Chef Todd Mohr Web Cooking Classes » online cooking lessons »

Worst Cooks in America Finale

cheftodd — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:20:36 +0000

The Blackboard is Gone

The final two contestants on Worst Cooks in America have learned to cook like a chef! They’ve done it in only ten days!

How do I know that Jenni and Rachael have absorbed a few tricks about the science of cooking? It’s because there’s no blackboard in the final episode of the Food Network reality mini-series. Once the written recipes were removed and they had to concentrate on basic cooking methods, even the worst cooks in America were cooking gourmet to fool top critics.

While early weeks concentrated on creating controversy and tension for the cameras, the last two episodes have shown that it takes very little actual education to gain cooking confidence.

If you don’t know how to boil water, it’s okay. It’s not your fault that you don’t know how to cook. Cooking like a chef is not an innate skill. You weren’t born having taken cooking classes in-utero. So, it’s okay to start now.

We’ve witnessed on Worst Cooks in America that just a few cooking method tidbits can create a curiosity in anyone. This passion then seeks out cooking lessons, online cooking classes, or even a school of cooking.

I’ve heard from two of the contestants on this show, and they mention a sudden passion for cooking videos, cooking websites and a desire to learn to cook.

This isn’t because they enjoy following a recipe on a blackboard. It’s not because they like the cooking method of being yelled at by a chef under tight time constraints. They love what they create from their hearts and minds.

Every contestant on this show has experienced what I teach people all over the globe on a daily basis. Any school of cooking, even online cooking classes, or cooking videos that ignore written recipes to focus on basic cooking methods will empower you with confidence. Confidence leads to risk-taking and curiosity. Curiosity needs to be fed information.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but “Thank you Food Network, for finally teaching someone to cook.” And thank you for proving the point I’ve been making for years. Learn to cook by basic cooking methods and forget the written recipe, especially if it’s written on a blackboard.

Previous Posts about Worst Cooks in America:
Finally! Cook-fidence!
The Flavors in Jennifer Cross' Head Saved her Butt
Cooking is About Crying and Salt
Worst Cooking Instructors in America
Are You the Worst Cook in America?

Learn to Cook Like a Chef in 16 Weeks, Guaranteed!
Start with my DVD - "5 Chef Secrets"

I'll give you the DVD, you pay shipping only.
Find out more HERE

Cut Pineapple in Hawaii

cheftodd — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:29:32 +0000

If you’re in Hawaii, you must know how to cut a pineapple for pineapple recipes or to make a decorative pineapple boat. Chef Todd Mohr is on the edge of a 300 foot cliff in Princeville, Hawaii to show you how to cut a pineapple. Excellent knife skills is the key to cutting pineapple. The challenge is having enough horizontal knife control to cut as closely to the tough skin as possible without leaving the pineapple fruit behind. If you’re preparing a pineapple recipe, or just want to present a decorative pineapple boat, this quick video will show you a simple secret. Basic knife skills are essential to any kitchen success. Even with cut pineapple. Items that are cut consistently will cook consistently and have better eye-appeal. The old adage is “you eat with your eyes first”. If I were to present you with a bowl of soup and one piece of carrot was large, one was small, one oblong, one square, your eyes would tell you that it was made without much regard to presentation. Upon tasting, the large carrot would be hard, the small one would be mushy. A chef’s knife is the first knife you should have in your kitchen. It’s the work-horse of most kitchen tasks. In the time you can retrieve your electric chopper from the cabinet, plug it in, use it, wash it, return it to the cabinet, your chef’s knife would already have the job done. When use with correct grip and the safest technique, your skill with a chefs knife will result in amazing meals at home, or just a decorative pineapple boat made of cut pineapple from Hawaii. Previous posts from Hawaii: Koloa Sunshine Farmers Market Cook Shrimp in Hawaii
Fish Market on Hawaii
Goat Farm on Hawaii
How to Open a Coconut in Maui

Cook like a chef at home in 16 weeks, guaranteed with my online cooking classes.

