Cooking Essentials for Beginners

3 Part Series: September 18, October 16, and November 13

Our Cooking Essentials for Beginners is a cooking club spanning over three months with monthly sessions that focus on building essential cooking skills and applying them to delicious recipes. This class is inspired by The New Cooking School cookbook.

Our club is carefully crafted to provide a progressive and hands-on learning experience for adults starting in the kitchen from scratch or looking to bump up their cooking skills. Each session builds upon the skills learned in the previous one, creating a well-rounded foundation in the art of cooking. We believe that by attending all three sessions, you will not only develop a solid understanding of basic cooking techniques but also gain the confidence to experiment with flavors and ingredients in your home kitchen.

Throughout the course, participants will have the opportunity to explore a variety of ingredients, essential cooking tools, and enjoy the recipes around the dining table. From mastering knife skills to understanding cooking methods and techniques, our Cooking Essentials for Beginners aims to instill a love for cooking and empower you to create tasty, nutritious meals at home.

By the end of the three months, you will have acquired a valuable set of cooking skills, setting the stage for a lifetime of enjoyable and satisfying experiences in the kitchen. Please ensure your attendance is at all three sessions to maximize the benefits of this comprehensive cooking club.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The New Cooking School for this class from The Republic of Letters, check the box when registering and we will have it ready for you to purchase during class!

Syllabus

Session 1—”Kitchen Basics”—September 18

Core Techniques

• Kitchen Essentials/Knife Skills
• Basic food safety
• Ingredient and tool identification
• Basic measuring/Weighing Ingredients
• Basic knife skills (safety, holding a knife, moving a knife, and basic knife cuts)

Applicable Recipes

• Gazpacho Soup
• Green Bean Salad with Foolproof Vinaigrette

Session 2—”Vegetables”—October 16

Core Techniques

• Boiling, Steaming, and Sauteing Vegetables

Applicable Recipes

• Boiled Carrots with Lemon and Chives
• Steamed Broccoli with Lime-Cumin Dressing
• Sauteed Mushrooms with Shallot and Thyme

Session 3—”Using Herbs & Spices, Cooking Grains”—November 13

Core Techniques

• Getting to know herbs
• Hearty vs. delicate—storing, and guidelines for using dried herbs
• Getting to know spices, including types of salt, pepper, essential spices, storing, and blends and pastas
• Preparing grains and lentils

Applicable Recipes

• Tabbouleh
• Spiced Red Lentils

Related Events

• 

  Legumes & Grains Demo & Tasting

  September 8 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• 

  Teen Baking Club

  September 11 @ 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• 

  Savory Bread with Master Baker Julien Otto

  September 14 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm