4 recipes
Salads
A Cobb is a chopped salad laid out in rows, so every forkful can be a little different. It's a good way to practice several small jobs, each done well, that come together on one platter: chicken poached gently enough to stay juicy cold, bacon rendered crisp, eggs cooked just firm, and a vinaigrette you taste and set yourself.
View recipe · 4 servings
Soups
Lentils need no soaking, cost little, and turn a pot of broth into a meal in a little over an hour. This soup teaches you to bloom spices in fat, to cook dried lentils until creamy without bursting them, and to blend part of the pot so it has body without flour or cream. The lemon at the end is what makes it taste alive.
View recipe · 4 servings
Salads
A composed platter of potatoes, green beans, eggs, tuna, tomatoes and olives, pulled together by a mustardy vinaigrette. It teaches you to run one pot of water for three jobs and to season each part as you go, so every piece tastes finished before it reaches the plate.
View recipe · 4 servings
Soups
A pot of tomato soup made from canned tomatoes teaches three things you'll use for years: how to draw sweetness out of an onion, how to take the raw edge off tomato paste, and how to taste your way to a soup that is bright but round. You'll also learn to blend hot soup without redecorating the kitchen.
View recipe · 4 servings