Culinary Lessons

          I am very commonly asked about giving culinary lessons for my clients and want to share with you one of my experiences.  I have been asked by the Namaste Farms family in Temecula to teach their children some basic cooking and to have a “hands-on” experience in trying out some of my favorite recipes too. I teach their two girls, ages 11 and 13, and their younger brothers like to watch and try the products of the class of course! This week we made three of the five mother sauces including the béchamel, hollandaise, and tomato sauce, and they were very excited about their new skills. It is a very important skill to begin early in life as healthy cooking, not only installs good life habits, and important in family life it will save you so much money on food and your health long term! We would love to do culinary lessons for a group of your family and friends in your home!

Love from the team,

Anne Taylor Catering

Béchamel

Ingredients:

• 5 cups whole milk
• 6 Tbsp clarified butter (or ¾ stick unsalted butter)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ onion, peeled
• 1 whole clove
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Ground white pepper, to taste
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Preparation:

1. 1.            In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally and taking care not to let it boil.

1. 2.            Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the clarified butter over a medium heat until it becomes frothy. Don’t let it turn brown, though — that’ll affect the flavor.

1. 3.            With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale-yellow-colored paste. This paste is called a roux.  Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour

1. 4.            Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot milk to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it’s free of lumps.

1. 5.            Now stick the pointy end of the clove into the onion and drop them into the sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about 20 percent, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pan.

1. 6.            The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it’s too thick, whisk in a bit more milk until it’s just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

1. 7.            Remove the sauce from the heat. You can retrieve the clove-stuck onion and discard it now. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth.

1. 8.            Season the sauce very lightly with salt and white pepper. Be particularly careful with the white pepper — and the nutmeg, if you’re using it. A little bit goes a long way! Keep the béchamel covered until you’re ready to use it.

Makes about 1 quart of béchamel sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup clarified butter (about 2½ sticks before clarifying)
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (the juice from 1 small lemon)
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Cayenne pepper (or a dash of Tabasco sauce), to taste

Preparation:

1. 9.            Heat an inch or two of water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Also, your clarified butter should be warm, but not hot.

1. 10.        Combine the egg yolks and the cold water in a glass or stainless steel bowl (not aluminum) whisk for a minute or two, until the mixture is light and foamy. Whisk in a couple of drops of lemon juice, too.

1. 11.        The water in the saucepan should have begun to simmer. Set the bowl directly atop the saucepan of simmering water. The water itself should not come in contact with the bottom of the bowl. Whisk the eggs for a minute or two, until they’re slightly thickened.

1. 12.        Remove the bowl from the heat and begin adding the melted butter slowly at first, a few drops at a time, while whisking constantly. If you add it too quickly, or the emulsion will break.

1. 13.        Continue beating in the melted butter. As the sauce thickens, you can gradually increase the rate at which you add it, but at first, slower is better.

1. 14.        After you’ve added all the butter, whisk in the remaining lemon juice and season to taste with Kosher salt and cayenne pepper (or a dash of Tabasco sauce). The finished hollandaise sauce will have a smooth, firm consistency. If it’s too thick, you can adjust the consistency by whisking in a few drops of warm water.

1. 15.        It’s best to serve hollandaise right away. You can hold it for about an hour or so, provided you keep it warm. After two hours, though, you should toss it — both for quality and safety reasons.

Makes 1 pint of Hollandaise sauce.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, with liquid
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tbsp Kosher salt (or to taste)
• 2 tsp sugar

Preparation:

1. 16.        In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil for a minute over medium heat.

1. 17.        Add the onions and carrots, and sauté for a bit until the onions are translucent but not brown.

1. 18.        Add the tomatoes and the garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is slightly reduced. If you like, you can use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes while the sauce simmers.

1. 19.        Remove from heat and pass through a food mill, or purée in a food processor until smooth, working in batches if necessary.

1. 20.        Season to taste with Kosher salt and sugar.

Makes about 1½ qts tomato sauce