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Foods of the Day of the Dead

Posted Oct 30th 2009 11:00AM by Jose Ralat Maldonado
Filed under: Mexico, Holidays, Fall

Day of the Dead altar. Photo: rainy city, Flickr.

Sugary treats, bread and tamales -- the dead have it so good! The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is actually two days that combine Aztec traditions with Christianity's All Saints and All Souls Days on Nov. 1 and 2. It is by no means a somber holiday. In fact the Day of the Dead is a joyous time during which the dead re-join the living and are honored by their families.

Ancestors are memorialized with visits to cemeteries and homemade altars adorned with ofrendas (offerings). These include items belonging to the dead, candles, flowers, a bowl of water, incense and food, of which the dead are believed to consume the essence prior to the living's meal.

The food most closely associated with the Day of the Dead is pan de muerto (bread of the dead). It varies regionally, and is baked in many shapes, including skulls, human figures, crosses and teardrops, then sprinkled with colored sugar.

Continue reading Foods of the Day of the Dead

Culinary Institute of America Twitter Contest Celebrates 40,000th Graduate

Posted Oct 15th 2009 2:30PM by Slashfood Editor
Filed under: Business, Celebrations, Food News

Photo: jiashiang/flickr

To celebrate the impending graduation of its 40,000th student, the Culinary Institute of America will hold a one-day trivia contest on Twitter on Nov. 4.

Throughout the day, the CIA will ask trivia questions on its @CIACulinary Twitter about everything from its textbook and history to basic cooking techniques. The CIA's Twitter followers who correctly answer the questions will be eligible to win autographed books by CIA graduates such as John Besh and high-end cookware.

Click here to follow the CIA on Twitter.

Becoming a Professional Chef - One Foodie's Tale

Posted Nov 22nd 2008 10:00AM by Bruce Watson
Filed under: Business, How To, America

For many foodies, becoming a professional chef is a little bit like running away to join the circus. It seems impossible, the kind of bold, crazy move that is compelling simply because it is so unlikely. On the other hand, after hearing dinner guests repeatedly praise your cooking and loudly declaring that you should open a restaurant, it is easy to get lost in daydreams of culinary glory, imagining yourself joyfully preparing outstanding food, day after day, for a dining room full of excited, appreciative customers.

To get a better feel for the realities of the cooking trade, I talked to David Herr, a former engineer who followed the ultimate foodie dream and became a professional chef. For him, the path to culinary contentment began with a job that was, increasingly, becoming unenjoyable. After 20 years in the structural engineering field, he found that "Work was drying up, I was burning out, and I wanted something new. Since cooking was an innate part of my life, I decided that that was what I wanted to do next." After a great deal of research, David determined that his best route would be to enter a chef training program at either the Culinary Institute of America or New York City's French Culinary Institute. After a great deal of consideration, he decided to go with The French Culinary Institute, as its six-month program was shorter and cost less than CIA's 2-year course of study.

Continue reading Becoming a Professional Chef - One Foodie's Tale

The Culinary Institute of America Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Oct 13th 2008 8:59PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

I am often skeptical of big, multi-purpose cookbooks. I'm something of a Joy of Cooking girl myself (particularly the edition printed in the late sixties/early seventies) and so I don't always see the utility of having additional huge, all-encompassing cookbooks taking up space on my shelves when I'm always going to turn to Joy.

However, as soon as I opened up the Culinary Institute of American Cookbook, my dedication to Irma Rombauer's opus started to crack just slightly, making me think that it might be a good idea to open myself up to a few more large tomes. There are a number of useful tricks in the introduction, including one that made me slap my hand to my head with its useful obvious. They advise to keep a stick of butter in the freezer and then use a vegetable peeler to detach small bits which will then easily melt on veggies or toast. Genius!

This is a book written and designed for home cooks (as opposed to many of the CIA's publications that are intended for students at the Institute). It's printed on a combination of glossy and matte paper, so that there are several sections of gorgeous pictures, scattered among larger sections of recipes. I was a little disappointed in the recipes, as they seem to be the same collection of world cuisine we see all over these days. There were a couple of recipes that caught my attention, though. I've earmarked the Warm Black-Eyed Pea Salad (page 45), Garlic Cheese Grits (page 183) and Chedder and Thyme Muffins (page 254).

Bottom line: If you have a full-to-bursting shelf of cookbooks, you don't need this book. However, if you're shopping for a cook that is just moving beyond beginner status, this could be a great book to help them walk down that path.

