FAVORITE RECIPE FROM ITALY

TORTELLI di PATATE al FUNGHI PORCINI Serves 4

Egg Pasta:

7 ounces semolina flour

2 eggs

Pinch salt

Place the flour on a flat surface. Make a crater in the center. Break the eggs and sprinkle the salt into the crater. Mix the ingredients together rigorously until you obtain a smooth and even mixture. Bring the dough together with your hands and form a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and let it set for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling and sauce.

Filling:

13 ounces white potatoes, boiled and mashed

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 ounce extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

1 1/2 ounces grated Grana Padano cheese

Dash nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil and saute the garlic, rosemary, and pancetta. Removed the pancetta and add to the potatoes. Mix in the eggs and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sauce:

10 ounces fresh porcini mushrooms

1 1/2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 ounce butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Salt to taste

1 1/2 ounces grated Grana Padano cheese, optional

Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Clean the caps with care, rubbing them lightly with a wet cotton cloth or soft brush. Remove the green sponge from beneath the caps. Cut the caps into small cubes.

Heat the olive oil with the garlic. Add the porcini and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and parsley. Season to taste with salt. Cook 2 more minutes.

Put on a pot of water to boil. Roll the pasta dough very thin. Cut disks about 5 centimeters in diameter. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the centers. Close and prick with a fork. Boil the tortelli in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain. Mix cheese with sauce if using cheese and dress tortelli with sauce.

OUT OF OUR GOURDS!

AND THE WINNERS OF THE GARDE MANGER PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST ARE:

MOST SKILLFUL: Indian Head by Ms. Dos Santos, Ms. Brasfield and Ms. Collier

MOST NOVEL: Turkey by Lee Evans

MOST UTILIZATION: Roses by Chancel Nuque

CHEF HUFF CUTS IT UP AT STATE FAIR!

MORE FROM ITALY!!!

FIRST PICTURES FROM ITALY!

! HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

   BOO!

GULLAH LUNCHEON FOR VISITING BCA PRESIDENT ALEX ASKEW

Monday, October 8th.

CIC students and Chef Instructors showed Chef Alex Askew, Founder and President of the Black Culinarian Alliance and pictured left with TTC President Dr. Mary Thornley, the flavor of the Lowcountry by producing a Gullah Heritage Luncheon in the Mikasa Dining Room.

Featuring recipes from Sallie Ann Robinson's cookbooks “Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way” and “Cooking the Gullah Way Morning, Noon, & Night,” published by U. N. C. Press, the menu was:

Pork Chops with Cornbread Stuffing
Chicken and Rice

Hand-Tossed Fluffy Biscuits
Cooper River Smuttered Shrimp
Served with Grits

Sea Island Okra Gumbo
Pecan Crunch Cookies and ‘Fuskie Pear Bread

REMEMBER THE HCSA MEETING ON WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17th.

Hello All,

My fellow officers, our club's advisers, and I would like to extend our heart-felt appreciation for the numerous hours of so many of you have sacrificed in an effort to support our community, showcase our talents, and bring attention to our alma mater and the benefits it offers the Tri-County area.

The many members of the HCSA as individuals give our time to community projects that touch us in a personal way, whether by donating blood to the Red Cross, tutoring fellow students, or feeding the hungry.

Collectively, members of the HCSA have honored our men and women of the armed forces with care packages, helped to create opportunities for children with cancer and their siblings to share new experiences in a safe and fun environment, laid the foundation for a very successful fund raising event benefiting the National Kidney Foundation, wowed the public,(with the unbelievable talents and contributions of Brian Conner of Ice Age Ice Sculptures) at the Taste of Charleston - and we are just getting started!

Three projects we hope you will support in the upcoming months are:

1) The Bakers Dozen Baskets: 13 Thanksgiving Dinners for elderly shut-ins, partially funded by Krispy Kreme Doughnut sales and contributions from the HCSA assets. Ten of the baskets are distributed by Trident Area Agency on Aging. Three of the baskets are given to Trident Tech employees who deserve a little help for their loyalty and dedication to our school.

2) Hot Dog Sales on Thursdays (beginning soon) to raise funds that will be earmarked for air-conditioning upgrades in the RF Center in which many of the group activities take place during Camp Happy Days in July each year. Camp Happy Days is sponsored by Happy Days and Special Times, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting kids with cancer and their families. It is also the organization the HCSA supports by providing student assistants and monetary assistance for the Kickin' Kitchen, an interactive culinary program that operates twice each year, once for 7 days, in July, during kids camp and again for 3 days, in October, during family camp.

3) The Angel Tree, which will take place for two weeks after Thanksgiving and is an opportunity for individuals students of TTC/CIC, class members participating as a group, and TTC/CIC students' family members and friends to fill the wish lists of elementary youth who are not likely to receive the bounties most of us take for granted during the Holiday Season. Each "Angel" will represent the wish list of items needed/wanted by an individual child from Memmenger Elementary School downtown Charleston. We have set a maximum spending limit of $25.00 per child in hopes that as many of you who would like to participate can do so without placing an undo burden on your own finances. The dates on which you will be able to choose an Angel are November 26 and December 3. There will be two collection dates for the items purchased to be turned in un-wrapped: November 30th and December 7th.
The successful outcomes of these worthwhile endeavors will be determined by the measure of commitment and participation of our members and our ability to promote awareness and interest in these projects. Each of you can make a valuable contribution in one way or another.

