This year , I would like to learn how to make________?
As a chef and culinary instructor, people always tell me about their "secret" recipes, which is always a pleasure. But what always interest me, is..... If you had the opportunity to learn one real technique, skill or recipe what would that be?
Last year, I learned cheese making. This year: Vinegar, using regional wines.
Big or small, I am interested!
Thank you for your time.
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42 Comments:
I would love to have a butcher's skills to cut and bone meat (and fish) and really know my cuts of meat and how to get the best flavor out of them. That would also improve my knife skills which are pretty abysmal, but at least I don't extend my forefinger like a FN Star we all know and .... scratch that last part.
PerkyMac at 6:18PM on 12/21/08
I would like to master smoking meats, fish, poultry and veggies ect. I have been very intrested in this and I don't own one and have never done it before, the types of wood to use the whole thing.
pjracz10 at 6:30PM on 12/21/08
i would like to learn about making my own bacon.
dearrie at 6:33PM on 12/21/08
I would like to learn how to make my own pasta. I know many of you will say how easy it is, but I have never done it. I buy fresh pasta mostly, but I have been considering a pasta attachment for my KitchenAid and I would like to add pasta to my list of favorite things to make.
(That's a surprising answer coming from me considering the title of this thread. I'm well on my way to achieving my commitment to stay on topic!)
izatryt at 6:49PM on 12/21/08
@izatryt as long as you have a clean colander to drain the pasta you'll be good to go.
As for me I will learn how to make bread in 2009. I feel it's long overdo.
I will not be afraid of the dreaded dough monster.
finsbigfan at 6:57PM on 12/21/08
izzy-- your doing a good job.. it's okay to fall off the wagon/ we or i look forward to it...lol.. make some lobster ravioli.
dearrie at 7:03PM on 12/21/08
Think I'll try growing mushrooms this year. I've been intending to, but the mushrooms at the local Japanese market has beautiful ones, so I've been buying. So there it is. I will buy the mushroom kit next month.
beth1 at 7:06PM on 12/21/08
@PerkyMac-- there is a cookbook written in the '70's and reprinted in '91 called "Cutting up in the Kitchen", it's written by a butcher and only cost a penny on Amazon. While not as good as having someone actually show you how to butcher/bone meat, it does a really good job explaining cuts of meat, how to cook each one, and the knife you need to do it all. With everyone worrying about budgets personal and national. This skill would save you tons of money.
@pjracz10- You can also smoke with rice and tea (in addition to woods), as well as cinnamon!
@dearrie- ooohh bacon, I am sure if I learned to cure and smoke my own bacon, It would be too much power for one person to have... and I might not use it wisely or for the good of mankind.
ChefDeb at 7:47PM on 12/21/08
I would like to learn how to make gnocchi. I've never even eaten gnocchi, but i want to make them.
redhead at 7:49PM on 12/21/08
@ChefDeb ~ Love your style!!!! Thanks for the tip. Finally, something I can actually afford. I'm afraid I'd abuse my power over bacon, too. ;-D
PerkyMac at 8:04PM on 12/21/08
@chefdeb-say no more. i understand completely. we cook 2 lbs at a time. the first one is to snack on while the other one cooks. but the thought of making my own applecider bacon is just .......oh my.
dearrie at 8:10PM on 12/21/08
Souffle. I have never made it. Tonight is the maiden voyage. Wish me luck!
buffy at 8:25PM on 12/21/08
...the perfect bowl of pho.
Cassaendra at 9:22PM on 12/21/08
really good stock.
hammondcheese at 9:53PM on 12/21/08
Cheesecake.
No, really, I've never made a cheesecake. I've made cheesecake-like things include a pumpkin cheesecake pie that was nearly cheesecake. But I've never made a plain old fashioned cheesecake.
Problem is that if I make one, I know me, I'll want to perfect it. It will need to be creamier, tangier, fluffier, denser, sweeter, lighter...and then I'll need the perfect crust too.
