Essential Kitchen Tips from Emeril Lagasse
World-famous chef Emeril Lagasse joins the Clever Cookstr to share his hard-won kitchen wisdom and tell us about his new book, Essential Emeril.
I am so excited to introduce as our guest today Emeril Lagasse, world-famous chef and proprietor of 12 restaurants and the bestselling author of 19 cookbooks. He’s here to talk about his new book, Essential Emeril: Favorite Recipes and Hard-Won Wisdom from My Life in the Kitchen, in which he pares down his vast collection of recipes to those that have stayed with him over the years. Here are a few of Emeril’s essential kitchen tips:
- Emeril remembers making vegetable soup with his mother from the vegetables in his family’s garden as a child. From this, he gained the understanding that great, fresh ingredients make for delicious food. Technique is important, but quality is essential.
- Understanding your stove and oven at home and how they work, with all their quirks and specific temperature settings, will go a long way.
- For kitchen success, Emeril says first to invest in good quality cookware and cutlery, a good cutting board, a clean side towel or two. Hand tools like a good peeler and microplane will begin to add to your repertoire in the kitchen.
- Read a recipe start to finish at least once, preferably twice, and try to get a feel for what it’s saying to you before you try to cook it! Familiarity with a recipe, the information in the headnote, and the ingredients and instructions will give you confidence and minimize issues during the cooking process.
Try these bonus recipes from Emeril: Love Potatoes and Slow-Roasted Salmon with Roasted Creamy Cauliflower.
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