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