awesome, great tips! i have no idea how to cook so those demos seem really interesting.
That sounds like such a cool & fun thing to do! I'm useless at cooking!
I learnt so much just by reading that.. Will defiantly be following!
Ooo and I see your currently reading 'The Lovely Bones' this is like my favorite book! I cant wait to see the film! :D
Thanks for this, it is so helpful. I need to invest in some new pans!
What you need is practice! There happens to be a vacancy in my kitchen and every other weekend usually 4 or 5 hungry boys in the house :).
Thanks for this! I'm a horrible cook so it was fun to read!
I try and cook. Sometimes it works, other times there is the Chinese around the corner.
oh this post is making me hongry! i have always wanted to go to these cooking classes! fun! fab! helpful! i have been on a diet lately and i miss cooking. wah. but i will get back to it eventually -- and find ways to make it healthy if at all possible!
YUm. oh i am so hunry.a hahah ahah
I've been working on my cooking skills too. its so rewarding when you can feed yourself!
Speaking of hot oil, always wear shoes while cooking! A friend of mine found that out the hard way.
read your previous post about the drummer boy, he sounds like a total jerk. I know I've been encouraging you to just go out on the date and then see about him, but clearly he is incompetent and selfish, definitely not someone to get involved with. stay far away! you deserve better!
i love love love cooking
and its always a learning process
you will love it too just keep practicing =)
You are a brave soul! I went to a cake decorating class WITH A FRIEND. On my own? Never would've happened. No sir. Sounds awesome, though.
I can't wait for the weekend either!
Do you get to eat the food at a demo? Seems like it would be a good place for a single guy to pick up a free meal AND numbers of gals who are learning to cook.
I have come to the realization that I can't love cooking if I don't want to. I have cooked some master yumminess of food but I really have to be in the mood to cook, otherwise it won't happen. I just don't have the patience to wait for things to be cooked instead of eating them already. That last part is my fave.
shit! no oil down the drain...uhhh...to late.
thanks for the cooking language lesson. i actually didn't know the difference between pan frying and sauteeing. haha. i'm so pathetic.
Man, that sounds like fun. I wish we had something like that here. =)
YUMMM! That looks SO good! It's really cool how you're learning to cook like this. I cannot cook at all!
Sophia
Check out my blog!
http://apoetscircus.blogspot.com/
im rookie cook, and i have been doing all this stuff for quite a while. the only thing that i haven't got down yet is the baking bit. but then i don't think with the way things are going i will find the time to do that stuff. oh.. how i loooove babana bread.. :D.. and cupcakes.. ahh.. cookies.. Snap out of it!
i love when people go all gastronomic! keep up the good work chef!!
Post a Comment