Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Institute of Culinary Education: Techniques of Fine Cooking I

If you've noticed I've been quiet on the blogosphere lately, it's because I've got my learning cap on and have been busy with school (the cooking kind, as well as the more serious kind)!  The Hubby had the brilliant idea to enroll me in the Institute of Culinary Education's Techniques of Fine Cooking 1 as an Anniversary gift.  Smart, isn't he?  It's the gift that keeps on giving! He sure has been enjoying the new kitchen skills I've picked up lately.

The Institute of Culinary Education ('ICE') is located on West 23rd Street and offers career training for real chefs-to-be, and also holds a lot of recreational classes for people like you and me.  It's pretty fun walking by the real chefs in class and watching them in action.  There are recreational classes which range from just a few hours, to others that span several days like the one I took.  Check out their website, it's hard not to find one that doesn't pique your interest!  You can sign up for classes online so the whole process is pretty easy.

Photos from Techniques of Fine Cooking I
Techniques in Fine Cooking is a program which focuses more on teaching technique rather than recipes.  (Though admittedly, I've been loving practicing the recipes at home).  It is a 5 day course, with 5 hours each day.  ICE offers sessions which are either 5 days consecutively, or 1 day a week over 5 weeks.  

I learned how to truss a chicken, poach eggs, make mousse (hello, arm workout), wet and dry braise and work with mussels.  The list goes on and on!

The class introduced me to working with foods that I'm unfamiliar with, or had been intimidated of.  The techniques taught are not actually that complex, but I think the class gives you the confidence that you can do it!  There's also no better way to learn how to make something than to actually do it yourself. 


Though class sizes vary, my session of Level 1 Techniques had 16 students, along with a Chef instructor and a kitchen assistant.  Chef Anita was an energetic lady who sure kept us on our toes each day!  She has been teaching at ICE for many years so she's a true veteran and knows how to keep the class moving.  

We were in a nice sized kitchen and split into groups of 4.  Each group works together to prepare dishes.  I loved that Chef Anita structured the class so that for the most part, each group made everything in the curriculum - i.e., granted each group may make a different type of vegetable, we all learned how to blanch.  

Here are a few pictures of my group's accomplishments:

Lamp chops, a first for me!  The herb butter served on top of the lamp was homemade, which has now become a staple in my kitchen these days. What an easy way to add some extra flavor.  This butter can be made ahead of time, and even frozen for up to 2 months.  

Sautéed Lamb Chops with Herb Butter; sides of Potatoes persillade and Broccoli

I never knew what exactly trussing a chicken entailed, but I'm sure glad I know now.  I always thought it sounded like you were doing something not very nice to the chicken, but actually you're tying it up all gentle and pretty so it tans (I mean, browns) perfectly in the oven.  

Trussing a chicken!

Carved up roast chicken with Turkish rice pilaf; Tomatoes Provençal

One technique I can't wait to try at home is wet braising.  In class we made Braised Lamb Shanks with Juniper Berries and Rosemary.  You could also do this with veal shanks (think Osso Bucco!).  Thank goodness I had people on my team who knew what they were doing with this because I've never braised anything before.  It was tender and delicious and made excellent leftovers.

Wet braising
Braised Lamb Shanks with Juniper Berries and Rosemary

It turns out poaching eggs is pretty easy! I've been practicing at home and have probably gone through 2 dozen eggs at this point, with fortunately just a few casualties.

In class, I was super excited to learn how to make poached eggs with red wine sauce, a Burgundian specialty which Hubby and I enjoyed when we were in Beaune, France, earlier this year.  Called Oeufs en Meurette, in Beaune they actually poached the eggs in red wine so the eggs take on a dark red color.  The version we made in class is eggs poached normally, drizzled with some red wine sauce.  This way results in a lighter dish, which I actually prefer.  Doesn't this look pretty enough to serve in a restaurant?? :) I may be biased...

Poached eggs with red wine sauce (Oeufs en Meurette)

Look at that deliciously runny egg!

Seafood intimidates me, and mussels are definitely included in that!  I had never cooked mussels before so it was pretty cool to learn how to work with them.  I had no fear and was handling them perfectly, until somebody spilled the beans to me that they are actually alive, until you boil them.  Oh gosh, once I heard that, I dropped the mussels I was cleaning.  Don't worry, I have since practiced at home several times but Hubby still needs to stand guard next to me.  For some reason I feel like a live sack of 20 mussels may jump out of my sink and attack me.  Am I the only one with this fear?

Check back for steamed mussels recipes I have been trying at home!

Each group made a different pot of mussels!

Another type of seafood I've never worked with was tuna.  We learned how to assemble a Nicoise Salad, including how to sear tuna.  Surprisingly the tuna seems to be one of the least complicated parts (just seasoning and searing briefly on each side), while preparing all the vegetables and accompaniments took a lot of work.

Nicoise Salad

Another technique we learned was grilling.  This lesson isn't very practical for those of us in NYC apartments with highly sensitive smoke alarms.  If you have access to an outdoor grill, this is perfect, because we wound up smoking up the kitchen like crazy!  

