The great advantage of icebox cookies is that you can have freshly-baked cookies with a minimum of effort. Mix together the dough, refrigerate, and then bake later. And who doesn’t love warm cookies?

The challenge of icebox cookies is shaping the dough into a perfect log shape so that the cookie slices are perfectly round. Here is a trick: use a bamboo sushi mat to shape the log. The mat really works!

Maple Sable Icebox Cookies

• 1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted in the oven
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, cut up
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a food processor, blend together the walnuts, maple sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the butter and blend until smooth. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and salt. Fold in the butter mixture. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a log. Use a bamboo mat to form the dough log into a round tube shape. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour. Slice the log into quarter-inch rounds and place on a lined sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

1. The Stainless Steel Fish Spatula made by All-Clad is called a fish spatula for its original use, but I use a fish spatula for everything: cookies, stir-fries, cakes, lasagne, because the spatula is thin and very flexible with a sharp edge. It is the best spatula available and the new stainless composition makes it dishwasher safe.

2. Stovetop Smoker made by Cameron. This little box can produce perfectly smoked meats, fish, and vegetables in a jiffy. It is so easy to use and you can smoke foods while staying warm in the house.

3. Ceramic Bread-Baking Cloche made by Emile Henry. Like crusty bread? This beautiful baker with a lid produces a gorgeous loaf of crusty bread. The cloche creates a steamy oven in your oven!

4. Silicone Pastry Mat for kneading and rolling out dough is a smarter way to deal with dough. The counter stays clean and the mat is flexible for peeling off the cookies or pie dough. The pastry mat is an easier way to deal with wetter doughs (such as the dough used in the Cloche).

5. Electric Pizzelle Maker may seem like a specialized tool, but once you taste these deliciously crispy Italian Christmas cookies, you will want the cooker to make them in! Pizzelles are perfect for homemade ice cream cones.

6. Lodge Carbon Steel 15-inch Paella Pan is heavy-duty and durable. Most paella pans are flimsy and burn the rice on the bottom of the pan. This carbon steel pan is the best choice for a sensational Spanish paella — the perfect party food!

7. Set of 12 Round Cutters from 1 inch to 4 1/2 inch sizes is one of the most useful pieces of kitchen equipment for either the cook or baker. Yes, I have a set, but I’ve lost my favorite size cutter.

8. Stainless Steel Ricer. I’ve always preferred the creamy and light potatoes that a ricer produces. Now we have a new and improved ricer made with stainless steel (dishwasher safe!) that features a larger hopper.

9. Black Classic Meat Cleaver made by Wusthof-Trident Cutlery. Nobody thinks they need a meat cleaver, but once you own one, you can’t imagine how you cooked without this incredibly heavy and important knife. Cutting up chickens are such a breeze with a cleaver!

10. Kuhn Rikon Vegetable Peeler. Every cook needs another peeler. Get a bunch of bright colors so you can find them in your kitchen drawer!

Tune in this Wednesday, November 27 to Channel 5 KSDK at the 4 pm, 5 pm, and 6 pm newscasts for Thanksgiving Tips from Anne Cori of Kitchen Conservatory. What can you do on Wednesday night to prepare for Thanksgiving? Anne will describe what she does in her kitchen on the night before Thanksgiving:

1. Unwrap the turkey in the roasting pan with a rack and rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Be sure to remove the bag of giblets and neck from inside the bird! Let the turkey come to room temperature before roasting — which usually takes about 10-12 hours. Use a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the bird.

2. Make the cranberry sauce. Bring to a boil 1 bag of cranberries with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup orange juice. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is jammy.

3. Make the dressing. Slowly saute the onions, celery, and bell pepper in butter until very soft — about an hour, but do not let the vegetables brown. If desired, add garlic and/or sausage. Fold into crumbled bread or cornbread or wild rice. Season well with salt, pepper, and lots of chopped fresh sage.

