Hi friends, I wanted to share with you a class on Craftsy that I’ve been immersing myself in. It’s called Homestyle Pan Sauces taught by Martha Holmberg and it’s currently 50% off for My Humble Kitchen readers!.
Martha is a cookbook author and editor. She spent three years in Paris where she received the Grand Diplome from Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne. Martha has been an editor and author of many cookbooks and magazines over the years, including editor-in-chief of Fine Cooking magazine for 11 years. Most recently, her book Modern Sauces was nominated for both a James Beard award and an IACP award.
As I’ve experienced with all Craftsy classes, this one is another fantastic course that truly makes you feel like you’re attending a culinary school from the comfort of your own home. Martha is a phenomenal teacher. She breaks up each lesson into reasonable amounts of information making the classes simple to follow along with.
As a home cook, one that’s learned from previous generations of home cooks, I’ve realized that pan sauces are usually not something that most people develop in their home kitchens to finish their dishes. When one at home sautés chicken breasts or pork chops, they’re usually served simply seasoned with salt and pepper. What I’ve learned through this course is that pan sauces can be made at home, quite simply, turning an ordinary meal into something sensational.
In Homestyle Pan Sauces you’ll learn how to balance flavors, build textures, and create consistency in each sauce with Martha’s detailed instruction and time-saving tips. I know that can sound overwhelming, but it’s really not. She simplifies each sauce and teaches you the essential technique that will make pan sauces something you’ll be making in your kitchen all the time.
The lesson plan for this course is as follows …
- Lesson 1. Meet Martha Holmberg and Get Started
- Lesson 2. Aromatics
- Lesson 3. Chicken with Meyer Lemon and Caper Sauce
- Lesson 4. Reduction Sauces
- Lesson 5. Gravy
- Lesson 6. Jus
- Lesson 7. Bonus: Salted Caramel Sauce
Turkey Gravy for Christmas
This part of Homestyle Pan Sauces is one that I really enjoyed. In Lesson 5, I picked up many tips on how to make the perfect gravy from roasting a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey. I only wish I would have watched this part of the class a couple of weeks ago.
Some of the tips I learned were …
- adding a bit of aromatics to the bottom of the roasting pan to build flavor
- how to use a fat separator
- a good ratio of fat and flour for each cup of broth, and …
- the best tip I learned was how to make a beurre manié for thickening the gravy. A beurre manié is a combination of butter and flour that when added to the pan sauce or gravy creates a lustrous smooth texture without any clumps … a total aha moment for me!
You know if you’re a home cook and kitchen enthusiast like me, one that would love to attend a culinary school one day, these classes offered by Craftsy are a dream come true! If you’d like to up your ante in the kitchen or simply refine your gravy making skills, you’ll have to attend Homestyle Pan Sauces by Martha Holmberg.
Click over to Craftsy by clicking here to sign up for Homestyle Pan Sauces. It’s currently on a special sale for all My Humble Kitchen readers! Until December 14th 11:59pm MST, you can register for this class for 50% off! As all Craftsy classes go, once you purchase a class, they will never expire!
I use a lot of Pan Sauces, but these are look phenomenal.