How to Boil Water

Super Bowl Party Soup

Learn the recipe for a Black Bean soup that creates the perfect, self-serve big game party bash.

Episode Guide
Below you’ll find a helpful episode guide for cooking along with Frederic and Jack, as well as tips and recipe rescues.

Equipment List:

• Colander


• Large saucepan with lid


• Large soup pot


• Pepper mill


• Immersion blender or regular blender


• Wooden spoon


• Cutting board


• Chef’s knife


• Slotted spoon


• Measuring spoons


• Rolling pin


• Pizza cutter or chef's knife


• Pastry brush


• Parchment paper


• Sheet pan or cookie sheet


• Ladle


• Liquid measuring cup

Tips:
Soak beans in 3-4 times as much UNSALTED water as the quantity of beans

Soaking beans is necessary because:

• They need to absorb some moisture in order to cook evenly
  
• Soaking keeps beans from splitting open
  
• Soaking breaks down the indigestible sugars that cause intestinal problems
  
• Soaking maximizes the nutritional content of beans

Quick soak vs. long soak:
For quick soak

• Bring beans to a boil for 3 minutes, and then remove from heat, cover pot, and set aside for 1-4 hours


• Drain beans and get rid of soaking water


• Rinse beans so that sugars do not remain


• Cook beans as directed

Long soak

• Soak beans in cold water overnight or for 8 hours


• Drain beans and get rid of soaking water


• Rinse beans so that sugars do not remain


• Cook beans as directed

Puff pastry:

• Available pre-made in the frozen section


• It is many-layered, consisting of pastry dough and pieces of chilled butter – when cooked, moisture from butter creates steam, causing dough to separate into many flaky layers


• Many applications, both sweet and savory – cheese straws, pot pie crusts, wrapping for encasing meats, flaky cookies like palmiers, pastries like Napoleons, croissants, pain au chocolate, etc.

Recipe Rescues:

• For a vegetarian black bean soup - omit the ham hocks for a vegetarian black bean soup, but make up for it by seasoning with extra salt.
• For a chunkier soup - only puree half of the soup in the blender and add it back in to the chunky soup.
• Other sausages to use in the Saucisson - any type of smoked cured sausage containing pork, beef, or a combination.

Holiday Cookies

Get the lowdown on easy homemade cookie recipes for the holidays or any time of the year. With recipes for Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sugar Cookies.

Winter Holiday

Frederic shows Jack an alternative to her usual holiday turkey with a recipe for roast beef tenderloin with mushroom ragout.

Episode Guide
Below you’ll find a helpful episode guide for cooking along with Frederic and Jack, as well as tips and recipe rescues.

Equipment List:

• Large oven-proof skillet


• Large, heavy skillet


• Tongs


• Kitchen twine


• Boning knife or chef’s knife


• Chef’s knife or paring knife


• Measuring spoons


• Instant-read thermometer


• Cutting board


• Wooden spoon


• Pepper mill


• Liquid measuring cup


• Aluminum foil


• Wire rack


• Carving knife

Tips:
Silver skin:

• You need a sharp knife to remove silver skin.


• Silver skin is a membrane; if left on, it can cause the meat to curl during cooking.


• Silver skin is unpleasant to bite into in a cooked piece of meat; it is extremely tough, and cannot really be chewed.

Searing, tenting, and resting meat:

• Searing is a very high-heat, fast cooking method used to brown the exterior of the meat and produce a nice crisp crust; searing adds flavor to meat and seals in the juices.


• Tent meat to keep it warm while resting, but don’t let foil touch meat, as this affects crust and does not give it the room it needs to rest.


• Meat needs to rest so that the juices redistribute throughout the piece of meat. If you cut into the meat immediately, you lose at least half of its juices.

Cleaning mushrooms:

• Wipe the surfaces of mushrooms clean with a kitchen towel or paper towels.


• Do not clean mushrooms ahead of time, or they may turn a more brownish color.


• Do not soak mushrooms in water.

Deglazing:

• Deglazing is the process of adding a small amount of liquid to a hot pan that has just been used to saute, and then scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the flavorful browned bits, or fond.