Assortment of vegetable salads

London Broil

I picked up some pretty good dessert recipes like Mousse, Clafouti, and Soufflés!  I took a soufflé class in Paris where I made chocolate and cheese soufflés, so this time I made sure to make something different - Orange soufflé!  It was a good refresher...

Carefully filling ramekins [thanks Carina for the photo!]

I can confidently say that Techniques of Fine Cooking I has expanded my kitchen skills and would recommend the course.  Over 5 days, we also learned basics like how to make vinaigrettes, mayos, compound butter and chicken stock all from scratch.  These are all skills that are great to have for life.

It's also a great learning experience working in a shared kitchen and cooking alongside other people.  "Oui, Chef!", "Hot dish behind", "Knife!" will become normal lingo for you, as well as terms like mirapoix and beurre manié.

The classes are a great way to meet a mix of people (some from other states or countries!), and what's great is you also get to eat what you cook at the end of class, over wine of course.  

I'm excited that I have an expanded (and more sophisticated!) set of skills, and friends have been loving being my guinea pigs as I test out these newly learned techniques at home. Luckily, no shortage of volunteers :)

I loved this class so much that I wound up signing up for Level 2 of Techniques of Fine Cooking!  Stay tuned, post coming soon...


Institute of Culinary Education
50 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
http://www.iceculinary.com


Piggy KL






29 comments:

  1. Wow! Blog seems to be very interesting. The pics of the post really a mouth watering. Thanks for share and keep it up.
    Culinary Career

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great! Nice sharing. The pics you shared really mouth watering. Thanks
    Catering Service Hamptons

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is primarily used to make smoked fish, cheese nuts and meat jerky. But not suitable for cooking largeBBQ items like brisket. Small and lightweight, fishermen .. little chief smoker recipes pork

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. what is subconscious mind

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. If you visit Korca in Albania make sure to try their traditional pie called lakror. You are going to love it

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love to read it,Waiting For More new Update and I Already Read your Recent Post its Great Thanks. jsc result 2019 publish date

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was wondering if I could use this write-up on my other website, I will link it back to your website though.Great Thanks. writings

    ReplyDelete
  9. You should have the option to comprehend when somebody communicates in the language you are learning. Notwithstanding that, you should have the option to communicate in that language. study russian in Moscow

    ReplyDelete
  10. The underlying motivation was to set up a structure of shared objectives that would deliver proper programming dependent on a concurred rundown of destinations. The extension for support was later expanded by framing the Sakai Educational Partners Program (SEPP), whereby different foundations can join and take an interest in the network for a little expense. education support

    ReplyDelete
  11. Another significant distinction in how kids learn in the Montessori framework is that in the Montessori framework a youngster has no characterized availability where to play out an assignment. Rather the kid is permitted to play out an assignment for whatever length of time that he needs. read with tajweed

    ReplyDelete
  12. There will be a subsequent gathering so as to survey the achievement of the techniques. The group may confirm that adequate advancement has been noted and that testing for a specialized curriculum isn't required right now. religion and schools

    ReplyDelete
  13. In case you are interested in find a great tech camp for your child(ren), try this Holographic AR designing & programming summer camp.

    Holographic AR Design and Programming Summer Camp

    ReplyDelete
  14. They likewise have a great deal of meetings agreed with esteemed organizations on the day they move on from school. They hold up in any event a year in their first situation before thinking about taking on a relationship, and when they do, it is with somebody like them. They bring in enough cash to have the option to bear the cost of day-care. What's more, their children? They grow up to be much the same as mother and father. Coaching Sydney

    ReplyDelete
  15. The training field comprises of different specializations that incorporate rudimentary instruction, youth training, organization, advanced education, optional training and center school.
    online game design class

    ReplyDelete
  16. Let us currently think about another edge. So far we discussed the importance of training in the unmistakable mortal world. In any case, being people, the elusive yet similarly far reaching universe of our emotions is similarly significant. american english online

    ReplyDelete
  17. We need more such articles that we can read with such enthusiasm.
    tutlance.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. IEEE Project Domain management in software engineering is distinct from traditional project deveopment in that software projects have a unique lifecycle process that requires multiple rounds of testing, updating, and faculty feedback. A IEEE Domain project Final Year Projects for CSE system development life cycle is essentially a phased project model that defines the organizational constraints of a large-scale systems project. The methods used in a IEEE DOmain Project systems development life cycle strategy Project Center in India provide clearly defined phases of work to plan, design, test, deploy, and maintain information systems.


    This is enough for me. I want to write software that anyone can use, and virtually everyone who has an internet connected device with a screen can use apps written in JavaScript. JavaScript Training in Chennai JavaScript was used for little more than mouse hover animations and little calculations to make static websites feel more interactive. Let’s assume 90% of all websites using JavaScript use it in a trivial way. That still leaves 150 million substantial JavaScript Training in Chennai JavaScript applications.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Source pokerbo
    have a peek here sohopoker
    Check This Out agenvip
    this contact form vipbet88

    ReplyDelete