This season we will learn to Cook with Confidence using Mother Recipes—those essential ones that countless other recipes depend upon for their own creation. Learn more about what this means below.
The Mother Stock & Soup Series
CLASS 78 • Wed, Feb 9 [10am–2pm]: HOMEMADE STOCKS & BROTHS
CLASS 79 • Wed, Feb 23 [10am–2pm]: BROTHY VEGETABLE SOUPS
CLASS 80 • Wed, May 4 [10am–2pm]: PUREED & CREAMED SOUPS
The Mother Sauce Series
CLASS 81 • Sat, May 21 [4–8pm]: ROUX & REDUCTION SAUCES
CLASS 82 • Sat, Jun 4 [4–8pm]: EMULSION & VEGETABLE SAUCES
Tuition: $85 per class.
For Sign-Up and general class info, refer to: Class Information.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are sending in your registration fee to sign up for classes in May or June, Kay is out of the country until late April, at which time she will collect and respond to her mail. As always, the postmarked date establishes your priority for claiming any available places in class, so it still makes sense for you to send in your check as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience while waiting for your class confirmation. (March 2011 update)
For more information about Mother Recipes, these Class Descriptions, and Private Party Group Classes, please read on...
What do I mean by Mother Recipes?
They are the essential ones that often countless other recipes depend upon for their own creation. They are the backbone of good cooking. In so many ways.
Distilled from decades of experience, my tried and true Mother Recipes are set up to give you confidence. To thoroughly explain how, why and when to do what, while also offering many possible variations to choose from. They provide you with a ready reference of reliable guidelines. To encourage both your creativity and understanding. To support your individual tastes and circumstances. To help you feel relaxed and at play in your own kitchen.
We’re starting this season with a fresh series on homemade Mother Stocks and Soups. Where would we be without them? Then we’ll move on to cover The Sauces. And whether you’re a complete novice or a well-seasoned cook, there’s always something more to learn from a Mother. So mark your calendar and come take her home to stand by your side!
Class Descriptions
The Mother Stock & Soup Series
CLASS 78 • Wed, Feb 9 [10am–2pm]: HOMEMADE STOCKS & BROTHS
Want your cooking to graduate from merely satisfactory to the sublime? Trust me on this one. Your “stock” pot can do a lot more for you than just boil pasta water. There’s a reason why good cooks always keep a stock pot simmering on the proverbial back burner. With very little tending you can extract layers of flavor in aromatic broths that form the critical foundation for countless soups, stews, sauces, reductions and other savory dishes. Nothing can replace truly homemade stocks. So that’s where we’ll begin. Don’t miss out!
CLASS 79 • Wed, Feb 23 [10am–2pm]: BROTHY VEGETABLE SOUPS
The next step is a thorough understanding of vegetable soups and their timeless variations. Rather than follow specific individual recipes, this class will cover when and how much to add of what to end up with the bowl you had in mind. Whether it’s background or feature vegetables, raw versus cooked meats or poultry, pasta, grains or beans⎯we’ll analyze the possible components to achieve balance. And then, of course, there are the embellishments of wine and herbs and spices and oils and cheeses and…
CLASS 80 • Wed, May 4 [10am–2pm]: PUREED & CREAMED SOUPS
Having mastered that we’ll move on to the deceptively simple yet elegant mystery of puréed and cream soups. Seasonal vegetables and the “balance” word show up again. Not so the meaty bits. The challenges we meet here are how to deliver enough characteristic flavor; bind, thicken and enrich the broth; and then create the desired fineness of texture. As before I will share with you my personal cheat sheet of relative proportions so you can regularly come home from your market or garden to capture the essence of whatever looks best.
The Mother Sauce Series
CLASS 81 • Sat, May 21 [4–8pm]: ROUX & REDUCTION SAUCES
Now we’ll seamlessly segue from soups into sauces. Originally refined and classified by French culinary masters in the early 1800’s, the first so-called Mother Sauces were all thickened with roux (a cooked flour and butter paste). Think traditional cream sauce, cheese sauce or gravy, and you’ll know what I mean. So this is a good place to begin understanding everything else they led to in the wonderful world of sauces. These days we’ve not only lightened up and smoothed out those essentially quick and dependable classics, but moved on to showcase both starch and fat-free variations on the theme. Thinner and extremely versatile reduction sauces are made by boiling down stock, wine, marinade, and/or pan juices until syrupy and intensely flavored. Transparent, glossy and spooned on more sparingly, these more free-form sauces are both au courant and à la minute. Of course, you can always opt to mount them with butter or ladle in cream at the end. It’s all up to you. And how many French ancestors you have. (Description updated March 3, 2011)
CLASS 82 • Sat, Jun 4 [4–8pm]: EMULSION & VEGETABLE SAUCES
Most people tremble at the thought of making Mayonnaise by hand, beating in oil drop by drop until the egg yolk emulsion either binds like magic or breaks into blood curdling cries. Then there’s Hollandaise and Béarnaise, the sauces usually left for ordering in restaurants, where professionals are trained to make them. All those –aise sauces. So stereotypically French temperamental. But now we have many electrical devices that can help us master the trick once we understand what’s behind and underneath it all. Emulsion sauces often involve ingredients that don’t easily combine. Like oil and vinegar. Yes, vinaigrettes too—so unstable. (Voilà, mustard to the rescue. And the back hand of a whisk.) And then all the other, often easier dressings and salsas. Many vegetable sauces will emulsify at the push of a blender button, but they can be left chunky as well. Chopped, pounded, cooked or raw. Almost anything goes here. Since this is probably both the most ancient and contemporary category, it’s the perfect place to wrap up our dip into sauces. (Description updated March 3, 2011)
Private Party Group Classes
You initiate the gathering and we'll take care of the rest! Hassle-free and easily Dutch treat, this is a great way to enrich your life by making it simple to get together with your own group of friends, family or co-workers for a shared and joyful experience.
EITHER pick the current schedule class subject that suits you best and arrange to book it for sometime that same class week -OR- inquire about alternative available menu options. Please contact me to discuss all possible dates and times. (refer to Contact)
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