Cooking

When my husband was in dental school, I had the opportunity to take a cooking course through a culinary school within walking distance of our little apartment.  I loved it, learned so much, and am thankful to have skills to pass on to my children.

One of the items on my 101 list was to create a cooking course for them based upon the course I took all those years ago in San Francisco.  I am starting with the basics (safety in the kitchen) and taking them all the way through to recipes I want them to master.

Each child is getting a binder to keep the papers and

recipes they'll need.

The table of contents is as follows:

Kitchen Safety

Knives

Cleanliness

Poultry and meat storage 

Stocks and Broths

Basic Meat Stock or Broth

Chicken Stock (make Chicken Noodle Soup)

Vegetable Stock

Sauces

Bechamel (add crème fraiche and serve over chicken)

Cheese Sauce (make Baked Pasta with Cheese Sauce)

Basic Brown Sauce (add Madeira and serve over beef)

Veloute Sauce (make Wild Mushroom Soup)

 Boiling, Poaching, and Steaming

Rice Pilaf

Poached Chicken Breasts

Root Vegetable Puree

Braising and Baking

Lamb Shanks

Baked Crispy Chicken (Cook’s)

 Souffles

Basic Cheese Souffle

Budino al Cioccolato

Vegetables

Shopping for and Selecting Vegetables

Keeping Green Veggies Green

Herb Roasted Tomatoes

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Pasta Salad Primavera

 Pastry

Basic Short Pastry

Pie Dough

Basic Cream Pastry

Fresh Fruit Tart

Tarte Tatin

Grilling, Smoking, and Broiling

Grilled Chicken           

Smoked Salmon

Grilled Veggies          

Crème Brulee

Bread

Classic French Baguette

Focaccia

Crescent Rolls

Cake Decorating

Garnishes

Recipes

Cheesecake

Baklava and Cheese Bouregs

You can and should substitute my recipes for the ones you want your children to take away from your household.

And if you have preschoolers who are not yet ready to learn to cook, then by all means get your ideas down on paper now when you have a little extra time. 

As they grow the demands that homeschooling will place on your time will expand exponentially and you won't have as much time as you have while they're little.  Trust me.