And then I'll be at the doctor and he'll say, "What have you been eating?" And I'll say, "Sixteen cheesecakes."
"You ate sixteen pieces of cheesecake this week?"
"No, I ate sixteen cheesecakes."
And that's when he'll send me down to the mental health wing. And lock me up.
dbcurrie at 10:25PM on 12/21/08
@db ~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!! That's funny! YOU have never made a cheesecake? I am shocked to hear that!
izatryt at 10:30PM on 12/21/08
@ChefDeb really? I never knew that. I heard that you can do banana leaves and all that s@#t, but tea leaves and rice interesting. I am right now trying to figure out a way that I can make a homemade sort of smoker out of a little Webbie (or whatever you call it) for the outdoors I really want to learn to master the skill.
pjracz10 at 10:37PM on 12/21/08
Not to worry db, we'll visit and bring some cheesecake! What toppings would you like? I eat my mistakes too, unless they're unsafe or burned to a crisp. I'm not as obsessed with perfection (hence, my choice in men...clearing throat), but you may end up with a roommate. As long as the food is good. Yeah, right. Maybe we'll fed ex the cheesecake, on second thought.
PerkyMac at 10:38PM on 12/21/08
I'm going to try my hand at making my own pastrami - and I know that our own Matt the butcher has the "how to" on his site, I even almost bought a brisket the other day at the supermarket, but decided to leave this particular enterprise for next year.
I would love to learn how to debone a chicken, but I'm not sure this is going to happen. Among other things, I have a fantastic recipe for rice, herbs & pistachio stuffed boneless chicken, but whenever I've made it in the past, I had my chicken deboned for me. I'd really like to know how to do it myself!
brooke29 at 11:10PM on 12/21/08
Another vote for knife skills.
@izatryt the Kitchen Aid pasta attachment is great. I grew up using the hand cranked Urania and though I could make pasta solo with the Urania, the Kitchen Aid is much easier and faster. Make sure the dough is smooth and elastic at the beginning when it is in the thicker settings, this will prevent ripples (for lack of a better way of describing them) at the thinner settings.
LearP at 11:47PM on 12/21/08
I, too, would like better knife skills.
In addition, I'd like to learn to bake a really good baguette.
Skythe at 11:51PM on 12/21/08
my friend just bought me a little herb-growing starter kit of sorts - once we get home i am planting it and then figuring out creative new ways to use my new bounty (so excited! totally one of the best holiday gifts i've ever gotten)
billyburgwife at 11:57PM on 12/21/08
i'd like to learn to cure prochoto. i hope it's spelled write.
Timothy Holdeman at 1:09AM on 12/22/08
I'd like to learn how to make homemade pasta, too. I've tried a couple times and it's come out lumpy and rubbery. All the cookbooks/cooking shows make it look so simple!
Junie at 10:41AM on 12/22/08
I'm planning on trying my hand at water ganache, and boning poultry from the inside. Both intrigue me; the latter must be rather fun to serve up!
mongoose at 10:46AM on 12/22/08
@Timothy--did you mean "prosciutto"?
buffy at 10:53AM on 12/22/08
@redhead - gnocchi is not as challening an undertaking as it would seem. I followed this guide http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/cookingtechniques/ss/gnocchistep.htm and made some pretty tasty, albeit not so pretty gnocchi.
I have several projects for the next year.
Making my own bacon, corned beef and pastrami.
Curing my own ham.
Expanding my vegetable garden.
Creating my own top secret chili recipe.
kyle25 at 10:54AM on 12/22/08
Oooh it's hard to narrow it down to one thing because there are SO many things I don't know how to do.
Maybe I'll start with pickling?
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 12:51PM on 12/22/08
Cassoulet!!! I've been talking /thinking about doing it for years, but it's a two or three day process and I've never gotten around to it. But THIS year...
jimthecook at 1:00PM on 12/22/08
All great answers, thank you!
