Margi Kahn, who teaches cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory, taught me the secret to her fabulous focaccia: potato. Peel a potato, cover with water, and boil until tender. Use the potato water as the liquid in the bread and mash the potato (a potato ricer works best) and fold the mashed potato into the dough. [...]

We have found it difficult to make bread at the same time as making a full dinner. We do not want to bake the bread ahead of time, as we want it to serve it hot. Is there a way that it can be made partially and refrigerated and then finished? After which step or [...]

Lots of recipes call for topping with breadcrumbs. For many us, breadcrumbs are an afterthought and we grab the nearest cardboard box. Bread from a box usually tastes just like cardboard. But breadcrumbs can add more than just crunch; they can add a lot of flavor. Good breadcrumbs come from good bread. Just like the [...]

Not all quick breads are sweet. Quick breads can also be savory appetizers, such as cornbread, or aromatic side dishes, such as bread pudding. This sausage-nut bread is delicious with a bowl of soup for a hearty lunch. Mexican chorizo is a spicy, raw sausage that needs to be cooked before using (Spanish chorizo, which is used [...]

Where to find the best burger? At home, if you make it yourself. A delicious burger is made from freshly-ground meat, lightly packed, cooked on a high heat for a short period of time, and served on a homemade bun with homemade sauce. Yes, you can make this delicious treat. Once you taste your own [...]

The best food to bake on an icy-cold day is bread. The hot oven helps to heat up the house and the aroma of freshly-baked bread is irresistable. I know, you should let the bread cool after baking, but I can never resist diving into the hot bread and slathering with butter, jam, or cheese. To achieve [...]

“A Passion for Cooking“ features the recipes from over a hundred different chefs who have cooked at Kitchen Conservatory. One of our favorite recipes from that cookbook – which several staff members make every Thanksgiving — is a pudding from chef Jim Voss of Duff’s (who also chefed for The Grateful Dead). Don’t miss his cooking class on [...]

Bakeries and pastry shops in Paris have a running competition on croissants: is it bread or pastry? Boulangeries sell yeasty doughy croissants and patisseries sell flaky buttery croissants. The first step to eating a delicious croissant in Paris is to go to a patisserie, not a bread shop. So I have always thought that pizza is firmly in the [...]

Today we roasted our turkey in the Big Green Egg — a charcoal-fired ceramic oven that is big, green, and egg-shaped. I stuffed the turkey, placed it on a v-rack in an 18-inch round aluminum cake pan, which fit perfectly in the Egg. The inside temperature of the Egg is moderated by opening or closing [...]

Does White Lily flour make a difference in baking? I put it to the biscuit test, and yes, biscuits made with White Lily are much more tender. White Lily is an all-purpose flour made from soft (not hard) winter wheat that Southern bakers have raved about for generations. The soft wheat is much lower in protein [...]