Take your skills up a notch with short courses

Everyone envies the host who possesses those fancy knife skills. Using multiple practice recipes, this course walks you through selecting, handling, and using a knife with confidence. You will prepare dishes such as veggie-packed soups, chopped entrée salads, and inventive main dishes to help you master your slicing, dicing, and cubing.

Course Objectives

• Explore the topics of selecting a knife set, handling a knife, and cutting with a knife
• Practice knife cuts with a variety of dishes
• Identify various knife cuts and their dimensions
• Share the results of your cooking activities for feedback and support
• Develop an appreciation for culinary discovery and ongoing learning

Soup provides an incredibly versatile, approachable and rewarding form of cooking. Whether you want a quick, nourishing meal or a weekend-long preparation to create a showstopping meal, soups serve as a convenient entryway to delicious and cost-effective cooking. Becoming comfortable riffing on basic recipes and using up stray items in your fridge inevitably leads to more and more experimentation in the kitchen. In this course, you’ll begin with the basics of meat- and vegetable-based stocks and progress from there to creating clear and thick soups with next-level garnishes such as crostini and Parmesan crisps. Each lesson gives you options for preparing classic soups, global variations and more unique and contemporary dishes. From chicken noodle and French Onion soup, to Vietnamese and Thai favorites, you’ll gain confidence in creating flavorful soups suited to your particular tastes.

Course Objectives

• Describe and prepare broth-, stock-, roux- and starch-based soups
• Practice complementary skills such as knife cuts and kitchen safety
• Adjust the texture and flavor of a soup to suit your tastes
• Understand how to add garnishes and garnitures to soups

Explore the world of chocolate desserts in its many forms. Chocolate lovers pine to share their passion with others. Enjoy the benefits of practicing the essentials of chocolate preparations by serving sweets to your loved ones. Beginning with basic chocolate making and use, the course guides you through various types of chocolate creations with multiple preparations, recipes and presentations. From familiar cookies, pies and cakes made with chocolate, you’ll advance to tortes, truffles and mousse. Display those amazing desserts with fruit and cream accompaniments, or a chocolate sauce, glaze, ganache and syrup.

Course Objectives

• Review the basic steps in making chocolate
• Explain the different characteristics or traits in quality chocolate
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of beginning chocolate use
• Identify various kinds and uses of chocolate and cocoa powder
• Prepare a variety of desserts with chocolate as the main component
• Prepare accompaniments to chocolate desserts
• Demonstrate the basics of plating and presenting chocolate desserts