Craig Chambers asked:


When it comes to cooking school and a career in cooking, you are developing a lifestyle and life path. Remember the US Navy slogan “it’s more than a job, it’s an adventure? Well that is true for you too. As you set, your course to be the best you can in cooking you are also embarking on one of the greatest adventures of your life. Not only will you learn the skills and techniques you need in cooking school but also you will develop life long friends and valuable resources. The love of cooking is a great starting line but it will not be enough by itself.

Training is important and cooking school can refine your love of cooking into a skill that will possibly earn you a lot of money as well as respect and appreciation for your knowledge and ability. The knowing “how to” aspect of cooking is what separates the good from the best and will allow you to achieve excellence on higher levels. You already have the desire; you just need the “how to”.

My Brother in Law is from England and loves to cook crepes. He is actually very passionate about it and loves to cook them at family gatherings. However, it is also the only thing he knows how to prepare. Although you might consider him an expert on crepes, his knowledge base and practical cooking experience doesn’t extend much further. This is exactly why you should go ahead and take the challenge of going to cooking school like you have been considering. You will be the better for it and your family and friends or customers will reap the benefits along with you. Boy I wish my Brother in law had gone to cooking school so we could have something at reunions besides crepes even though he makes awesome crepes.

Cooking schools give you the basics that you need to survive in commercial kitchens as well as practical knowledge about hoe to run your own home kitchen. You learn things like nutrition that is so important today with people exercising and being calorie conscience. As you know, cooking schools have their students after graduation being hired by major hotels, resorts and health spas. One of the most important aspects of that job is to be able to put together tasty but nutritious meals that will please the clientele looking for health and long life.

As you prepare for your future cooking school will also give you the foundation of food storage and safe food handling practices that will set the foundation for you to build on. You will also learn and become an expert on all of those fabulous herbs and spices. Knowing when you can substitute dried herbs for fresh ones and how to properly store fresh herbs to keep their flavor will put your sauces and marinades on everyone’s favorites list.

Without a cooking school to guide us, how would we learn about high and low heat techniques, thickeners, pan searing, quick pan frying or cooking at high altitudes? It is the cooking techniques that you need to learn and that you can gain from cooking school. You will also come away with an arsenal of tools, knives, kitchen equipment and neat gadgets to make cooking easier and better.

If you want more than just a job in a kitchen then don’t settle for less. Invest yourself in the things you love and get the training and skills to take your love of cooking to its next level. Set a life path and make it an adventure, be your best and let your talent shine. Reach for your dreams and investigate cooking school.

Jacob Smithston asked:


There is no better day to celebrate being American than the fourth of July. If you are of mixed heritage like Chinese American you may also want to celebrate the fourth of July as well as your heritage by adding an ethnic twist to some of the fourth of July’s cookout traditions. Everyone knows that it just is not a Fourth of July cook out without potato salad. For example, check out the recipe below for Chinese potato Salad.

The ingredients you will need

About 2.5 lbs of potatoes that works out to about 5-6 medium potatoes

4 slices bacon, well-cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup chopped bok choy

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For the sauce you will need

1 1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp sugar

1 tbs soy sauce

1-2 tsp sesame oil

1/8-1/4 tsp hot mustard powder

1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

The first step boil the potatoes unless they are still firm but cooked completely. Then cut the potatoes into bite size or salad-size chucks. Mix up the sauce. You can alter the mustards and sesame oil depending on you taste. Mix in the potatoes and other solid ingredients together in a large bowl and add the sauce. Make sure to mix well and then chill.

This Chinese version of a classic Fourth of July favorite will add an ethic flavor to your patriotic celebration. Part of being in America is being able to express your ethnic background without having to worry about what people will say. There is no better time to celebrate this freedom than the fourth of July. Try this ethnic style favorite next Fourth of July.

piyu asked:


Mexican foods, like many other foods, can be boiled, grilled, or fried. These are modern Mexican cooking styles but Mexican traditional cooking techniques were rather different.

In ancient times, Mexicans did not have ovens. Instead, they would cook Mexican food over an open fire, which was the most common out of all the Mexican traditional cooking techniques.

The food would be placed in iron pots before cooking. This Mexican cooking method is similar to how we cook food on the grill these days. The Aztecs steamed and boiled their food in two handled clay pots before the Spanish introduced iron cooking pots. These two handled clay pots were called xoctli. The pot would be filled with food and then heated over an open fire. A lot of foods were fried and Mexican cooking features frying to this day.

Today in the present, it is a lot easier to cook Mexican dishes. It takes less time to prepare the foods. If someone wants to make homemade tortillas, there are iron pans that make it easy. Flans are made simply using spring form type pans. Long ago, it was a long process to make masa, which is a dish that includes a certain type of corn that has to be grinded. Nowadays you can purchase a metal grinder that helps grind the masa.

When you are making Mexican cooking recipes, the oven is perfect for many of them. You can bake meat, fish, and vegetables easily. You can also cook foods in a pot of water with added spices. A lot of Mexican recipes can even be made in a crock pot or slow cooker. Large steaming pots simplify the tamale cooking process. They take a long time to cook so a large pot means you can cook more at once, instead of in smaller batches.

Grilling Mexican food is another way to enjoy it. Foods used to be cooked this way many years ago and it was called “barbacoa.” With this Mexican cookery method, meat was wrapped in banana leaves and cactus leaves and steamed over boiling water in a large pit. If you want to learn how to cook Mexican food, this is not the easiest technique for a novice! Food cooked in this way would have tasted similar to our grilled food of today. Fajitas are a good example of a perfect Mexican food to grill.

Mexicans many years ago used “metate y mano,” which was a large tool with a concave surface, made from stone or lava rock. This utensil was used to mash the ingredients together. A “molcajete” is another ancient Mexican cooking tool, which translates as a mortar and pestle. You would learn about these ancient cooking tools in a Mexican cooking class, although we use different utensils today.

Cooking almost always requires stirring somewhere in the preparation. Wooden spoons have been around for many hundreds of years and are still widely used. There are different types of spoons today, depending on whether you are moving meat around in hot oil or stirring a thick sauce.

There is a rich history behind Mexican food and Mexican traditional cooking techniques. The methods might have changed through the ages but the food is still traditional. Food tastes different when cooked in different ways and there are plenty of Mexican recipes to try out and enjoy.

www.cajuns-recipes.com

www.atkins-diets-recipes.com

kabir.nh2009 asked:


We all know that most of us eat food that can actually improve our health, but, it is always important to cook the food in the best possible way. There are many oils and other butter products in the market that have the ‘Best’ tag attached to them. One should always know which he must use, and which he must avoid.

1. Canola oil

This is one that is very popular, and most of the physicians also recommend this oil, because it lowers the possibilities for a cardiac arrest in humans. This oil contains fat that is low in saturation. But, it contains monounsaturated fat that gives the best composition of fatty acids.

Canola oil can be used for sautéing, and in case there is going to low temperature stir frying involved. For more details www.cooking-chinese-style.com .This oil is very bland, and this is the best oil when spicy food is to be cooked. This oil will certainly not interfere in the taste of the food.

2. Olive oil

The olive oil contains a flavor that is very distinct, and it has ingredients that make your heart healthy aplenty. This oil also contains a lot of monounsaturated fat, and this will reduce the chances for cancer in a person. This kind of oil contains a lot of antioxidants.

This kind of oil is usually used for cooking, but it is very healthy when it is not cooked. This will be in the best possible use in case you are preparing a salad, or while preparing dipping sauce. For more details www.atkins-diets-recipes.com .In case you are going to use it for cooking, then, it is suggested that you heat it at a very low temperature.

3. Butter

Butter is not something that is new to us. It has been around for very long now. The butter enhances the taste, and also serves as a source of Vitamin A, D, E, K. Butter comes as a natural product, and it is not something that was processed artificially. Butter can be used when you are baking, or cooking, it is widely used as a spread too.

4. Margarine

Margarine is a product that was introduced as an alternative for butter that is high on fat. The first form of margarine was filled with a lot of trans-fat, which is known to increase the cholesterol.

Margarine gives a good taste to the food as cooking oil, and it can also be used as a spread. This product is a proven source for Vitamin E.

There are many kinds of cooking oil, it is the health of the person that matters, so, choose the best. This will help you enhance your health, and your taste buds.

Jaydon Parker asked:


My mother makes really good fudge. Whenever I used to watch her making fudge in our kitchen, she then would pass on the bowl to me after she finished making the fudge so I could lick it clean. I loved this. I’ve tried lots of fudge recipes in my lifetime but I am biased. My mom’s fudge is still the very best fudge for me. It’s both good and made by my mother so I guess that equals to a really great fudge recipe.

