November is almost over, and you know what that means – the holiday season is here! To get you ready for the holidays, COOK is here to provide you with some tips and tricks from our November classes. These tips are great for beating the cold, making festive dishes and simply getting you in the spirit of things! Read on to see the wonderful tips and tricks our visiting chefs dished out.

Tip #1 Gift Wrapping with Kale Ribbons

Tracey Medeiros, author of The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook, taught our guests a quick trick to make easy kale ribbons – or ribbons of any sturdy greens. While you can’t wrap your holiday presents with kale ribbons, they’re a gift to your health. First, remove the stem of the kale leaf by either slicing down each side or pulling down the stem. Once the leaves are removed, simply roll them up and slice crosswise for a handful of kale ribbons.

Tip #2 Better Biscuits

Warm biscuits on a cold day? Yes please! Malik Ali of SOUTH warmed our guests’ hearts and stomachs with a soul food brunch. While making the cheddar biscuits for his chicken and biscuits dish, Malik shared a couple little tricks. When making biscuit dough, don’t use a rolling pin as it will flatten out the dough and make the biscuits dense, so just use your hands. Also, bake the biscuits so that they are touching each other – this will help them rise more, as opposed to spreading out horizontally. Malik had his oven set to 425 F and baked them for about 20 minutes, or until the largest one was golden brown.

Tip #3 Coconut Snow Shavings

Guillermo Pernot of Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar kicked off our November. He cooked up recipes from his Cuba Cooks cookbook and signed a copy for each guest take home. Guillermo topped his ceviche dish with some toasted coconut chips and taught everyone how to open a coconut. Make an opening in one of the three coconut holes using a screwdriver and a hammer. Drain the coconut water out and put it in a 400 F oven. After a few minutes it should crack open more easily. Then you can grate the coconut flesh and create festive coconut snow!

Tip #4 Healthy Flaxseed Gel

For any vegans trying to make cookies for the upcoming holidays, this one is for you! Elizabette Andrade of Cooking Alchemy showed our guests how to make an egg substitute from flaxseeds. If you boil flaxseeds in water after about 5 minutes, a viscous liquid will start to form. Drain off the flaxseeds and you’ll be left with a flaxseed gel that looks and feels exactly like egg whites. For every 1/4 cup of flaxseeds, use about 4 cups of water. The gel is perfect for binding as Elizabette demonstrated by coating portobello mushrooms with it and covering them in breadcrumbs and crushed almonds.

Tip #5 Cheesy Comfort

Kealan O’Donnel breaks down massive amounts of cheese wheels at the 22nd and Pennsylvania Avenue Whole Foods location. After assisting many chefs in the COOK kitchen, Kealan led his first solo class teaching guests all about – what else – cheese! During class someone asked Kealan what his go-to mac and cheese blend is, since he is a cheese expert after all. So if you’re looking for a perfect mac to comfort you on a blistery winter day, be sure to use Kealan’s select cheeses – Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar, Raclette, Swiss and Gruyère!