Another great month of Kitchen Bootcamp has come to a close. This month, I challenged everyone to try some new recipes that involved cooking with grains and legumes (Chapter 27 in The Professional Chef). It turned out to be a bigger challenge than I expected because the “legumes” part may have thrown a few people…
It just occurred to me that, in the midst of everything this past week, I totally forgot to announce the new Kitchen Bootcamp challenge… Oops! I apologize that the announcement is a bit late, but I think this is one that can be tackled in a short amount of time. Since I recently discovered how…
It’s time to recap another Kitchen Bootcamp challenge! This month, I thought it would be fun to mix things up a bit and take on the World Cuisines chapter from The Professional Chef, our monthly textbook so to speak. I knew that some new flavors would help me get out of a bit of a…
I have to admit that I had a particular section of the world in mind when I picked World Cuisines as this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge. Though I love to eat it, I have a really difficult time preparing Asian dishes. In fact, my husband and I were discussing that just the other day as…
Around this time of year, I always seem to go through a bit of a cooking slump. I get sick of all of the heavy winter dishes, but I can’t seem to come up with anything new and fresh to put on my weekly menu. I tend to just draw a blank, and I end…
Even though it’s only a few days shorter than other months, February always seems to just fly by. I can’t believe it’s already time to talk about this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp posts! I’m glad that so many people enjoyed braising and stewing this month… It was a chapter that I often skip over (it often seemed…
February is here, so it’s time to announce the next Kitchen Bootcamp challenge! I was thrilled with all of the great soups submitted for the January challenge, and I’m hoping everyone will be just as excited about this month’s challenge…
Since many of us still have a few more weeks of chilly weather ahead of us, I thought it would be a good idea to take on another winter-appropriate chapter. This month, I thought I’d focus on braising and stewing meats (chapter 23 from The Professional Chef)… It’s a technique that I don’t utlize nearly enough, and this month I am determined to change that!
Whether I’m ready or not, 2011 is here. I haven’t really outlined specific goals or made a list of resolutions for the year… However, if I did, I think that continuing to learn new things, particularly in the kitchen, would be pretty high on my list. Though I enjoy making familiar recipes, it’s the new recipes and techniques that I find to be the most fun.
So, I’m feeling a sense of renewal as we head into the January Kitchen Bootcamp challenge. I’m ready to tackle some new recipes, techniques, and flavors… And, I hope you’ll join me!
This time of the year, I can never seem to really focus on anything but the pending holidays. I absolutely love the whole “holiday season” from well before Thanksgiving until after New Years. I love cooking, baking, and entertaining… And, no other time of the year can compare! I imagine that most of you can relate.
So, with all of my holiday excitement (in addition to all of the other excitement and craziness in my life right now), I wasn’t nearly as diligent as I should have been about announcing a November Kitchen Bootcamp challenge. The more I thought about it, though, I realized that many of you are probably equally distracted at the moment and might not have the energy to do both a November and a December challenge. That’s a lot to add to the holiday season!
This month’s challenge may have been a bit of a challenge for a lot of people. I’m not so sure that everyone enjoys pastry doughs and batters quite the way I do. That said, it turned out to be a bit of a challenge for me, as well. Though I had great plans of making homemade…
