Enter the world of the CIA day courses. Forget weekend warriors, this place is perfect for weekend chefs.

Everyone has their point of weakness. A cuisine that brings them to their knees, fork in hand. For me, it's barbeque and southern cookin'. Recently, the combination of lust for pulled pork and the beauty of the CIA campus combined to provide a double whammy I couldn't resist. A one-day class and I'd be turning out a full southern menu. I was drawn inexorably to Hyde Park. And I came home a better cook for it too.

Riverside Pleasure
The Culinary Institute of America is the oldest culinary college in the United States. Its 150-acre campus, set among rolling hills and mountains, overlooks the Hudson River. Roth Hall, the main building, is the huge, 200,000 square-foot centerpiece of the campus. It houses some of the restaurants, most of the college's 41 kitchens and bakeshops, the theatre (for lectures and demonstrations) and administrative offices. Physically imposing from the outside, a legacy of its origins as a Jesuit seminary, it is elegant and warm on the inside.

I confess to being a bit nervous. I won't bore you with the details of my attempts to be creative in the kitchen, like the time I cooked rice for hours and it still never softened. Let's just say, I'm a rookie and it shows. But, with my characteristic lack of patience, I wanted to become a southern chef -- now. How would that go over in a place where folks spend hours learning how to chop vegetables?

What's Cookin'
I needn't have been concerned. My peers for the day of Soul Food and Low Country Cooking ranged from a group of guys who have taken every single course offered (and that's a mighty high number) to a couple who wanted to spend quality time together carved out from a hectic work week. I might have been a rookie, but I wasn't the only one.

The chef/instructor was kind, and friendly. The assistants - students at the school - were enthusiastic and helpful. When I didn't know something (and there was a lot that fell into this category) they were unfailingly patient and ready to teach.

Although, I'm told, in some of the other one-day courses students make a number of dishes, in this course we split up a mouth-watering menu of she crab soup, buttermilk fried chicken with whipped potatoes, braised collards and country gravy, southern stew burgoo, southern BBQ of pulled pork cole slaw, hush puppies, southern biscuits and chocolate pecan pie with bourbon whipped cream. Just thinking about it quickened my breathing. My team made the cole slaw and the sauces for the pulled pork. While some lamented the slow pace, it provided plenty of opportunities for would-be cooks to watch the chef demonstrate techniques, talk to other students about what they were making, pitch in making other dishes, and sample the freshly finished foods.

When I completed my sauce, I worked on the cole slaw and biscuits, watched she-crab soap being made, and sampled the burgoo, and collard greens, pulled the pork for pulled pork, chatted with others about the techniques they used -- strolling around in my genuine Culinary Institute of America apron with a side towel hanging from the apron strings (and feeling quite professional with a toque sitting a bit askew on my head).

At the end, all the dishes assembled on platters, the wine and hard cider opened, we lined up for the feast and retired to the dining room where linens, silver, and glassware had been arranged. And tucked into our delicious dinner.

The CIA runs an amazing variety of these one-day cook-ins and people attend for a variety of reasons. Quality family time together is a biggie. There are families, husband-wife combos, even groups of friends to love to cook and eat, and learn. Some of the courses are gifts for folks with a passion for a particular cuisine. And some, like me, thought it would simply be lovely to learn to make some of the foods I truly enjoy, and then eat them.

Although there's a full-program of one-day hands-on courses, the CIA also offers one-week boot camps. and special lunches and dinners combining wine and food education with wine and food eating. Oh, heaven!

If You'd Rather Eat Than Cook
For those who want to go directly to the eating, there are four restaurants on the campus, plus the Apple Pie Bakery Café. On a previous visit, we had dinner in the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici, Colavita Center for Italian food and Wine. Although a new building, it feels like the courtyard of a lovely old Italian villa with stone and plaster walls, high ceiling, and elaborate glass lighting fixtures. As the name implies, it is the Italian restaurant with Italian wine selections. The food was delicious, beautifully presented, and the prices are similar to what you'd pay in a fine restaurant.

The American Bounty Restaurant, another warm and welcoming room, celebrates America's cuisine with regional specialties and domestic wines and beers. It also includes a lounge for those who might want to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, or a cocktail before dinner.

The Escoffier Restaurant is, of course, French -- named after the legendary chef Auguste Escoffier. It features elegant pastel décor and table-side presentation of several dishes. Its wine list is international in scope but features the fruit of French vines.

The St. Andrews Café offers a casual dining experience with pizza, vegetarian and grilled entrees, along with wines and ciders.

The baking and pastry arts students handle the Apple Pie Bakery Café. Open during the week (closed weekends) it's a great place for a quick but delicious meal. Innovative as well as classic pastries, muffins, and light lunch foods. Want to just run in and pick up a delectable dessert for dinner? Or just a great hearty bread? The school reserves several parking places alongside the building just for these drop-in visits.

And Still More to Do - Tours and Exploring the Campus
The CIA offers tours of the campus, led by eager students as a part-time job. We watched them struggle with recalcitrant blenders, carefully measure raw bread dough, clean up mega-mixers. We saw a display of gorgeously decorated cakes, and the homework assignments of making squiggles, artfully of course. We learned that even a humble activity such as cubing vegetables is a serious activity.

It's fun and if you're going to be up on a day tours are offered, it's a fascinating look at the way chefs are made. Most of the buildings are named after a person or a business, including the Danny Kaye Theatre. In addition to being an entertainer, Danny Kaye was an accomplished amateur chef. When he died his daughter Dena wanted to honor his memory by combining his two loves...thus a cooking theater. They have many of the items from his collection, but the highlight for me was actually the hand prints of great chefs mounted on the walls of the theater. The bookstore is also worth a visit. They sell cooking utensils, cook books, interesting foods, coffees, teas, and aprons with the CIA logo. There is one serious drawback to taking a cooking course at the CIA - when you get home all your friends besiege you with requests for a dinner party. Yep. I know this one from personal experience.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Makes 2 pies Crust: 4 cups flour 1 1/4 cups shortening 3/4 cup butter 1 tsp salt 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp cider vinegar Mix flour and salt Cut shortening and butter into flour until it resembles cornmeal In a separate bowl mix egg, milk and vinegar Add wet mix to dry mix and blend until smooth Form into 2 discs, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1/2 hour Flour surface and roll out to fit pie pan Blind bake for 20-30 minutes @ 350 degrees. Let cool. Filling: 4 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 4 oz melted butter 1 tablespoon vanilla 3 cups pecans 12 oz chopped chocolate In a medium bowl whisk eggs with sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and melted butter Sprinkle the chocolate and pecans into pre-baked pie crusts Pour egg misture gently over the pecans and chocolate and bake for 45 minutes or until the filling has risen lsightly and is set. Let cool before slicing.

© 2004 (January)

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