@Mongoose- what you are talking about is "tunnel boning". It's a 1 day class with about 6 really mutilated birds until you become perfect. Some chefs make a slit down the middle, and truss the whole boned bird back together (cheating). I was taught by an OLD school French master chef, and when we got cocky, he traded in chickens for quail. One entry at the neck and absolutely no breaking the skin! The technique always reminds me of rolling down your socks, with a knife..
Good luck, and find your chickens on sale!
ChefDeb at 5:31PM on 12/22/08
thanks Buffy. i went to spell check but it just didn't look right. i heard if you take a ham and keep it in a temp. of 50 degrees or so, let it mold, cut it off and recoat with salt until cured. i don't know how long that takes, but after that cold smoke it, 60 to 70 degrees. i made the cold smoker. I just need to know if the cure part works. think about it, all you can eat prosciutto!!!
Timothy Holdeman at 8:36PM on 12/22/08
I would like to learn how to cook my food so that it has wokhey/wok flavour. Mmmmmm.
I also want to make perfectly crisp, fluffy tempura.
ag3208 at 8:50PM on 12/22/08
Cheese, beer, and just to attempt the impossible, hand made phyllo. Hey, we strive to achieve the most least likely of our toughest goals we will either a.) achieve our best or b.) have a meltdown and land head first, ass up in a huge snowbank trying to save brain function.
dhorst at 10:02PM on 12/22/08
I want to attempt cheesemaking. Even if it's just a quick mozzerella. I'd also like to know how to debone a chicken...I am competent at sectioning one into pieces but not so good at removing the bones...
I also want to know how to filet a whole fish...
mayoxqueen at 10:18PM on 12/22/08
@fins ~ I am going to put all of my colanders in the dishwasher so there is no room for DH's coffee pot! ;-D
@dearrie ~ The last time I fell off the wagon, I hit my head really hard......
@LearP ~ The dough part is WAY beyond me at this point!
izatryt at 10:19PM on 12/22/08
I would like to have a successful container garden on my little balcony. For the past six years I've had a real little garden outside my townhouse but between critters and thieving neighbors I didn't get much out of it. Now I'm in a 3rd floor apartment - I want tomatoes and herbs. I'd also like to try beans and cukes.
Cooking-wise, I want to learn how to make healthier meals in smaller batches so I don't have so much in the way of leftovers that go bad if I get sick of eating them. I enjoy being creative with my leftovers, but I need to learn to make smaller batches in the first place.
CooksForOne at 10:37PM on 12/22/08
Beer. I have discovered the wonderful world of fermentation this past year, and I have had all sorts of lovely experiences with it (saurkraut, kefir, kombucha, and even started my own miso). But I have yet to delve into brewing my own alcoholic concoctions.
And after that, cheese. Fermentation is a beautiful thing :)
jade_rabbit at 12:19AM on 12/23/08
I would be happy to just make a decent flippin gravy. No matter how hard I try it taste like, well, flour and grease. Sometimes, if I'm really lucky, it taste like burned flour and grease. Simplest thing in the world to make, and I manage to screw it up. Go figure.
floridagirl at 12:35AM on 12/23/08
Fresh pasta, pate and fried chicken are biggies. The biggest? Char siu bao-I plan to make my own pork and dough. It's going to be the most ridiculously difficult thing I've ever attempted
Alyrmc at 12:53AM on 12/23/08
@ChefDeb: Thanks! I suppose even a mangled bird is edible :D
I was thinking it shouldn't be that different from dissection (at which I've had plenty of practice), and was planning on just taking it really slow, and being very patient. And yes, using a scalpel, because it's a lot more agile then a regular knife :)
mongoose at 2:40PM on 12/23/08
Cheese, fresh mozzarella and some good cheese curds.
dmcavanagh at 8:58PM on 12/23/08
Basically ANYTHING delicious! Probably.... the brussels sprouts that Whole Foods makes in the winter months!
Giasbash6260 at 11:04PM on 01/06/09