Millions of Americans and people around the world are sheltered in place right now. To combat boredom, I put together a list of kitchen skills to master while we are cooped up at home. Maybe we can use this time to learn some new life skills?
Kitchen Skills to Master
How to Cook a Perfect Sunny Side Up Egg
A perfect sunny side up egg has a runny yolk and a fully cooked white. Once you learn how to make a sunny side up egg, the possibilities are endless. From simple eggs and toast to adding an egg on a slice of pizza, you will use this life skill again and again.
How to Poach An Egg
Missing eggs benedict? Once you have learned to make a sunny side up egg, turn you attention to making poached eggs. It’s easier than you think! I skip the whole swirling water thing and instead use a skillet so that I can make 4-5 poached eggs at once. Learn my technique by watching this video that I made 8 years ago.
How to Make Risotto
The base of risotto is just rice and broth, then you can add in any cheese or vegetables you have on hand. It’s the ideal recipe to master when you want to avoid trips to the store and to use up what is in your pantry.
How to Bake Bread
Getting bakery fresh bread might be a challenge, so this is the time to learn how to make it yourself. My friend Baker Bettie has a wide range of recipes and resources to help you, including how to make a simple white sandwich bread and how to make a sourdough starter.
How to Roast a Chicken
A roast chicken is one of the ultimate comfort food meals. I love to roast two at a time so that I can use the leftovers to add to other recipes. Roasting a chicken is probably a lot easier than you think!
How to Make Gravy from Pan Drippings
When you roast chicken, save those pan drippings and make gravy from scratch. Once you learn this technique you can use it to make Thanksgiving gravy and gravy from any roast meat.
How to Make Stock
Once you roast the chicken – save those bones and make stock! I think that everyone is very focused on making the most out of everything they have right now and reducing food waste and this is a perfect way to do it. You can use the same technique to make turkey soup after Thanksgiving.
How to Make Biscuits and Scones
Biscuits and scones are so easy to make! Master the basics and then you can get more creative by adding extra ingredients. Start with simple buttermilk biscuits and then make cheddar cheese and green onion biscuits. Vanilla scones are so easy to make – and a great weekend treat – and you can also make flavors like orange and dark chocolate.
How to Make Pasta from Scratch
If you want to start with something simple, start with ricotta gnocchi. Then you can work you way up to more complex pastas and filled pastas. Pasta is a great project to take on now because it has few ingredients, it can be frozen and saved for later, and it will be a productive way to use a chunk of time.
Perfect Your Bolognese
We have the time on our hands to let a cook a sauce simmer on the stove for hours, so make bolognese. You can freeze half for later if you want. I like to use this sauce to make lasagna.
Learn to Make Cinnamon Rolls
Warm cinnamon rolls slathered with cream cheese frosting is a comfort food meal that will make your morning special. Baker Bettie’s recipe involves prepping everything at night and baking the rolls the next day. I made these over the holidays and loved them!
Cook the Perfect Steak
Steak is easy to cook, but people get intimidated by it because it’s expensive and they are afraid of overcooking it. These easy step by step instructions will help you learn to cook steak in a grill pan. If you are worried about cooking steak to the proper temperature, you can always use a meat thermometer to help you out.
Improve Your Knife Skills
I can’t stress how important it is to be safe in the kitchen right now. No one wants to go to the ER to get stitches. It’s a good time to brush up on basic knife skills and safety – this video is a good place to start.