At The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), every experience reinforces our belief that food is life. And at our campuses, you'll have every opportunity to create and savor yours.
There's no more dynamic place in the world to study food. Our proven degree programs feature 1,300-plus hands-on kitchen hours. And our outstanding faculty and facilities are just what you need to satisfy your passion.
Leading companies in the food world look to the CIA degree as a valued credential. And our list of celebrated alumni is as diverse as it is long -- including Grant Achatz, John Besh, Cat Cora, Johnny Iuzzini, Melissa Kelly, Charlie Palmer, Alfred Portale, Michael Symon, Roy Yamaguchi and Sherry Yard. They fully embraced the idea that Food is Life. Now it's your turn.
Roughly one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts gluten-free flour blend, this cookie dough is indeed “easy as one, two, three.” Roll this dough out to make cut-out cookies that can be sprinkled with sugar or colored with food dye for holiday celebrations.
Makes around 6-8 large cookies (3-4" in diameter)
4 oz. (1 stick) Butter, unsalted 3 oz. (approx. ½ cup, minus 1 tbsp.) White rice flour 2.3 oz. (approx. ½ cup) Brown rice flour 1 oz. (approx. 3 Tbsp) Potato starch 1.3 oz. (approx. 1/3 cup, minus 1 tsp.) Tapioca starch 2 oz. (1/4 cup) Granulated Sugar 1 Egg, large
Cut the butter into ¼” pieces.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix (by hand or with a paddle attachment on a mixer) until thoroughly combined.
Wrap the dough in plastic or waxed paper.
Refrigerate for at least two hours before use. Depending on the application, it can be held in the refrigerator for two weeks or even frozen for up to two months.
Roll dough out to ¼” thickness onto a lightly dusted clear plastic sheet or clean, gluten-free linen. (Use ¼ cup cornstarch and ¼ cup white rice flour for dusting).
Before cutting shapes, return dough to refrigerator for 15 minutes. Cut the dough with a clean, lightly dusted cookie cutter. Place onto parchment-lined cookie sheet, spaced 1/2" apart. Before baking, pierce the surface of each cookie with a fork.
Cookies can be brushed with cold water, followed by a light dusting of coarse, colored granulated sugar. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Bake approx. 10-15 minutes, or until slight browning of edges form.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet. When cooled, remove to a plate or tray. Cookies can be coated on top with a simple gluten-free glaze: Use 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, mix in 2 to 3 tbsp. of warm water. Mix until smooth. You can add a drop or two more water to make a thinner consistency.
1/4 cup pecans 1 tbsp dried cranberries 1/2 cup boiling water 1 cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth 1 cup diced or julienned butternut squash 1 cup diced or julienned acorn squash 1 cup diced or julienned pumpkin 2 tbsp butter Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper as needed
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the pecans on a shallow baking pan
and toast the pecans approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally,
until brown. Set aside.
Combine the dried cranberries with boiling water. Allow them to plump for 10 to 15 minutes. Chop them coarsely and set aside.
Bring the broth to a boil over high heat in a skillet. Add the
squash and pumpkin. Cover the skillet and simmer over low heat until
tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cover, increase the heat to
high, and allow any excess moisture to cook away, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Drain the cranberries and add them to the skillet along with the
pecans, butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook for
another 2 minutes, stirring gently to distribute all of the ingredients
evenly.
Serve immediately.
Tips: Removing the rind from a hard-skin squash can be a challenge. Give
yourself plenty of room to work, and be sure to cut a thin slice from
the bottom or side of the squash to help it stay flat on the cutting
board. Or you can opt to use frozen cubed squashes instead.
6 bananas, very ripe ¼ lemon, peeled or 1 tsp lemon juice 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour ½ tsp baking powder 1 ¼ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 2 cups sugar 2 large eggs ½ cup vegetable oil ¾ cup chopped toasted pecans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 8-inch loaf pans by spraying lightly with cooking spray or rubbing with softened butter.
Place the bananas, lemon, sugar, eggs, and oil into the Professional Series container and secure lid. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and fold in pecans just until combined.
Divide batter evenly between the loaf pans. Gently tap the filled pans to burst any air bubbles. Bake until the bread springs back when pressed and a tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
Cool the loaves in the pans for a few minutes, then remove the bread from the pans, transfer to cooling racks, and cool completely before slicing and serving or wrapping. They can be held at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 weeks.
Tips:
To quickly chop pecans, place 1 cup of whole toasted pecans into the Professional Series container and secure lid. Select Variable 3. Turn machine on and blend until nuts are chopped.
Create signature dishes the way professional chefs do—with the CIA™ Professional
Series by Vita-Mix. It easily handles the work of many appliances, so you can blend, puree, chop, juice, grind and more, all in one versatile machine.
