It’s time to announce the next Kitchen Bootcamp challenge! I appreciate everyone’s patience last month with my extended challenge… Since I’m still not completely back on my feet (especially in the kitchen!), it has been a huge help to me to extend the challenge a bit. So, I am going to do the same thing again for the next challenge. Plus, I know many of you are busy during the summer, so it’ll give you a bit more time to tackle a recipe of your own!
In addition to a bit of an extended challenge for June/July, I thought I’d also do something a bit different with the subject matter of the challenge. We’re going to tackle something that is near and dear to my heart… Mise en Place for Vegetables and Fresh Herbs (Chapter 24 of The Professional Chef)!
We can all learn a few new things when it comes to prepping vegetables and herbs, myself included… I consider my chef’s knife to be one of my most valuable tools in the kitchen (if not THE most valuable), and I am always looking to improve. So, since there are lots of fresh herbs and veggies in season right now, I thought that there’s no better time to learn a few new ways to prepare them!
Whether you want to learn the proper way to dice an onion or you’d like to perfect a decorative cut for garnishing your food for gorgeous photos, this challenge is for you… The Professional Chef is a great resource for learning basic knife cuts, decorative cuts and techniques, and how to prepare some of those “difficult” vegetables like leeks, avocados, and artichokes (yikes… I’m terrified of artichokes!). Of course, you can always use other sources, as well… There are lots of great resources out there, so use whatever you have available!
So, this month I encourage you to learn a new skill (or two) in the kitchen… Take advantage of all of the beautiful produce that’s available at the farmer’s markets, perfect for chopping, dicing, and slicing, and use it in a great, fresh dish… The sky is the limit. Be creative!
I’ll be posting the roundup for the June/July challenge on Friday, July 29th, so be sure to submit your blog posts by Thursday, July 28th! Don’t forget to submit a photo with your post in order to have a photo included in the roundup… I won’t use photos off of your site without your permission (that’s stealing!), so please submit them yourself!
Please note – The links to The Professional Chef provided in this post are Amazon affiliate links.
What a GREAT challenge Jen. I love it. All about technique!
Love it! :-)