The Art of the Plate: October 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Former CIC student Cole Poolaw gets his first review at Barsa

"Spicy, succulent tapas selections ignite the appetite with fire and flavor at Barsa Tapas, Lounge, & Bar, the uptown eatery conceived by restaurateur Drazen Romic, the owner and manager of Lana Restaurant and Bar. ...

"At the young age of 23, chef Cole Poolaw commands respect for his proficient delivery of an intricate menu requiring balance, authenticity, and diversity of ingredients. We found his preparations to be attractive, satisfying, and well executed and also appreciated his occasional presence in the dining room to briefly visit with guests. In addition to the regular menu, Barsa expands daily offerings with a Monday food and beverage night honoring industry employees, reduced prices for wines by the bottle on Wednesday, and Thursday-night sangria specials."
Barsa 58 Line St., (843) 577-5393
Cole with Chef Tory McPhail during the 2008 Charleston Wine + Food Festival

http://www.barsatapas.com/
For the full review: http://www.charlestonmag.com/charleston_magazine/feature/barsa

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

CIC's First Haunted Gingerbread House Competition!

The HCSA Baking & Pastry Club is sponsoring the school's first Haunted Gingerbread House Competition.Pick up entry forms from Chef Wilson's door: 920/112M.Completed forms are due by Friday, Oct. 21.
Completed Houses of Horror are due by Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Winner and First Runner-Up will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.
Get creepy with those confections!

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.