What better way to spend some quality time with your children this holiday
season than having them help you create something beautiful and delicious in
the kitchen? Making fondant decorations to top your holiday cupcakes or to
simply hang up for the holidays is an excellent opportunity for children to
stretch their imaginations and gives them the opportunity to be proud of
something they can make.
Chef Kate Cavotti, an instructor at The Culinary
Institute of America, has some great ideas about how you can utilize things you
already have around the house to make personalized decorations out of basic
fondant. A combination of sugar and cornstarch, fondant can be decorated in a number
of ways by using stamps, cookie cutters, paint brushes, food color markers,
piping gel, food coloring, or food grade glitter.
The first thing you need to do is purchase ready-made fondant from your
local craft store. You can keep it white, or you can easily color
fondant by kneading in a few drops of food coloring. Once you color it
and cut out the desired shapes, the fondant will need a few hours to
dry and harden. If you are making ornaments, be sure to cut the hole
for a ribbon before the fondant dries. Chef Cavotti suggests getting
the children to help make fondant shapes a day or two before you plan
to decorate.
Cookie cutters are not just for cookies anymore. Use them to cut out fondant
shapes that are perfect for younger children to decorate with food color
markers, colored gels, and food grade glitter.
If you are one of many people who are avid stamping crafters, you can easily
adapt the stamps to make fondant decorations. Just be sure to clean any ink off
them by scrubbing them with a toothbrush in soap and water. Once stamps are
rinsed clean, have the children take food color markers and trace the raised
part of the figure on each stamp to apply color. Once the colored shape is
stamped onto the fondant and the food coloring is dry, the decorations are
ready. You can also let your children continue to color in the figure with the
markers or make them appear 3-D by piping on colored gels, or sprinkle food
grade glitter onto them. To get the glitter to stick, take an artist's paint
brush dipped in water and apply the water to the area you wish covered in
glitter. Take another dry brush and apply the glitter by tapping the brush
holding glitter over the wet areas.
Chef Cavotti suggests making carrot cake cupcakes
with fondant or cream cheese icing as a base for the decorations. Dip the
cupcake in a bowl of powdered sugar or shredded coconut to make it look more
like snow glistening and place the fondant decoration on top. It's a good idea
to stick a toothpick in back of each decoration to insure it will stand up
straight.
When working with children, it always helps to be well-prepared. If possible,
try to have all the baking equipment put away and the decorating supplies laid
out before the youngsters arrive.
The following recipes and other decorating tips can be found in The Culinary
Institute of America's Cake Art cookbook (2008, Lebhar-Friedman), which is available
for purchase at local bookstores or online at www.ciastore.com.
10
medium carrots, peeled and grated (about 6 cups grated)
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans
with a nonstick spray and line the bottoms with a round of parchment
paper. For cupcakes, prepare pans with cupcake liners.
Sift
the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and reserve.
Mix
the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together with a handheld beater or
paddle attachment on medium speed until all ingredients are thoroughly
combined, about 1 minute. Add the sifted ingredients and mix on low speed
until just incorporated. Stir in the carrots by hand.
Divide
batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake the cakes until a skewer
inserted near the center comes out clean, for 8- or 9-inch cakes 80 to 90
minutes, for cupcakes about 25 minutes.
Let
the layers cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning out onto wire
racks to finish cooling. The cakes are ready to fill and frost now, or
they can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for 2 days, or frozen
for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition analysis
per one 2-ounce cupcake: 210 calories, 2g protein, 23g carbohydrate, 1g
fat, 220mg sodium, 30mg cholesterol, less than 1g fiber.
1 cup
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups
confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus extra as needed
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8
teaspoon salt
1/4
cup heavy cream or whole milk plus extra as needed
In
a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium
speed until it is very light in texture, about 2 minutes. Add the
confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and mix on a low speed until
the sugar and butter are blended, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula
as needed. Increase the speed to medium and, with the mixer running, add the
cream in a thin stream. Increase the speed to high and whip the buttercream
until very smooth, light, and with a good spreading consistency. Adjust the
consistency if necessary by adding a bit more confectioners' sugar or cream.
Use to fill, ice, and decorate a cake.
Note: Once
blended, buttercreams can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To
use after refrigeration, let the buttercream soften at room temperature for
about 15 minutes. Transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the
paddle attachment until it has a smooth, light spreading consistency, 3 to 4
minutes.
Mix
cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium
speed until very smooth. Add butter in stages and continue to mix until
very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed to blend
evenly.
Add
the confectioners' sugar and mix on low speed until blended. Beat on high
speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and mix until
completely blended.