4. Roast the butternut squash (400 degrees for 40 minutes). Remove the pulp and puree in a food processor before mixing into the cream, eggs, and spices for the pie filling. Fresh butternut squash (instead of the canned squash) makes the most delicious pumpkin pie!

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Please stop by Kitchen Conservatory this Sunday afternoon, November 24, from 12 to 4 pm for our annual open house. We offer plenty of delicious nibbles, plus our favorite champagne punch.

Kitchen Conservatory has all the equipment needed for a perfect Thanksgiving. Here is a checklist:

• Turkey Roaster and Rack
• Meat and Oven Thermometers
• Turkey Lifter
• Brining Bags
• Turkey Brining Spices
• Cheesecloth
• Baster
• Gravy Separator
• Turkey Stock
• Twine
• Turkey Lacers
• Paper Turkey Frills
• Carving Knife
• Cutting Boards
• Ricer
• Food Mill
• Pie Plates
• Cream Whipper

Panicked about Pie? Join us for “I’ll Take Pie” on Wed, Nov, 27 at 9 am to make and take apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies for your Thanksgiving feast.

When it is cold outside, heat up the kitchen with some great cooking classes. Our Winter Cooking Class Schedule is now available. The most exciting new class is “Feasting on Film: Chocolat” with chef Elizabeth Schuster of Tenacious Eats on Thu, Feb 6 at 6 pm. Not only is she reproducing the chocolate-infused menu of the French movie “Chocolat” but the class will be serenaded with live music!

Here are some other classes not to miss:

“Your Pad Thai or Mine” with Naam Pruitt on Sat, Jan 11 at 6 pm

“The Legen-Dairy Cheesemonger” with Simon Lehrer of The Wine Merchant on Wed, Jan 15 at 6 pm

“Another One Bites the Crust” with Andrew Jennrich of Farmhaus on Wed, Jan 22 at 6:30 pm

“Be Still, My Tart” with Barry Marcus on Sat, Jan 25 at 11 am

“Legalized Pot Pies” with Christie Maggi on Thu, Feb 6 at 6:30 pm

“Live Free or Pie” with Jane Callahan on Mon, Feb 17 at 6 pm

“Knives in White Sausage” with Josh Galliano of The Libertine on Mon, Feb 17 at 6:30 pm

“Tortes Illustrated” with Helen Fletcher of Tony’s on Thu, Feb 20 at 6 pm

“The Big Tang Theory” with Ashley Schuster Kempf of Salume Beddu on Fri, Feb 21 at 6 pm

“Roux the Day” with Andrew Jennrich of Farmhaus on Tue, Feb 25 at 6:30 pm

“The Gumbo Files” with Josh Galliano on Mon, March 3 at 6 pm

“The P-Rice is Right” with Malou Perez-Nievera on Sat, March 8 at 6:30 pm

“Ship Ship Hooray” with Jon Lowe of Oceano on Thu, March 13 at 6:30 pm

“Ready to Rum-ble” with Kelly Gardner on Sun, March 23 at 5 pm

Register Now.

The best part of the fall season is the arrival of all the wonderful winter squashes. The hard shell of squash is intimidating to a dull knife. What to do? Microwaving the squash for 10-30 seconds will soften the squash and enable you to cut it open more easily. For more leverage, use a 5-inch boning knife instead of a large chef’s knife to cut a squash in half. Squash has a thick, fibrous skin, so peel the squash with a knife, instead of a vegetable peeler.

To cook squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds (use a pitting spoon), and bake at 350 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes. Then spoon out  the pulp and discard the skin.

Or, peel the squash, cut into cubes, remove the seeds, and steam in a vegetable basket until tender (about 20 minutes). When steamed, the squash will absorb a lot of water, so be sure to let the squash drain in a colander to remove the excess water.

