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Welcome to Alexandra’s Kitchen
Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here. Below you will find a series of videos that I hope may offer some guidance in regard to chopping some of the items we reach for most often while cooking: onions, citrus, herbs, etc.
Throughout the videos, too, I share some of the tools I reach for most often. I’ve linked to them below the videos as well.
Happy chopping!
Chopping Tutorial
Favorite Chef’s Knife + How to Properly Hold a Knife
Two ways to chop an onion: sliced & diced:
My favorite way to cut parsley and cilantro:
A nice way to cut a lemon or a lime:
Two ways to “segment” an orange:
Rough guide for making a simple, herby, citrusy chickpea salad:
Favorite peeler:
How to make an omelet:
I hope you find the videos helpful. Here are links to a few favorite gadgets and tools:
Questions? Leave a comment below!
128 Comments on “Welcome to Alexandra’s Kitchen”
Thank you, Alexandra, for these wonderful and so useful videos, what a wonderful surprise. I particularly loved the tutorial on holding a knife the right way, I will adopt this method from now on.
Also to chop an onion, simple and basic things we do every day, but what a difference to do it right. I so appreciated the video without disturbing and unnecessary music, who needs that, watching you cook is the ultimate relaxing and comforting experience, no blabla. I signed up yesterday and already I have been looking into your wonderful recipes, and I love vegetarian recipes too. I am so glad to have discovered you through Margaret Roach’s email, where she praised you. Thank you again.
Oh Carmen, thank you for all of this! So nice to hear. I am so grateful for Margaret and for all of the goodness she puts out in the world. I hope the knife-holding technique is helpful, and I hope you enjoy the recipes. Thanks for taking the time to write 🙂
Enjoyed seeing your techniques and tools.
Thank you, Mary 🙂 🙂 🙂
I am not a newbie to sourdough bread baking (only since 3/20 and still learning), but am so excited to have come across your blog and bread recipe. I have it in the refrigerator now, and your directions and recipe were so easy to follow. I was worried it would be too sticky, but after the bench rest, it had a wonderful feel to the dough. When I put it the banneton, it came up higher on the side than any loaf I’ve made, so I am looking forward to the bake tomorrow. I have signed up for your blog posts, newsletter, etc., and will look at your book to order. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
So nice to hear all of this, Judy 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hope the loaf turned out well, and I hope you enjoy the newsletter and future blog posts, etc. Thank you for the kind words. Means a lot!
Great tips. Thanks
Thank you Ali for all those tips. I will be sure to use them all. I am so looking forward to trying out some of your recipes. I love them for their simplicity in ingredients’ and putting it all together.
My pleasure, Wendy! I hope you do find some recipes you love. Let me know if you have any questions along the way.
I enjoyed these very much. The onion when I’m chopping is close to what I do it must admit I use a mini electric chopper when I have to dice to add to cooking but slice by hand when I sautee. Will definitely try the cutting of the citris,especially the orange since I like to peel it alll before snacking on the orange. I like the way you roll your parsley, have always had trouble with that. And of course holding the knife- I’ve always hold by handle and always wondered how chefs can just move it across the board.
Great to hear the videos were helpful, Jeanine 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing!
Do you have anything o knife sharpening? Thx.
I don’t! So sorry for the confusion. It’s not knife sharpening… it’s knife skills sharpening.
Great videos – love the salad in the end! Thank you.
Thank you, Donna!
I’m excited about learning a lot of new ideas/techniques from you. I love your videos and can’t wait to try your peasant bread recipe and variations!
So nice to hear this, Suzanne 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
Thank you. I’ve been cooking to keep my thoughts off the troubled world we all are living within. Your Instagram posts have been a blessing, and now your emails. This is my first email from you and it’s delightful to watch the short videos. I plan to share your information with my granddaughter in hopes she finds an interest in being in the kitchen. Thank you, again. Turned 80 and still learning new things. Baking bread now and proud of myself. LOL BTW, I purchased the peeler. Yay!
Keep posting/sending. You are a blessing to many.
Oh, Bonny, I know, it’s all so terribly sad, and yes, so hard to get our minds off it all, but cooking helps 🙂 Thank you so much for writing. Yay for buying the peeler! I love it. And yay for baking bread, too. I hope your granddaughter finds some recipes she loves as well. Have a great day!
Hej Ali,
First, I hope I didn’t ‘duplicate’ my knife sharpening skills request. Secondly, I had asked quite a while ago where to find your carrot chopping technique that I believe you used at Fork; it wasn’t really a knife technique, but I did find it online where the chef ‘rolls’ the carrot after each cut so it’s always at a 45 degree knife-angle and ‘each piece is then evenly cooked’ (from your recipe . . . wherever it is). I had figured out a similar method, but rolling is easier and faster.
Thank you too for the videos – as usual great advice and demonstration.
I made your bread for today – after several months on Keto was taking a Sunday ‘bread’ break– and people at church are enjoying it too this Lenten season! FYI: Walmart sometimes still has a 4 pc. 1 quart Pyrex bowl set available, and yes, it is getting harder to find and more expensive. I still have my 4 bowls, but I do enjoy gifting your recipe with the bowls, the yeast, flour and a good dose of encouragement as to how easy it truly is.
Thank you for all your effort and sharing so much with us followers on such a personal and friendly level.
Good cooking, many blessings, Happy Easter (and what do the Greeks eat for special day?)