• Various wines or alcohol, or stock or broth are the most common deglazing liquids.


• Deglazing is often used to make an accompanying sauce.

Recipe Rescues:

• Meat sticks to the pan while searing – Don’t try to tear the meat away from the pan. Add a little more oil to the pan. Make sure oil is hot and shimmering before adding meat.


• Mushrooms are getting soggy, not browned – Let them cook undisturbed until browned, at least 5 minutes. Stirring them or moving them around prevents them from browning.


• The flame got too large when alcohol is added to the pan – Always remove the pan from the heat when adding alcohol. When the flame goes down, it is fine to return the pan to the heat.

A Starter Thanksgiving

Jack asks Frederic to teach her how to make Turkey and Dressing like a pro.

Chocolate Sweet Tooth

Learn to use real chocolate to make fabulous desserts including marbled brownies and chocolate covered strawberries.

Homemade Candy

Jack turns to Frederic for help to learn how to make simple homemade candy including recipes for chocolate truffles and candied orange peel.

Episode Guide
Below you’ll find a helpful episode guide for cooking along with Frederic and Jack, as well as tips and recipe rescues.

Equipment List:

• Liquid measuring cup


• Small saucepan


• Serrated knife


• Cutting board


• Whisk


• 2 small cake pans


• Small baking sheet


• Parchment or wax paper


• Mixing bowl


• Measuring spoons


• Plastic wrap


• Chef’s knife


• Large saucepan


• Rack for drying


• Colander


• Dry measuring cups


• Colander

Tips:
Melting chocolate:

• Chop chocolate finely and uniformly before melting.


• Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Turn the heat off just before beginning to whisk; the residual heat will be enough to melt the chocolate. Having the heat any higher will scorch the chocolate.


• Whisk the chopped chocolate over the heat to prevent scorching.

Making ganache:

• Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream, and is usually made with either semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, as opposed to milk chocolate. Flavorings like liqueurs can be added to ganache.


• Ganache can be made by heating the cream gently to a simmer, and then by pouring it over a bowl of very finely chopped chocolate.

Candying:

• Candying is a cooking method used to preserve and sugar-coat fruits, citrus rinds, flowers, herb leaves, etc. by cooking them in sugar syrup and then coating with more sugar to let dry at room temperature.

Recipe Rescues:

• Ganache is not firm enough – Refrigerate ganache for at least 2 hours before attempting to make truffles. You can spread the ganache onto a sheet pan for faster cooling.


• Burnt sugar – Start over with the sugar syrup. A sugar syrup needs to be cooked slowly and gently at a simmer; do not let it boil furiously.


• Candied orange tastes too bitter – Blanch an additional time; the more times you blanch the orange peels, the mellower the bitterness becomes.

The Perfect Hamburger

Jack asks Frederic to teach her the do’s and don’ts to making the perfect hamburger and oven fries.

Episode Guide
Below you’ll find a helpful episode guide for cooking along with Frederic and Jack, as well as tips and recipe rescues.

Equipment List:

• Large cast iron skillet or grill


• Wax paper


• 2 baking sheets


• Measuring spoons


• Flat wide spatula


• Cutting board


• Chef’s knife


• Tongs


• Pepper mill

Tips:
Forming patties:

• Don't overwork the meat. Mix and pat; don't squeeze.


• Overworking ground beef turns it into flavorless mush, as the heat from your hands and the friction of mixing breaks down the little bits of fat that provide the juice and flavor.


• Season meat before forming patties to more evenly distribute it throughout the burgers.

Choosing ground meat:

• Ground chuck is perfect for a flavorful burger.


• For a juicy burger, you want meat with at least 20 percent fat.

Potatoes:

• Use a high-starch baking potato such as Idaho or Russet for making oven-fried potatoes.


• Make sure potatoes are thoroughly dry before baking; excess moisture keeps the skins from crisping up.


• Bake potato wedges in a single layer, evenly spaced and not touching each other.

