liv bites

When it comes to food, my assistant and I agree on most things. He’s turned me on to his loves like olives and peppers, and I introduced him to the wonderful world of Greek yogurt. But there is nothing he loves more than meat — especially sausage. It constantly impresses me how he can sneak […]

My cooking course is as traditionally French as it gets, so I have to admit I feel a little thrill when we make something that’s not covered in cream and cheese. Last week’s workshop was a truly special treat: Antipasti and Stuffed Pasta, two of my favorite foods to eat with a big glass of […]

Jim Dodge, an acclaimed Bay Area baker, came into class before our winter break to teach us all how to make holiday breads. I had been looking forward to it all week, since bread-making has been one of my most favorite subjects we’ve focused on in school. And what happened during our holiday bread workshop […]

Not every dish we make at school is one I’m rushing home to recreate. Culinary school teaches you all the basic, French techniques that made food taste good back when ingredients weren’t so ripe — meaning they usually benefited from a good smothering of cream, cheese and breadcrumbs. And more cream, apparently. These days, of […]

Fact: Banana Nut Bread is a perfectly acceptable breakfast. So are muffins, Pumpkin Bread and scones; never mind that all of those things are basically cake, and that you’re eating them before 9 am. Until recently at school, we’ve focused on yeast and steam as “raising agents,” or things that make food puff up in […]

In French cooking, as it turns out, you only really need three ingredients to get started: butter, flour and eggs. Sugar helps, too, as does a nice Swiss cheese. Everything else is just an accessory. After our indulgent day of soufflé making a few weeks back, I didn’t think I’d be able to stomach another […]

I hate it when bloggers apologize for being MIA, so I’m not even going there. Suffice it to say that last week, culinary school became, well, school. I was faced with a practical exam (read: cooking a three-course meal under a deadline for my instructor to critique) and a written exam, rounding out the week […]

I vow never, ever to buy ricotta cheese in the supermarket again. This week we made fresh cheeses at school — as opposed to aged, hard cheeses like cheddar — and my mind was blown by how incredibly simple the whole process is. Okay, I had it easy, being assigned the ricotta cheese, which takes […]

Confession: Before last week, I had never really made a pie. Okay, there was this chocolate one and these mini tarts, but in terms of an old-fashioned, crusty, fruit-filled pie, I admit I’m fully intimidated. Until Friday, that is, when our school day consisted of a workshop in basic pastry dough — that buttery, flaky, […]

I now know the anatomy of a fish more intimately than I ever thought I would. This week at school we had a workshop in all things fish — cleaning, scaling, fileting and finally, of course, cooking. This is where those knife skills we’re supposed to be mastering really come in handy. We each practiced […]