Please come to the next meeting of the HCSA. Meetings are held during student activity periods, in room 407 (the Amphitheater) in the 920 building and lunch is provided. So join us on Wednesday, October 17 from 11:30-12:30 for fellowship and to learn about the many opportunities for students, who are equipped with the necessary skills, to join the many Hospitality and Culinary firms that contact the Culinary Institute of Charleston searching for future managers, employees and associates.

At Your Service,
Gayle P. Rawlins
President HCSA

MORE FUN FROM THE TASTE OF CHARLESTON!

BCA President Visits CIC

This weekend, Black Culinarian Alliance President Alex Askew (left) flew down from New York to spend a few days at CIC. He took a break from his jam-packed schedule to go out to Boone Hall Planation on Sunday afternoon where Director of Operations Michael Saboe and Chef David Vagasky took him in hand to show him some local flavor at the "Taste of Charleston."

TASTE of THE TASTE!

The skies were blue as the crowds lined up for a beautiful day at Boone Hall Plantation on Sunday to partake in the Taste of Charleston. CIC's ice sculpture luge, crafted by Brian Connors of Ice Age Sculptures, proved the perfect vehicle for snow cone syrup. Total snow cone sales were over 1,200! They were just the right treat to enjoy while watching Chef Ward Morgan demonstrate his ice carving skills.

CIC Chef Miles Huff proved to be a talented MC at the demo tent, where CIC students assisted such Charleston culinary stars as Chef Frank Lee of Slightly North of Broad (shown above).

Check the website below for more pictures:

http://www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com/taste_of_charlestonpictures.php

CIC FISHMASTER STRIKES AGAIN!

In case you don't recognize him without his whites on, that's CIC Chef Ben Black holding up a magnificent 23-pound red grouper. He reeled it in 45 miles off of Charleston on Sunday, September 23rd.

No need for fish tales when you have the proof in hand!

TOP CHEFS STAR IN CIC'S FALL 2007 GUEST CHEFS SERIES

The CIC Fall 2007 Guest Chefs Series kicks off on Friday, September 14th with a demonstration by Culinary Institute of Charleston Chefs Council member Chef Brett McKee of OAK Steakhouse.

Next up on the calendar is another CIC Chefs Council Member, Chef Bob Waggoner of Charleston Grill at Charleston Place, who will be teaching on Wednesday, October 17th.

On Friday, October 19th, Chef John Marshall of Al di La will share his culinary skills with CIC students.

For the final appearance of the Fall Series, on Wednesday, November 14th, Chef Scott Crawford will come up from The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia. Crawford, who is Chef de Cuisine for the Cloister's fine dining restaurant, The Georgian Room, previously was at the Black Cat in San Francisco and The Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island, Florida, and was Executive Chef at The Woodlands Resort and Inn Relais & Chateaux property in Summerville.

Established to offer experienced leaders in the culinary industry the opportunity to share their knowledge with CIC students, the Guest Chef Series brings these culinary luminaries to the CIC amphitheater broadcast kitchen for live demonstrations of their signature techniques and cooking methods.

A COLD DAY IN GARDE MANGER

Wednesday, September 5th -

It was Polar cold in Chef Ward Morgan's class today when Garde Manger students cut ice under the artistic guidance of Chef Morgan and Brian Connors of Ice Age Sculptures. A former instructor in the culinary department at TTC and a leader in his field, Connors' work can be seen in the video at the top of the blog.

'' 'Physically and aesthetically, ice brings out the food, while holding it at the optimal temperature,''' ice artist Shintaro Okamoto said in an August 27th New York Times article on the fashionable status of ice carvings. "'The restaurateur David Bouley, an early adopter of Okamoto's creations, has shipped fresh ice vessels packed in dry ice to Barcelona for an event with Ferran Adrià, the chef at El Bulli. Recently, Bouley had the studio carve 200 serving bowls for a seven-part riff on cherry tomatoes. Okamoto also cuts ice into sleek trays for Olivier Cheng, the caterer, who uses them for passing delicate canapés. But probably Okamoto's most recognizable work was the ice Buddha that was featured in the dining room at Megu in Manhattan.'

"With his ice sculptures, Okamoto has turned a mundane necessity -- keeping food cold -- into an art. And he has given top chefs, who can do only so much with their Bernardaud china, a new medium for impressing diners. For an event at the New York Public Library, the studio sculptured replicas of the lions that flank the library's entrance and set a caviar service between their shoulder blades."

Aspiring ice artists, take these words to heart. You just took the first steps to becoming an official "Chill Seeker."

SCETV Special, "Carolina Chefs Charleston" Aired Again on August 26th

SCETV's exciting culinary documentary on Charleston cuisine, Carolina Chefs Charleston, aired again on August 26th. Starring CIC Chef Council Members Chef Donald Barickman of Magnolias(pictured above left), Chef Frank Lee of Slightly North of Broad (pictured right), Chef Brett McKee of OAK Steakhouse, Chef Frank McMahon of Hank's Seafood, and Chef Bob Waggoner of Charleston Grill, the program was shot with the chefs cooking both in their restaurants and in the demonstration kitchen amphitheater at the Culinary Institute of Charleston.