The Art of the Plate: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Chicago Field Trip

Chicago at night

As part of the Maymester Special Topics course on Chicago Street Food, the class took a Chicago Field Trip to taste the real thing. Led by former Chi-town resident Culinary Department Chair Michael Carmel, the trip was a real success!

The class arrives!

Transportation: The L

Had to have a Chicago dog

China Town

Navy Pier

Bel 50 for waffle anything

Maxwell Street for tacos with handmade tortillas

Chef Carmel's CIA Alumni party

Doughnuts all over town: The Doughnut Vault,
Firecakes, and Glazed and Infused!

Chi-town pizza at Lou Malnati’s

The Sloppy Goat at The Little Goat Diner

Brunch at The Purple Pig

Great time at the National Restaurant Show

Took in a game

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Spring Farm to Plate Class Trips

The Spring 2013 Farm to Plate class hit the road, going on day trips around the Lowcountry and a three-day field trip to Asheville. There were so many pictures that we combined them in a book.

Culinary Institute of Charleston Farm to Plate Class Spring 2013

What We're Reading

“Eating from the Ground Up”

Out just in time for the vegetables appearing at our farmers markets, Alana Chernila’s cookbook focuses on creatively using every root and leaf. While some of the recipes may be familiar concepts – think stuffed tomatoes – hers are packed with millet, basil, and parsley. Fried rice stars salmon, fennel, and Swiss chard stems. Roasted asparagus are sauced with a combo of butter, garlic, nutritional yeast, and tamari. Stone fruit, raw corn kernels, scallions, basil, and jalapeño make a cool salad for hot weather. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

"Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes"

“This book is my homage to the cuisine of my family,” Chef Todd Richards writes in his autobiographical collection of essays and recipes. “These are the ingredients of my people. This is my sermon about my Soul food.”

Bringing accolades for his stints at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons, James Beard nominations, and, of course, his prowess at Southern cooking, Richards seasons the pot with a powerful bouquet of flavors as he pays his heritage forward. Collards cooked with ham hocks are accented with piquant pickled collard stems. Blueberries are found in fried pies; strawberries are plated with champagne aspic, whipped cream, and honey. Grilled peaches pair with radishes on toast spread with pimiento cheese. Sweet potatoes are layered with cauliflower and crab in a lush gratin.

"Soul food," Richards tells us, "is the original cuisine of the South, born from an involuntary collision of cultures."
Published by Southern Living. $35.