Peggy Aoki
Location
Mountain View, CA
School
University Of Missouri - Columbia, University Of Southern California, California Culinary Academy
Expertise
Classical Western Cuisine, Food History, Nutrition
- Peggy loves butter so much that she spent time learning butter and cheese making at Jonathan White's Peekskill Dairy.
- She staged at the 150-year-old Le Pré aux Clercs restaurant in Dijon, France.
- Peggy can not resist buying books about food – cookbooks, food history, and any writing about food and the people who grow and prepare it.
Experience
Peggy has been a professional cook and cooking teacher for more than 25 years. She began cooking when she still needed a stepstool to reach the stove and after an attempt at a career in sales, gave in to her passion to work in restaurant kitchens. While heading the kitchen at Mountain View CA's Chez TJ, she was invited to teach a class at a local cooking school which launched her passion to share her love and understanding of food. After many years of teaching public cooking classes, catering, opening local restaurants, and working long hours, she accepted a position with a large food service company supporting other chefs. She continues to teach hands-on classes in person and through Zoom, and enjoys learning from other chefs around the world through on-line classes as well.
Education
Peggy has bachelor's degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master of arts in teaching from the University of Southern California, as well as professional cooking and baking certificates from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, CA.
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Stories By Peggy Aoki
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Juicy and tasty, chicken thighs and drumsticks are the stars of this recipe roundup full of easy-to-prep meals that will have your weekday dinners sorted.
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Freshly podded and lightly cooked peas offer bursts of vibrant spring flavor in many dishes. If you have a few left over, here's the best way to store them.
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Béchamel sauce is one of the French mother sauces and a fundamental base for plenty of more complex sauces, but either undercooking or overcooking it is a risk.
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Folding baked salmon into a herby, lemon risotto results in a decadent but doable mid-week entree that also makes wonderful leftovers.
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Cast iron has been used in cooking for over a century, but there are differences between traditional and enamel cast iron pans you need to know.
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If you use a charcoal grill regularly, you probably have a chimney starter. That device is all you need for a beautiful, delicious cut of steak.
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Chocolate can be a tricky thing to experiment with while cooking, especially if it loses its temper -- and no, we don't mean in the emotional way.
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If you're braising beef, you know that a flavorful liquid is paramount to success. At the same time, the correct amount and usage of that liquid are important.
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A good homemade jam makes you never want to buy store-bought again, and adding a splash or two of bourbon to a fruity batch makes it even more delicious.
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Accurate measuring of ingredients is the most scientific, way to get brilliant bakes. If you use the reverse tare method it cuts down on the clear-up, too.
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Once upon a time, a group of fictitious troopers thought maple syrup was super and chugged it in a movie. Now, they and WhistlePig have a syrupy collab.
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A lot of people are wary of okra, but there's no need to be. Take your pick of our recipes for some tasty (and crispy) ways to cook the little green ingredient.
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Cauliflower isn't the best to prepare in advance and store for later use. Instead, try making it on the same day that you need it and avoiding storage.
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If you live in the American South, there's a decent chance that you are already well-acquainted with sorghum. For everyone else, it's time for an introduction.
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Onions can take a long time to brown when done properly, and that's exactly why French onion soup mix has become our favorite time saver.
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We're all aware of the importance of checking food temperature for safety, and you might be getting the internal temperature for chicken thighs wrong.
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Vegetable soup is a hearty, satisfying meal, but if your stew is feeling a little thin, try giving it a boost with some added carrot juice.
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If you're new to cooking corned beef, here's what you need to know about how long to cook it in your slow cooker for the most tender results.
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The reverse-sear method has been around for a while and usually applies to steaks, but there's no reason why it can't work for chicken just as well.
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Salmon bites are tasty, nutritious, and easy to toss into salads and grain bowls alike. Even better? Cooking them in your air fryer is a breeze.
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These tasty little chilli peppers can be found hiding in the pickle section of your grocery store. It's worth seeking them out to add to many meaty dishes.
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Proper balsamic vinegar is a great ingredient, but if you don't have any in your pantry, there's a simple substitute that will still make your bruschetta sing.
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When you scan a sushi restaurant menu, you're likely to come across offerings labeled as maki and temaki. They have a lot of overlap and one key difference.
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There's a pretty big difference between Nespresso's newer Vertuo coffee machines and their original machines, so we look at what distinguishes the two types.
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When we talk about a large number of fermented foods as diverse as kosher pickles, kimchee, and yogurt, the term "lacto-fermentation" is often mentioned.
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Fast food slows down pretty dramatically when ordering systems grind to a halt. McDonald's customers and workers alike experienced that in multiple countries.
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Fondue can be the ultimate form of delicious cheesy goodness. However, one simple temperature mistake can seriously hamper making fondue at home.