Get a FREE 14 day trial in WebCookingClasses.com

Koloa Sunshine Farmers Market in Hawaii

cheftodd — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:16:48 +0000

The best place to get fresh fruit and fresh produce is your local farmers market. I’m looking for fresh fruit and fresh vegetables from the Sunshine Koloa Farmers Market in Hawaii.

Notice that I didn’t bring any recipes with me. It would be impossible to find all the ingredients that are called for in any written recipe at a local farmers market. However, if you are armed with the knowledge of basic cooking methods, you can create an original recipe from what you find there. You’ll know that the meal you create from the freshest ingredients, fresh fruit and fresh produce, along with your creativity and study of online cooking lessons, will be the better than someone else’s opinion of what you should cook.

There’s a mindset involved in farmers market produce shopping. Years ago, I’d take my lengthy list of requirements to have on hand at all times to the grocery store. I had an insecurity that, when cooking by written recipe, it might call for something I don’t have in stock. Then, I might have to go back to the grocery store. At the farmers market, you’re committing to cooking whatever is freshest and readily available.

Packing your pantry with canned goods in case they’re demanded by your recipe is the best way to waste time and money in your food shopping. While farmers market produce is more expensive than grocery store items, it should be. It’s a better product that has been produced and distributed in a more wholesome fashion. You’ll get more enjoyment, more flavor, and more nutrition from fresh local produce that comes from your local farmers market.

The best ingredients you can access and afford, combined with basic cooking methods will help you create recipes from what is seasonal and available, and will keep bringing you back to your local farmers market for fresh produce.

Previously from Hawaii:
Cook Shrimp in Hawaii
Fish Market on Hawaii
Goat Farm on Hawaii
How to Open a Coconut in Maui

What if you can't go to Hawaii? What if it's cold near you.
See how one farmer grows tomatoes in the Winter!

Cook like a chef at home in 16 weeks, guaranteed with my online cooking classes.

Get a FREE 14 day trial in WebCookingClasses.com

Goat Farm on Hawaii

cheftodd — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:00:47 +0000

If you want to see how goats cheese is made, go to a goat farm. If you go to a goat farm, you might as well go to one in the “upcountry” of Maui, Hawaii. My trip to the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm in Hawaii was a great education and a fun day. The goats are treated very well, and their milk is treated even better. Plus, I found out there’s 50 females to one male goat on the farm. Not baaaaaaad. (sorry) I’m always curious to find out exactly where my food comes from and a trip to a local farm is the way to do it. I’m a big fan of goat cheese, or chevre, because of its soft, spreadable texture, creamy but sharp flavor, but mostly for its melting abilities. I often use goat cheese as a thickener for sauces. My “South of France” chicken video that the members of WebCookingClasses enjoy is a perfect illustration how goat cheese can add flavor and texture to pan sauces. The South of France Chicken starts with a basic sauté procedure. Pan hot first. A little bit of water in the pan evaporates so I know it’s at least 212f. Then, I add a very small amount of olive oil, and let that heat until convection begins. This is an indicator that the oil is just about to smoke. A chicken breast is cooked 75% on one side, watching the coagulation of proteins, then finished on the other side. After sautéing shallots and mushrooms in the resulting pan fond, the pan is deglazed with white wine, and then mounted with goat cheese and whole grain mustard. When you return the chicken to the pan, it bathes in a creamy white sauce that didn’t need roux or a slurry to make it stick to your fork. Visiting the goat farm in Hawaii was a great inside look at what great care our local farmers are taking to provide the most wholesome ingredients for us to enjoy. See how Hawaiians open a coconut from the Maui Tropical Plantation HERE “Burn Your Recipes” and Cook Like a Chef at Home with my cooking DVDs!
The Complete cooking DVDcollection for cooking without recipes.