The Beyond Basics class prepared oven-seared duck breasts last week – a standard I insist they learn so that there’s leftover duck fat for me. My cholesterol is too low. Okay, that’s a lie; it’s tap dancing madly on the borderline. Actually, olive oil is first choice in general cooking at CU, followed by butter and canola oil. However, there are recipes that demand different fats: lard for the flakiest pie crusts, solid Crisco for coating cake pans, peanut oil for Asian food, pork fat for larding a roast, schmaltz for the annual potato pancakes, and bacon grease for myriad recipes. And duck fat for fried potatoes. (more…)

If the weather ever warms up again, we may be able to hold the Skewered Foods class next Tuesday, June 19. What the hey — we can always wear long underwear out on the deck. There’s still space in class, if you’re interested in attending; please register now. Click on Class Descriptions for more information.

Last Sunday, I marinated some sirloin tips in a soy-sherry-garlic mixture, then threaded them on the skewers with wedges of onion. Veggies that share space on the skewers with meat – especially beef – have always been a problem for me. They never seem to get “done” enough, and raw onions and peppers are brittle and tend to break when threading if you’re not careful. The solution is to precook them a bit. Place onions wedges in a bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover, and microwave about 1 minute to soften. They become soft enough to thread and are less harsh when cooked.

My friend Lori B. took me to an incredible sushi restaurant in Northborough two weeks ago. It was so good we returned the following week. Do you see a pattern developing here? The place is called Yama Zakura and it’s not just the usual sushi offerings. Anna — the genius behind the sushi bar — does the fusion thing, too. Her raw tuna nachos were so good that I was fantasizing about them for days. (I’m at that age where food fantasies trump daydreams about the pool boy.) The Beyond Basics Seafood class was coming up, so I decided to try reverse-engineer these goodies and have the students prepare them. I’m happy to report that our students rose to the challenge — they were terrific. (more…)