Today’s Topic: Steaming The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

Today’s Topic: Rice & Grains The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

Today’s Topic: Braising The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

Today’s Topic: Roasting The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 2: All about pâte à choux. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments It’s the second day of Baking School and we’re diving straight into our first French pastry lesson. Pâte à what?

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 5: All about dessert soufflés. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Soufflés tend to get a bad rap for being fussy and finicky — so why bother making them, you ask? Are they worth all the trouble? The answer is a resounding yes, and as you’ll learn in today’s lesson, they are not nearly as difficult as you might think.

nutella The Basic Recipe Crêpes Makes about 20 crêpes, enough for 6-8 adults 1 cup milk 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 eggs 3 Tablespoons melted butter Whisk all the ingredients together either by hand, with a blender, or in a food processor. It should form a smooth, fairly runny batter. If the batter is too stiff, add a little more milk. If you have time, let the batter rest for 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

This decadent cookie starts with a cream cheese-based dough and whatever filling you can dream up. Honey-walnut or chocolate are good places to start!

This decadent cookie starts with a cream cheese-based dough and whatever filling you can dream up. Honey-walnut or chocolate are good places to start!

How to make the classic Middle Eastern sesame-based confection.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 10: All about puff pastry. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Crispy, light as air, and puffed as all get-out, puff pastry is in a class of its own. With its fantastic texture and the endless ways it can be used for both sweet and savory pastries, this dough reigns supreme in the pastry kitchen.

Turn dates into a chewy, salty-sweet caramel without heating up the stove.

You don't have to be a pro baker to make pastry cream from scratch. This recipe comes together quickly and can be used as a filling in so many desserts.

Plus, what to cook with each.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 3: All about pastry cream. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Take your standard vanilla pudding. Now imagine that pudding taken to the next level — even richer, creamier, and more luxurious. That’s pastry cream. It is so good, you could eat it with just a spoon — or better yet, use it as filling in a multitude of pastries and baked goods.

Do you like éclairs? What about profiteroles, cream puffs, and cheesy gougères? Aside from making us drool just thinking about them, the one thing all these pastries have in common is that they are made from pâte à choux — a staple of the French pastry kitchen. Pâte à choux is a paste made of flour, water, butter, and eggs; it’s slightly thicker than a batter, but not quite as thick as a dough. Here’s how to make them.

It's so good, you don't even need cheese.

You don't have to be a pro baker to make pastry cream from scratch. This recipe comes together quickly and can be used as a filling in so many desserts.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 2: All about pâte à choux. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments It’s the second day of Baking School and we’re diving straight into our first French pastry lesson. Pâte à what?

We tested 5 popular latke recipes in order to develop our own perfect, fail-proof method for classic potato latkes.

Eggplant gets roasted and whipped into a dip with fresh garlic and the bite of tahini.

Including the only salt I'll ever buy and my (surprising!) go-to vinegar.

This old-school dish is a perfect option for weeknight dinner, as it's quick to make and sure to please the family.

There’s been a jar of Thai green curry paste lurking in the back of my pantry for ages. Ages. Resolved to use it, I even brought it with me when I moved from Iowa back to New York. So when I opened up Nigella Lawson’s new book, “Simply Nigella,” and discovered this cheery dish that prominently features green Thai curry paste, I knew this is what this jar was waiting for.

Chewy cookie on the bottom, marshmallow-like meringue on top, and a rich layer of chocolate sandwiched in between — these bar cookies are the best!

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 3: All about pastry cream. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Take your standard vanilla pudding. Now imagine that pudding taken to the next level — even richer, creamier, and more luxurious. That’s pastry cream. It is so good, you could eat it with just a spoon — or better yet, use it as filling in a multitude of pastries and baked goods.

An enormous braided loaf, scented with nutmeg and lemon, peppered with almonds and plump golden raisins

Lemon curd is one of those things that I always like to have in my refrigerator. It has saved me more than once when I’ve had to rustle up a last minute dessert or had an unexpected guest stop by at tea time. I love how lemon curd is tart (at least the way I make it!) and yet rich and smooth. Honestly, I could just eat spoonfuls of it straight from the jar! Classically, lemon curd is served with tea, where it is spread on scones, biscuits, and shortbread.

Going to culinary school in France meant that our main focus was, of course, French cuisine. And as I quickly learned, French cuisine is all about sauce. At the end of each day, we nervously brought our version of what had been demonstrated earlier to our chef for critique. It was usually a composed plate of protein and sides, but what did the chef always taste first? The sauce.