For more squash tips, come to these cooking classes:

• “Autumn in Piedmont” on Wednesday, Oct 30 with chef Fabrizio Schenardi of Cielo
• “My Gourd, It’s Squash” on Tuesday, Nov 5 with chef Mickey Kitterman of Gallagher’s
• “It’s Root-imentary, My Dear” on Tuesday, Nov 5 with chef-owner Nick Miller of Harvest
• “Weekend Dinner Party: Fork and Pork” on Saturday, Nov 16 with chef Christie Maggi

Most recipes for squash add a lot of sugar. Since squash is naturally sweet, here is a savory, garlicky squash for late fall grilling:

Grilled Acorn Squash

• Acorn squash, cut in half
• Olive oil
• Garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• Salt and pepper

Scoop the seeds out of the squash (use a pitting spoon). Rub with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on the hot grill and grill until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn the squash over and fill with garlic and more olive oil. Grill until tender, about 20 more minutes.

Join us on Thursday, October 24 at 6 pm for homemade pasta, one of our most requested classes. Anne Cori shares some of her best recipes for a variety of raviolis, as this hands-on class learns to mix, roll, cut, and fill pasta dough. Work side-by-side with Anne creating shrimp ravioli in lemon-leek cream sauce, Italian sausage raviolini in Bolognese, roasted garlic-butternut agnolotti in sage brown butter sauce, spinach-ricotta tortellini in brodo, plus fresh egg raviolo in sun-dried tomato cream sauce.

Register Now.

On Friday, September 27 from 6 to 6:30 pm at the Taste of St. Louis, Anne Cori will demonstrate “It’s a Wonderful Knife!” on the Culinary Stage on the steps of City Hall on Market Street between Tucker and 13th streets. Please join us! Admission is free.

The mezzaluna knife has been around for a long time, but everyone is excited about how fast and efficiently a rocking knife can make a perfectly chopped salad. See this fabulous knife in action! The demonstration will feature a delicious main course salad with lots of chopped vegetables. The mezzaluna will also be used to demonstrate how to make the very best-tasting guacamole.

Many people ask, “What’s the most popular cooking class at Kitchen Conservatory?” Here they are and spaces are still available in these delicious classes:

Date Night for Couples: Rustic French Bistro on Sun, Sept 22 at 5 pm features French onion soup and irresistible homemade French fries, plus steak and chocolate custard.

Who doesn’t want another Peace of Pie? On Mon, Sept 23 at 6 pm, learn about crust and filling — including our favorites of apple pie and sweet potato pie.

Wake Up, Little Sushi on Mon, Sept 23 at 6:30 pm offers the most beautiful and dazzling sushi, which the class creates with sushi master Jay Dedkard of Ocha.

Calling all oyster lovers; September has an “r” and it is time to enjoy this delicacy! Chef Jon Lowe of Oceano has an all-oyster menu in For the Love of Oysters on Tue, Sept 24 at 6 pm.

The Art of Pizza Throwing on Tue, Sept 24 at 6:30 pm proves that yes, you can transform yourself into a pizzaiolo!

Germany does have three great dishes: Schnitzel, Spaetzle, and Strudel, which you can learn how to make on Wed, Sept 25 at 6 pm.

Register Now.

I love hearing from customers — in person, by phone, or by email (chef@kitchenconservatory.com). I love answering “Ask the Chef” questions. We offer several ways to stay in touch with Kitchen Conservatory, because we are always doing something new in the kitchen!

Please email us your mailing address if you would like to get our quarterly print newsletter in the mail, which always contains a favorite recipe from a recent cooking class.

Every Wednesday we email a newsletter on upcoming available cooking classes plus reduced prices on selected kitchen tools. Sign up here.

Our Facebook page has glorious pictures of delicious food made by students in cooking classes. Take pictures in class and email them to us so we can post your favorite moments at Kitchen Conservatory.

We all lust after kitchen tools, recipes, and ingredients. See our favorites on Pinterest.

Our Twitter hashtags are #kitchenchef and #wemakecookingfun. Tweet with us!

A beautiful array of photos (including lots of food porn) is on Instagram.

Kitchen Conservatory offers 800 cooking classes a year and 6,000 items for sale in our retail store. Follow us on social media so you can learn about new classes and kitchen tools.