Culinary Boot Camp Five Days of Basic Training With the Culinary Institute of America

Experience the intensity of basic training with the "most influential training school for professional cooks" (Time magazine)DAY 1: "Our 'drill sergeant' comes into the room and writes his name on the board. He wears the CIA staff jacket, a green name badge, and the chef's kerchief around his neck, which he later shows us how to tie. 'YOU ARE MINE!' he says with a sly smile on his face, and we know that he's going to give us the guidance we need. He'll be strict, but kind."DAY 2: "Until I went to Boot Camp, I was never very comfortable around (or succeessful with) lots of hot oil in a pan. That was all about to change."DAY 3: "One of the most important terms for dry heat cookingis 'carryover cooking.' Carryover cooking refers to thefact that heat penetrates meat from the outside to theinside, and when you remove it from the oven, the meat willcontinue to cook. That's why it must rest, during which time the carryover cooking continues, the temperature equalizes,and the juices relax and flow through the meat."DAY 4: "Our dessert was a Warm Dark Chocolate Pudding Cake, and it was served with a glass of Quady Elysium from Madera County, California. They named their black muscat dessert wine Elysium because, in their words, 'Drinking this, you can almost feel you have fallen into a rose garden and been transported to heaven.' And I must say I did. I transported myself to bed instead, thinking what an appropriate meal this had been after our first wine lecture, and about the wines I would serve with my own next dinner party."DAY 5: "We sampled each team's handiwork, and as we were polishing off this large meal, our chef stood up to congratulate us and hand out our 'certificates of accomplishment.'"Shulman, Martha Rose is the author of 'Culinary Boot Camp Five Days of Basic Training With the Culinary Institute of America', published 2006 under ISBN 9780764572784 and ISBN 0764572784.