Did you know that it’s really really easy to make mayonnaise at home? It’s just three ingredients — egg yolks, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some oil — and with an immersion blender, it’s ready in about five minutes. Three ingredients, five minutes of your time, delicious creamy mayo. Let’s do this. Mayonnaise is made by blending two things that would otherwise prefer to stay separated: egg yolks and oil.

It feels so fancy to put them on a cookie tray for a spot of afternoon tea.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever actually made a soufflé. Yeah, me neither. Not until, that is, I took a class years ago with Paule Caillat in Paris and realized what a cozy, simple, weeknight dish a cheese soufflé actually is. In case you’ve never had one, a cheese soufflé is like a giant cheese puff, a hot cheese pudding with a crispy top and creamy, melting cloud inside.

Have you ever dreamed of going to pastry school — in Paris, perhaps? Do you lust after show-stopping layer cakes? Do you desire the secrets of perfect chewy cookies? Are you contemplating the mysteries of a sourdough starter, or just wish you were a more adept and confident bread baker? Now is your moment, because Baking School is coming to The Kitchn! It’s a free 20-day program to become a better baker.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 4: All about meringue. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments In its most basic, stripped-down definition, meringue is egg whites whipped with sugar. Air is quickly whipped into the egg whites, which makes them billow up to as much as eight times in volume. Pretty neat trick, right? When sugar is added, it not only provides sweetness, but it also helps stabilize the egg whites.

This is it, you guys, the ultimate step-by-step for classic cannolis at home that is many batches of cannolis in the making.

They're like a cross between a french fry and a potato chip.

Do you like éclairs? What about profiteroles, cream puffs, and cheesy gougères? Aside from making us drool just thinking about them, the one thing all these pastries have in common is that they are made from pâte à choux — a staple of the French pastry kitchen. Pâte à choux is a paste made of flour, water, butter, and eggs; it’s slightly thicker than a batter, but not quite as thick as a dough. Here’s how to make them.

If you want a potluck dish that's a total crowd-pleaser, there is no better choice than this sesame ginger slaw.

The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 15: All about croissants. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Anyone else dream of waking up to warm, flaky croissants in the morning? Their crispy shells and a whisper of steam from between the buttery layers calling you out from slumber? There truly is nothing better than a fresh-from-the oven croissant.

You really can't go wrong with lobster, a brandy cream sauce, and cheese.

This is the one worthy of your holiday table.

Dubbed the Jewish Mardi Gras, Purim calls for drinking, dancing, and hamantaschen — buttery triangular cookies, filled with jam or poppy seeds.

Eclairs are how you win at brunch. Seriously — who makes their own eclairs? And yet, you can make a batch of eclairs in about the same time it takes to whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls. Here’s what to do. How To Make Pâte à Choux How To Make Pastry Cream How to Make Chocolate Ganache A classic eclair is made from three things: a crispy golden shell of pâte à choux, a rich pudding-like filling of vanilla pastry cream, and a chocolate ganache glaze on top.

Are you making a traditional lasagna filled with layers of creamy béchamel? Maybe you are cooking a quick beef and Chinese broccoli stir-fry for dinner with a sauce that’s loaded with ginger and garlic? Or perhaps you’re considering making a sweet, thick vanilla pastry cream to fill a fruit tart this weekend? In most cases, the secret to a thick sauce (or filling) that coats food evenly is starch, whether plain flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or even arrowroot starch.

Have you ever dreamed of going to pastry school — in Paris, perhaps? Do you lust after show-stopping layer cakes? Do you desire the secrets of perfect chewy cookies? Are you contemplating the mysteries of a sourdough starter, or just wish you were a more adept and confident bread baker? Now is your moment, because Baking School is coming to The Kitchn! It’s a free 20-day program to become a better baker.

Culinary School: Week 10 (of 12 weeks) Last Week’s Diary: An Easier Way to Fill a Pastry Bag This week in culinary school we focused on mousse and soufflés. Both of these desserts originate in recipes that sound easy, but they are both very delicate. Turn your head for a moment and your pastry cream is scrambled or you’ve over-whipped your heavy cream. Attention to detail is paramount in classic pastry recipes, and small tricks make for a prettier, tastier dessert.

Including the only salt I'll ever buy and my (surprising!) go-to vinegar.

You don't have to be a pro baker to make pastry cream from scratch. This recipe comes together quickly and can be used as a filling in so many desserts.