Putting On My Apron at Apron's: Week Three

[Amy Warren, LMHC / WQ Mag Columnist]

It’s becoming clear that Apron’s Cooking School’s Basics of Culinary class is not about learning to boil water and scramble eggs. It’s about learning the techniques of cooking—many of which the average cook doesn’t normally incorporate into their repertoire. It's also about expanding that repertoire into the cuisine of different cultures.

After only two weeks in class, my fellow classmates are cooking more; they’re also trying to resist cooking the same decadent recipes learned in the previous class...at least for a few more days. Even though I’ve always loved to cook, I’m finding myself spending more time in the kitchen and spending less money on dining. The only down side…I’m eating more, too.

The cuisine of this week’s class was Asian. The class was introduced to ingredients like Palm Sugar, Fish Sauce, Five Spice Powder, Ponzu Sauce, Lemongrass Paste, Sriracha and Mirin. I do love savoring the taste of new ingredients! In case you’re a food voyeur like me, I can’t resist sharing this week’s menu: Asian Noodle Salad with Five Spice Duck Breast, Shrimp and Ginger Sui Mai Dumplings (dim sum), Perfect Rice, Thai Beef Stir-fry, and Banana and Candied Macadamia Spring Rolls with Butterscotch Dipping Sauce! Is your mouth watering yet?! It should be.

In class, we all had fun trying our hands at forming dumplings and spring rolls out of wrappers. Why did mine have to be the most imperfectly formed in the whole class? Partially because I was trying to put way too much of that delicious filling inside of the Spring Rolls (you can always count on me to be the glutton)…and well, partially because I can be a klutz at times. Nevertheless, there was fun to be had by all.

Jim Hendry, Apron’s Executive Chef and Tim Saba, Sous Chef, were our instructors for the evening. It seems that getting any of these chefs to follow a recipe is like getting Rush Limbaugh to turn Democrat. Their ease at making substitutions and using what's in the refrigerator to make the night’s meal even better helps instill the confidence to do it myself—to think outside the recipe box.

The following tips are just a smidgen of the information gained in this week's class:

 Cook duck skin side down until the fat disappears. Freeze the fat rendered for later use.

 Use a meat thermometer (I never have) for perfect results. For medium, the internal temperature should be 135-140 degrees. For medium rare, 120-125 degrees. Keep in mind that meats will cook about 5 degrees more after being removed from heat.

 Finish cooking proteins in the oven—it keeps it from burning.

 Worried about having everything ready for dinner at the same time? Cook until almost done and put in a 375 degree oven to finish cooking just before dinnertime. (We did this with the Duck Breast and the Eggrolls). This tip is great for fried food. Your guests will want to know your secret for being so organized!

 Lemons and limes can pretty much be used interchangeably.

 Lemongrass paste is an easy substitute for Lemongrass stalks. Put the paste in the freezer and it will last for years, unthawing in a moment’s notice from the warmth of your hands.

 Caramel or other sticky substances stuck to your pan? For easy cleaning, just put some water in the pan and bring to a boil.

 Water can be used as “glue” instead of eggwash when working with wrappers.

 And one of the best tips of all…if your neighborhood Publix doesn’t stock an ingredient you want, just contact their customer service. They’ll order it for you and have your private stock ready and waiting at customer service whenever you need it, saving you the time and gas you used to waste going from store to store.

There’s a Banana and Candied Macadamia Spring Roll calling to me from my fridge. So I’ll see you back here next week. In the meantime, check out this week’s Recipe of the Week for the Asian Noodle Salad with Five Spice Duck Breast recipe.

[Amy Warren, LMHC / WQ Mag Columnist]

You're right. Any class I've ever attended at Apron's has included great food, conversation with like-minded people, and plenty of helpful information. Since you're a fellow food lover, do you know about the Foodies group on the site?

[marlene cooley]

I've done the basic of culinary about 3 years ago and really learn a lot from the class myself. Try some of the other ones too. I had a great time meeting people and learning new cooking techniqes