18-17: Cooking Glossary I

Here’s a new-to-you part of the book I want to start featuring. The last three chapters of Simply Delicious comprise their own section: Cooking School. These chapters detail more of the practical culinary knowledge required to execute recipes well, and teach some skills by going through some basic recipes.

I’m going to start mixing up the regular recipe entries with these Cooking School ones as well, which shouldn’t be too different. If anything, they’ll be a lot shorter–like this one.


18-17 Cooking Glossary I

Chapter 18 is about Basic Techniques. I thought that 18-17: Cooking Glossary I would be a good place to start. I used this same (complete) glossary when I taught cooking to K-8 kids in an after school program a few years ago, and I inserted a copy of it into the recipe book at the restaurant I used to work at. There’s also one taped inside my spice cabinet at home for reference.


18-17 Cooking Glossary Ia

I had a few notes about a few of these terms as my original post here, but after further thought, I put some more time and work into it and linked each term to a recipe I’ve covered that uses that technique. If have a term that doesn’t have a corresponding recipe yet, I’ll update that term when I do.

My intention behind this is to provide a viable option for practicing that particular skill/technique. Give it a try!


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12-11: Italian Macaroni & Cheese

Al Dente

Au Gratin

Bard

  • nothing yet!

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6-29: Stuffed Turkey

Baste

Blanch

  • 3-8: Gazpacho
    • Even though it doesn’t say it specifically, you’re blanching your tomatoes to peel the skins
  • 12-27: Chicken Broccoli Lasagna 
    • A lighter, leaner take on a traditional lasagna which features blanching broccoli for a layer of filling
  • 4-27: Mushroom-Parsnip au Gratin  
    • A creamy, broiled casserole dish involving layers of sautéed mushrooms and blanched/sliced parsnips

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9-10: Lean Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Boil

Bouquet Garni

Braise


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13-10: Zucchini Piccata

Bread

Broil

Caramelize


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9-30: South American Meatballs

Coat

Cream

  • 17-9: Brownies
    • The first step has you cream sugar & eggs–a GREAT brownie recipe to keep on hand
  • 15-1: Lemon Mousse
    • A light & airy citrusy dessert that starts with the basic creaming of sugar and eggs
  • 16-45: Colonial Apple Cake
    • A rustic apple & pecan cake that discusses variances in creaming, including when to add eggs

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17-28: Pound Cake

Cut in

Dice


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7-28: Pork Chops with Rosemary

Dredge

Dust

  • 16-18: Lemon Basil Tart
    • A fresh, herb-scented lemon tart dusted with a hint of powdered sugar that makes a great summer picnic dessert
  • 17-48: Buttery Vanilla Rolls
    • Rich yet mild coffee rolls with a vanilla creme center and a dusting of powdered sugar on top
  • 15-26: Strawberry Pastries
    • Here’s a strawberry-shortcake-type dessert using puff pastry and yet another dusting of powdered sugar on top

Flake

  • 11-26: Fish Gumbo
    • A Cajun-inspired seafood stew that calls for flaked crabmeat to accompany catfish nuggets and a rainbow of vegetables
  • 17-42: Luscious Lemon Bars
    • Flaked coconut is swirled with lemon and cream cheese and baked on a flaky crust to create a cheesecake-like lemon bar
  • 2-3: Salad Niçoise
    • A classic salad featuring flaked tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and olives

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1-19: Flambéed Mushrooms

Flambé

  • 1-19: Flambéed Mushrooms
    • An extra fiery touch is added to sautéed mushrooms by igniting them in the pan with a bit of Grand Marnier
  • 11-3: Indian Scampi
    • A curried shrimp stir-fry dish that has a flambé step to add a bit of depth and flavor to the creamy sauce
  • 9-15: Peppercorn Beef Burgers
    • Ground beef burgers classed up with some whole black peppercorns and a rich creamy sauce set alight thanks to the ever-present Grand Marnier

Flute

  • 5-7: Quiche Lorraine
    • You can go big or small with a quiche crust–why not get fancy?
  • 13-2: Onion Tart
    • You can flute the edges yourself, or you can get a springform tart pan and let the pan do the work for you
  • 9-22: Meat Pie
    • Meat pies have been around for thousands of years…why not add a touch of class to yours?

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17-4: Cinnamon Rolls

Glaze

  • 17-4: Cinnamon Rolls
    • This particular recipe doesn’t include a glaze with it, but I’ve linked to a good one so that you too can make proper cinnamon rolls
  • 7-28: Maple-Glazed Pork
    • A yummy take on pork chops–make sure to use real maple syrup!
  • 6-9: Orange-Glazed Turkey Breast
    • Here’s a way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers–cover the cooked breast with a savory orange-infused glaze and bake in the oven

Hull


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2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad

Julienne

Knead

  • 13-5: Onion Focaccia
    • Freshly baked focaccia makes for a delicious vegetarian snack, appetizer, or side dish)
  • 17-1: Croissants
    • If you’re up for a challenge, these French rolls include 3 hours of prep–kneading, rolling, rising…
  • 9-20: Meat Roly-Poly
    • A roulade-type dish featuring ground meat rolled in a flaky dough crust–consider it for a different kind of dinner party entrée

I hope these will give you some inspiration to practice your cooking skills! Check out 18-18a: Cooking Glossary IIa and 18-18b: Cooking Glossary IIb for even more terms and recipes!