Recipe Rescues:

• If your burgers are not seasoned enough - Test a small amount in the pan for seasoning before cooking entire batch.
• If your burgers are dried out - only Don’t press down on the burgers while cooking; that causes all the juices to leak out. Also, don't overmix the meat when forming patties.
• If your potatoes are soggy - Return them to the oven and raise the oven temperature.
• If the potatoes stick to the bottom of the pan - Run a flat metal spatula underneath them to loosen. Next time, toss with a little more oil.

Chicken Stew

Stewings a snap when Jack asks Frederic to teach her how to make a hearty chicken stew that doesn’t take all day.

Simply Shrimp!

Expand your shrimp recipe repertoire when Frederic shows you some different techniques for cooking shrimp including shrimp cocktail and sauteed shrimp with basil, garlic and tomatoes.

Blender Soups

Jack asks Frederic for some fast and easy recipes for homemade soup.

Pan Roasted Pork Chops

Jack asks Frederic to teach her how to make succulent, juicy pan roasted pork chops with a quick apple chutney on the side.

Episode Guide
Below you’ll find a helpful episode guide for cooking along with Frederic and Jack, as well as tips and recipe rescues.

Equipment List:

• Vegetable peeler


• Chef’s knife


• Microwave-safe bowl


• Microwave


• Measuring spoons


• Large oven-proof skillet


• Tongs


• Cutting board


• Aluminum foil


• Pepper mill


• Flat spatula


• Dry measuring cups


• Instant-read thermometer

Tips:
Cooking thin vs. thick pork chops:

• Pan-frying, grilling, or broiling are best cooking methods for pork chops.


• Look for chops cut 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Thinner chops are more prone to drying out.


• Thin chops need some protection; breading is a good way of insulating the meat and keeping the juices inside. A thick spice rub or a marinade serves a similar purpose, and also adds some flavor.

Searing, tenting, and resting meat:

• Searing is a very high-heat, fast cooking method used to brown the exterior of the meat and produce a nice crisp crust; searing adds flavor to meat and seals in the juices.


• Tent meat to keep it warm while resting, but don’t let foil touch meat, as this affects crust and does not give it the room it needs to rest.


• Meat needs to rest so that the juices redistribute throughout the piece of meat. If you cut into the meat immediately, you lose at least half of its juices.

Cooking with apples:

• Macintosh, Fuji, Granny Smith, Rome Beauty, Empire, and Golden Delicious varieties are all good for cooking.


• A high sugar content and a high acid content are both desired, as well as an apple that holds it shape when cooked.

Recipe Rescues:

• Dry Pork Chops – Briefly simmer in a little broth or cooking liquid to re-moisten the interior. Remember that carry-over cooking will raise the internal temperature of the chops several degrees, so next time remove from heat sooner.


• Mushy Apples – Cooking them (like in the chutney) is the best way to use mushy apples. When selecting apples for cooking, choose ones that feel rock hard and do not have any brown spots or blemished areas.


• Oil Begins Smoking – Take it off of the heat and let it cool down before adding pork chops. Make sure the chops are dry before adding them to the pan; any amount of water will make the oil spatter.


• Pan Begins Burning – Transfer the chops to a new skillet, or remove them to a platter while you clean the pan. Add more oil, and then continue searing. If you have finished searing, finish cooking them in the oven in a new oven-safe pan or platter.


• Pork Chops Curl/Cook Unevenly – Keep them flat while cooking by gently pressing down with a flat spatula. Look for chops with even thickness throughout.

Barbecue 365

Tyler and Jack make the perfect backyard barbecue. Pulled Pork Barbecue; Cole Slaw; Fresh Roasted Corn

Easy Potato Dishes

Frederic teaches Jack some potato dishes that’ll help her out of her potato rut including twice baked potatoes and red bliss potato salad.

Chowder Challenge

Tyler and Jack make hall of fame-worthy chowder. New England Clam Chowder; Common Crackers

Chili Chill Out

Tyler and Jack make a hearty pot of chili. Chicken Green Chili; Smoky Chile Cornbread

No Wok Required

Tyler and Jack make a simple and delicious Asian meal. Grilled Chicken Breast with Ginger and Soy ; Cold Sesame Noodles; Sweet Chili Cucumber Pickles

Veggie Delight

Tyler and Jack make a meal for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Eggplant Parmesan