Mom used to prepare for us 3 different kinds of fudge for me and my siblings and we all loved them. Here they are.

Mom’s Choco Fudge

1 2/3 c light cream

4.5 c sugar

2 tsps vanilla

2 (12 ounce) packages semisweet choco chips

1/2 c butter (NOT margarine), sliced into pieces

1 (11 ounce) package milk choco chips

2 c chopped walnuts, if desired

Grease a 9×13″ pan with butter and set aside. Inside a large, heavy saucepan, combine cream, and sugar. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stir it CONSTANTLY!! When it comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook and stir as mixture boils. Boil for 5 mins.

Then remove pan from the heat and immediately mix in butter and all of your chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate melts into the cream mixture and fudge becomes satiny. Fold in vanilla & nuts, if using. Immediately spoon and spread into the prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature until cool. Cut into squares. Make about 4 pounds of fudge.

Choco-Mint Fudge

1 c white confectioners’ coating

2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, divided

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 tbsp peppermint extract

1 drop green food coloring (optional)

Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with waxed paper. In heavy saucepan on low heat, melt chocolate chips with 1 c sweetened condens ed milk & vanilla. Spread half of mixture in your prepared pan; chill 10 minutes, or ’til set. Reserve remaining chocolate mixture at room temperature.

Into another heavy saucepan on low heat, melt white confectioners’ coating with remaining sweetened condensed milk (mixture will be thick.) Mix in peppermint extract and food coloring. Spread this mixture onto chilled chocolate layer; chill 10 minutes, or just until firm.

Spread reserved chocolate mixture over mint layer; chill 2 hours, or until firm.

Rocky Road Fudge

3 c chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

1 14-oz can condensed milk

1/4 c (4 tbsp) butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 c toasted nuts, coarsely chopped

1.5 c mini marshmallows

Prepare an 8×8 or 9×9 pan by lining it using aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Inside a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter. Microwave it in one-minute increments until melted, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir to ensure all the chocolate is melted, then add in vanilla & salt. Stir until the candy turns smooth and well-mixed. Add 1 c of marshmallows and 1 c of nuts and stir until well-combined.

Pour fudge into the prepared pan and smooth it into a very even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c marshmallows and 1/4 cup nuts on top of your fudge and press gently so that they’re embedded in the surface. Place the fudge inside refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours. Once set, slice into 1-inch squares and serve at room temperature. Store excess fudge inside an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Art Gib asked:


Whether you’ve opened up a restaurant or you simply want to earn some extra cash, those cooking skills you’ve honed could be your ticket to success. While your friends and family have bee reaping the benefits of your cooking for years, maybe it’s time to turn your kitchen into your new office.

You can start finding out if your family and friends were just being nice by teaching a cooking class. With this experience, not only will you meet others who enjoy cooking as much as you do, but you will also begin to see how far you can take your skills.

What Can You Cook?

If you’re going to teach a cooking class, it’s best to teach something that you know a lot about. If you get up in front of everyone and try to teach them how to roll sushi, but you’ve only done it once, you’re not going to look like an expert — you’re going to look like a fool. Find something that you can cook and cook well each and every time. It doesn’t have to be anything really exotic either — a lot of people don’t know how to cook a decent chicken breast meal. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with this particular dish that you want to cook, then you can move onto things that are more complicated.

Fun things to each include:

- Pizza making

- Chinese dishes

- Baking and pastry making

- Candy making

- Family dishes you can make quickly

- Holiday dishes

- Sushi

Where Can You Teach?

Many restaurants and community centers have areas where you can teach a cooking class to others — all you need to do is ask. If you already own a restaurant, taking students back into the kitchen is a great way to drum up business for your place, while also giving them the backstage pass to your inner workings. If all else fails, you can also cook from your home — though things might get a little more crowded there if you don’t have a lot of space.

What’s the Point?

Teaching a cooking class is about more than just using a ramekin to show off the spices you will use; this is an opportunity to learn how to teach others and how to interact with others in relation to cooking. You can use it to advertise a cookbook you’ve written or the restaurant that you’re planning on running. Advertise your class in the local papers and online to see what kind of response you get.

Chances are good that it’s going to be worthwhile to everyone. And don’t forget to charge for this. Everyone should pay a fee to offset your food costs as well as your time. Money for doing what you love — now that’s a tasty combination.