Friday, August 15, 2008

Well Technique

Something I've always wanted to do but just never have.

Last night we discussed Italy at length, particularly norther Italy and the differences between northern and southern Italy. The keyword for Italy is: passion. After the lecture and some discussion, the chef demonstrated the well technique. He titled this segment of the class "3000 recipes in 1 hour," and he wasn't exaggerating. This is the basic technique that creates all breads, pastas, crackers, etc. Just by tweaking the ingredients and the cooking methods, the possibilities are literally endless.

I'm trying to convince the wife to let me buy a chest freezer so that I can make roux, stocks, sauces, pastas, etc. in bulk on the weekend and store them in the freezer. I don't have much, if any, time Mondays through Thursdays but this way I can throw some fresh pasta in a pot and reheat some sauce and presto - delicious, homemade meals in minutes (and no, not 30 minute meals... hack).

3 comments:

Wendy said...

Maybe you could just convert that tiny downstairs bathroom into a pantry with a freezer...

redredsteve said...

I was actually thinking of getting a stacked washer/dryer combo in the laundry closet, which would leave room for a chest freezer and some shelves. We'll see... if we got one now it would probably just go where the baker's rack is and we'd put that thing in storage.

talmstedt said...

What about a keg-er-ator? I see how it is, buy you books, send you to school and you forget the most important thing... Actually a freezer would be a good investment. Just think of all the things at Costco you can buy now and then freeze! Nikki let Steve buy a freezer! I am going to start a letter writing campaign! Poop.

T