16 March 2012

I am humbled or

So that’s what Mac and Cheese is supposed to look like!


Dear Friend,

            If you ever want to be humbled take a few good friends out to lunch and head to the Culinary Institute of America. DeVere, Susan and I did just that and we had an experience any foodie would trade her best ever recipe over. We are fortunate that it is less then ninety minutes away from us and that we could go on a weekday. Weekends are supposed to be unbearably crowded.
entry to CIA 
busy CIA students

Upon arrival, friendly students meandering the courtyard or hurrying to class greeted us. There are 2000 future chefs here and all share the thrill of great food. In fact the logo of the school is “Food is Life / Create and Savor Yours”. We were ready and headed towards the center of the large campus that housed five unique restaurants and a bakery café that showcased the cuisine prepared by the students.
Food is Life/Create and Savor Yours
But unfortunately there was no room at any of them for us except the bakery café. Reservations apparently are recommended specifically for this reason and we had none.  Who would have figured that there would be busloads of other enthusiastic food lovers on a Thursday? But rather than being disappointed, the three of us were overjoyed once we got a peek at this bakery cafe, unlike any we had seen before.

Bakery Cafe


Demo Kitchen or what I now call my dream kitchen

I  hesitated, however, before entering because I knew my weaknesses and bread and pastry headed the list. One deep inhale of fresh baked goodies, though, and I left all my hesitation at the doorway. I reverted to my five your old self and wanted one of everything. Fortunately, DeVere and Susan remained in their grown up bodies and snapped me back to reality.

Can you guess what this is? I ate the whole thing. 



I had to be restrained here

 We ordered caramelized onion and bacon quiche. We questioned how the eggs remained in a layer on top of the other ingredients and were told that it was in the whipping process of the eggs that made them lighter so they did not sink.  We also ordered macaroni and cheese and the secret here was the grating and type of cheese that determined the taste. The salad had a hint of yummy dressing. For dessert (and one does not go to the CIA without ordering dessert), the chocolate mousse satisfied our chocolate desires.

 I now aspire for my mac and cheese to look and taste  like this 


WOW! Unsinkable eggs. I have to strive for this too!

 So find the time and head out to the CIA or at least check it out online and dream.


They sprinkle edible gold dust on the topping

RSVP

Jude

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