Master Velvety Velouté with our Video & Recipes

International Velouté

The beauty of Velouté is that the versatile sauce can be flavored to fit many different types of cuisines. From Cajun Creole to East Coast fare to hearty vegetarian to down home chicken and gravy, these dishes will satisfy any palate.

Try these recipes at home to become an expert at Velouté.

New England Clam Chowder

Vegetable Cobbler

Crawfish Etouffee

Roast Chicken with
Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Shallot and Herb Gravy

Cheers for Chowder

We love to hear that our recipes and videos make a difference in home cooks' kitchens. So, we had to share this email we got from Lenore Kaplan about our "How to Make Chowder" Video.

"I frequently make a split pea soup, playing around in various ways with a recipe I found in a cookbook some years ago, so it's never the same from batch to batch. But it's always fairly bland. I just made it again recently, but this time I borrowed a tip from Shelley's corn chowder video and added a few tablespoons of white wine vinegar. It made all the difference! So thanks for the tip."

Thank YOU Lenore. Happy cooking!

Vary your Velvety Velouté

Velouté sauce is one of the five "mother" sauces of classical French cuisine. The word Velouté actually means velvet, which is the perfect description for this smooth sauce that can be adapted to complement just about any dish.

In our latest video, Shelley shows how the combination of roux and flavorful stock make a very special sauce. She'll also give you tips on how to embellish your Velouté, as well as how to achieve the perfect consistency. Watch it here.

Once you've mastered the technique of making Velouté sauce, you have a base that can be used to make a variety of soups and dishes from almost every cuisine. All of these upcoming cooking classes feature the technique of Velouté so let our chefs help you conquer it in:

Seafood 101: New England Clam Chowder

Pie and Tart Boot Camp: Chicken Pot Pie

Hearty Soups and Stews: Crab and Potato Chowder

Cast Iron and Crock Pots: Gumbo

Cajun Kitchen: Gumbo

All of these classes are offered at both locations throughout the month of March, so please check our website for the class that fits your schedule.

Chocolate Cravings

Chocolate cravings don't disappear with Valentine's Day. So, learn how to temper chocolate and get that beautiful shine and smoothness on your dipped candies. Chef Ethan Pikas and our Chopping Block panel discuss everything chocolate in our latest Google+ Hangout.

Google+ Hangout: Chocolate

Stay tuned for next month's Google+ Hangout when we talk sushi with Chef Mario Scordato. Want to participate in the conversation? Follow us on Google+.