The Art of the Plate: July 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Chef Morgan and Kid's Cooking Camp Featured

Kid's College Cooking
Trident Tech's offering of week-long courses continues to expand
By Diane Knich The Post and Courier Wednesday, July 14, 2010
"They've fried catfish, made chicken marsala, shocked broccoli and baked cookies. And the students in culinary boot camp at Trident Technical College this week are still in elementary school.

"The class is one of more than 100 week-long courses being offered this summer through Trident's Kids' College. Youths from 7 to 16 can take half-day classes in many subjects, including the culinary arts, sciences and computers, Kids' College director Michele Shinn said. Most classes are for 8- to 11-year-olds or for 12- to 16-year-olds.

"Eight-year-old Gabrielle Bouchard said she took the cooking boot camp class because 'my mom does it a lot and sometimes I help her.' Gabrielle was part of a group that was making chicken marsala Tuesday afternoon. Another group made broccoli, rice and cookies. At the end of each half-day class, the children, who ranged in age from 8 to 11, sit down and share the meal they have prepared."
For the photo gallery: http://www.postandcourier.com/photos/galleries/2010/jul/14/kids-college-summer-camps/
For the video: http://www.postandcourier.com/videos/2010/jul/14/1170/
Photo: Mary Austin, The Post and Courier

Friday, July 2, 2010

CIC Grad & Middleton Place Restaurant Executive Chef Featured in Post & Courier

Middleton Place Chef Talks About Sustainable Seafood
By Angel Powell, Special to The Post and Courier Thursday, July 1, 2010

Micah Garrison took the role of executive chef at Middleton Place Restaurant in 2006 after cooking at classic Lowcountry restaurants such as Boone Hall Plantation, Cypress and 82 Queen.
These days, Garrison is spending much of his time in the production gardens at Middleton, trying to be as self-sustaining as possible. He is a two-time winner of the Sustainable Seafood Initiative Award sponsored by the South Carolina Aquarium.
For the rest of the story, see: http://www.charlestonscene.com/news/2010/jul/01/micah-garrison/

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.