Bistros and Brasseries, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Jul 9th 2008 4:05PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

I have never been to France (just Poland, Hong Kong and Indonesia). However, I dream about going someday, to have an opportunity to taste real French food (particularly the cheese). Until I find the time (and the budget) to make that trip, I've got a new cookbook to help me pretend and prepare. That book is Bistros and Brasseries: Recipes and Reflections on Classic Cafe Cooking. Written by two chef/instructors, John W. Fischer and Lou Jones, from the Culinary Institute of America it is an authentic and tasty collection of recipes that evoke the French bistro.

The book is divided up into six chapters, that focus on Cheeses and Aperitifs, Appetizers and Soups, Pancake and Egg-Based Dishes, Side Dishes, Main Dishes and Desserts in turn. There's also an additional section that discusses foundational cooking knowledge and can be immensely helpful for a novice cook.

For me, one of the marks of a good cookbook is when the writing conveys a personal involvement and appreciation for the food it is trying to convince you to prepare. This volume is so lucious with description that even opening the front cover inspires me to leap up and run to the stove, so that I can prepare the dish. If you are a fan of French cooking and are looking for some fresh spins on classic dishes, this might just be a good cookbook for you.

Book of Soups: More than 100 Recipes for Perfect Soups; Cookbook of the Day

Posted Jan 24th 2007 8:03AM by Nicole Weston
Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

The Culinary Institute of America has put out some great books in the past, all of which are not only good references for home cooks looking for creative recipes, but are great references for those interested in learning as much as possible about cooking techniques. The Culinary Institute of America Book of Soups: More than 100 Recipes for Perfect Soups is no exception. The book covers stocks, cream soups, cold soups and just about any other type of soup that you can think of in great detail, walking you through all the steps needed to perfect your technique. There are over 50 step-by-step instruction sets, as well as tips for correcting consistency and flavor. The emphasis is on classics, such as Vichyssoise, Clam Chowder and Cream of Tomato (which would be perfect with Grilled Cheese), but there are plenty of creative twists on standard flavors to keep things interesting for even adventurous cooks. On top of all the soup recipes, or rather following them, is a chapter dedicated to the accompaniments that can turn any soup into a meal, primarily breads, croutons and crackers.

Jerry Berns of the 21 Club dead at 99

Posted Jan 9th 2007 7:15PM by Joe DiStefano
Filed under: East Coast, Restaurants, Lush Life

With the all the scurrying around that preceded Christmas, I missed the obit for Jerry Berns, the longtime host and co-owner of New York City's famed 21 Club. Berns, who welcomed presidents and celebrities, until he sold the onetime speakeasy in 1985 for $21 million died at the age of 99.

The number 21 figures not only in the club's address (21 W. 52 St.), but it also happens to be the date that the affable Berns passed away, December 21, 2006, to be exact.

Known as Mr. Jerry, Berns was associated with 21 for 50 years. During that tenure he warmly welcomed everyone who walked through the doors from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart to more ordinary folks. Berns also served as a trustee of the Culinary Institute of America. Thanks to his efforts to spur the directors to move the CIA to Hyde Park, N.Y., he was one of the first people to be named to its Hall of Fame.

Incidentally the number plays another eerie role in the restaurant's history. Pete Kriendler, the other co-owner also died on December 21, five years earlier in 2001. As far as I can tell the number 21 has nothing to do with the number of chutes and levers that helped the club avoid detection by the police during its heyday as a speakeasy.

CIA partners with Campbell's, Coca-Cola

Posted Nov 29th 2006 4:00PM by Joe DiStefano
Filed under: Science, America

The Culinary Institute of America has launched an R&D program with several leading food-service players, including The Coca-Cola Co. and Campbell Soup Co. Who knew that the CIA was involved in food-service research? In my mind it's always been more well-known for turning out top chefs.

The other partners in the CIA's Menu R&D and Flavor Discovery Initiative are Tyson Foods and Ventura Foods. Each founding partner has ponied up $250,000 toward the project, which will focus on food science as it pertains to food service.

Applied research that can be published in trade journals is one of the venture's primary goals. The research areas will include flavor discovery, consumer preference and emerging food-service technologies. Perhaps the program's findings will help Hardee's come up with a salad that doesn't break the 800-calorie mark.

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Foods of the Day of the Dead

Culinary Institute of America Twitter Contest Celebrates 40,000th Graduate

Becoming a Professional Chef - One Foodie's Tale

The Culinary Institute of America Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Bistros and Brasseries, Cookbook of the Day

Book of Soups: More than 100 Recipes for Perfect Soups; Cookbook of the Day

Jerry Berns of the 21 Club dead at 99

CIA partners with Campbell's, Coca-Cola

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