Mary Sullivan
Hi Mary! So nice to read all of this, especially about sharing the bread and gifting the bread bowls. Thank you 🙂 I’m so glad you found the knife rolling technique, and it still boggles my mind that I can’t find it on my site… it has to be there! I’m going to search again.
Thank you for your kind words! And Happy Easter to you as well. For Greek Easter, we always have lamb but often spanakopita and tiropitas and sometimes mousaka, too 🙂 🙂 🙂
I wish I had discovered you earlier in my life, love all your hints and tips. I can’t wait to try new recipes. Thank You.
Thanks so much Christine 🙂 🙂 🙂 Means a lot. Hope you find some recipes you love!
Hi there, I just love your cooking and your vids and all your recipes. I have saved some but I can’t seem to find them or where to go to retrieve them?
Thank you
Hi Justine! Do you see the heart icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen? There’s a flag that pops out to the left. If you click on that, do your saved recipes appear?
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you for the excellent tips! I really needed the knife chopping tutorial however I also have always wondered about parsley and cilantro chopping. I am ready to get chopping now! BTW – did a sandwich bar for 4th of July this year with your sandwich bread. I was such a hit! Thank you again for all the amazing recipes on line and in Bread, Toast, Crumbs!!! My go to cookbook these days!
My pleasure Nanelle! So nice to read all of this 🙂 🙂 🙂 A sandwich bar is such a fun idea! Love that. Thank you for your kind words. Means so much 💕💕💕
Thank you so much for these videos! I came across your Instagram and it has inspired me to learn how to actually cook. Since I spend so much time cooking every day, it’s nice to enjoy the process. Looking forward to making dinner tonight so I can try out my new way to hold a knife and cut an onion!
So nice to read all of this, Amanda 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you for writing. I hope you enjoy the recipes you find, and I hope the knife-holding and onion-cutting videos are useful. Happy cooking!
Thanks Ali for sharing your Knife Sharpening Skills videos. They were indeed helpful, especially the onion video! While, I have some cutting/chopping experience, onions are still a challenge. I happened to see your ‘Summer Squash Spaghetti with Lemon and Herbs’ video and just had to track you down and visit your website for the recipe! I’ll surely make it sometime very soon! Earlier this year I started experimenting with baking bread and focaccia so I was especially delighted to see your ‘Foolproof Bread recipes and videos! Congratulations on the book, ‘Bread, Toast, Crumbs’, too! Well done!! Thanks so much for sharing and I’ll look forward to your emails and videos! Have a great summer!
Great to read all of this, Debbie 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’m so glad the onion cutting video was helpful, and I’m so happy you found the summer squash spaghetti recipe. That’s been a longtime favorite. Thank you for your kind words. Hope you find some more recipes you like 💕💕💕
Thank you so much for posting these. I watched them all.
Great to hear, Laurie 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so for writing and welcome!
Great videos. Thanks for the ideas
Thank you for the lovey videos! I love that you are straight forward and speak in everyday terms. Love that you aren’t wasting stuff! Lol…
Thank you so much, Missy 🙂 🙂 🙂 Means a lot!
Many thanks for setting me straight on how to hold and use a knife efficiently. And then learn best ways to chop my beloved onions. Wish I had learned this earlier. I am still in the dark about the best ways to sharpen knives. Any suggestions about tools and how-to techniques? Recently moved to a very small city with nobody around to hire to do it.
What terrific and informative videos! Loved watching the new-to-me (and much easier) way to dice onions and mince herbs. These are some practical tips that I’ll be putting to use *today*! My thoughts echo Carmen’s, in that your videos are not only straightforward, but easy to watch and follow without a lot of hype or distracting music. As Coco Chanel used to say, “less is more”, and you capture it perfectly in your cooking tips and demos. Thank you!
Awww, Margaret, thank you so much for your kind note. That means a lot. So glad the videos have been helpful, and so glad you appreciate the style, too 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you for writing 💕
Helpful tutorial! Thank you!!
If the kitchen is the heart of a home, and I believe that to be true, you have shared nuggets of wisdom and practicality that ensures it functions very well.
Thank you.
Thank you, Elaine 💕💕💕💕
Thanks Alexandra – some great tips here even for people who have been cooking for a whil
Wendy
My pleasure, Wendy! 💕
I ordered the whisk
Nice! Hope you love it 🙂
I’m trying to order the pink boxes, cannot find your things for sale???
Hi! They’re out of stock, unfortunately. I’ll be getting more on the 22nd. Order them here: Ted Lasso Biscuit Boxes.
Enjoying all the info you share about gadgets, methods and recipes. This is a favorite site for me.
Great to hear, Rosemary 🙂
Just ordered your cookbook. Your website is great.
Thank you, Rosemary 🙂 🙂 🙂 💕💕💕💕
Loved your videos!
Thanks so much!
Thank you Vasili 🙂
Great, easy to follow videos! Thank you! How do you get the smell of the onion out of the cutting board? Doesn’t the smell permeate the other things you cut after you cut the onion?
Thank you, Mary! The onion smell is tough. My mother has separate boards dedicated for onion/garlic and others for fruit, etc. I don’t actually do this but it’s a good idea if you find that the onion smell lingers (which it does!).
I love learning new ways to do everyday actions
I love your videos! I made your Buttermilk Blueberry Lemon cake and it was delicious! Next I want to try the focaccia bread. Thank you for sharing your talents and your wonderful demonstrations! They were very helpful. Even though I have been cooking for a long time, it’s great to learn new tips. So glad I found you on Pinterest!
So nice to hear this, Karen 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and for your kind words, too.