Here is one the best summer desserts recipe from our Pastry Arts class. The next Pastry Arts program starts September 7th. Enjoy!

La Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough)
Pie Dough

Ingredients: Y=1 ½ lb. or 3 ea. 9” tart shells
12 oz. AP flour
8 oz. Butter, cold
4 oz. Water, very cold or iced
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. White or cider vinegar, lemon juice

Techniques/Method:

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Cut the butter into 1/2″ pieces. Add and toss in the flour mixture. Squeeze into nickel to dime sized pieces (flat and disc shaped), working quickly to keep the butter cold and firm.
3. Starting with ¾ of the water and all the vinegar, add and mix just enough until dough sticks together when squeezed tightly. Add more water if needed a bit at a time, gently mix to moisten flour evenly and do not overwork. Dough is ready when most of it sticks together when squeezed.
4. Dump the dough onto the work surface and bring together using a pressing and folding motion (do not knead).
5. Portion, wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes. Overnight is best. Roll out as needed.
6. Shape and chill.
7. Blind bake or fill pie shell as needed. Bake at 425° until crust has reached desired doneness. Lower the temperature if needed to finish baking without burning the edges.
Dough can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few months if well wrapped.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups Strawberries, hulled and quartered
4 cups Rhubarb, cut into ½” dice
6 oz. Sugar, or more or less depending on the tartness of the fruit
3 Tbs. Cornstarch
½ ea. Orange, zested
½ tsp. Lemon juice
1 Tbs. Butter, chopped in ½” cubes
1 ea. Egg – lightly beaten for egg wash

Techniques/Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine cut strawberries and rhubarb in a bowl. Add rest of ingredients except for the butter and mix to combine.
3. Taste and adjust sweetening and/or lemon juice if needed.
4. Roll out pate brisee and line a 9” pie pan. The dough should not be thicker than ¼”. Pour filling into pie shell. Scatter the chopped butter over the filling. Roll out remaining dough to no thicker than ¼” and cut into strips about an inch wide. Form a lattice top over the filling and crimp the edges of the lattice and bottom crust together with a fork.
5. Place pie on a baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Place pie in the oven and let bake for about 40 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is light golden brown

The Kitchen at Le Bernadin

It was just a normal Monday night here in Boulder… In New York, however, if you’re Amy Poweski, it was one that would be remembered forever. Amy, a CSR graduate of Culinary Arts July 2007, is doing a stage at Le Bernadin in New York City. Last night, she completed day one of fourteen she would be spending in the upscale, fine-dining restaurant known world-wide for their simplistic, elegant meals. Amy not only met chef and owner Eric Ripert, she plated dessert for the Prince of Saudi Arabia along with the Zagat family.  Congratulation, Amy. CSR is so proud and can’t wait to hear about the rest of the stage!

Karen Harbour

Check it out! Chef Track student Karen Harbour is on Fox 31 News at 8:45am Thursday morning, June 25. Karen is the owner of the Tea Spot in Boulder. She specializes in cooking with teas and will be doing a demo during a segment featuring the new movie My Sisters Keeper. Karen will be preparing a number of items during her on-air appearance including Mate Limon Tequila Roasted Corn on the Cob, Green Tea Smoked Salmon, and Grilled Pineapple Drizzled in Mango Tango Simple Syrup. All of her dishes utilize teas from her shop. In addition to her news debut, Karen was also featured in the most recent issue of Travelgirl magazine. Here is one of Karen’s delicious recipes:

Mate Limon Tequila Roasted Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

·         6 ears corn

·         ¼ cup tequila or apple cider vinegar

·         1 lime, zest and juice

·         3 TBS butter, at room temp

·         Tea-Sonings: Tea + Seasonings = Tea-Sonings

Mix the following ingredients

o        1 TBS MATE LIMON CHAI, finely grounded

o        1 TBS sugar

o        1 tsp garlic powder

o        1 tsp cayenne pepper

o        1 tsp salt

o        1 tsp pepper

·         Oil for cooking grate

Method:

1.        Preheat grill until hot. Scrape grate clean.  Lightly dip small wad of paper towel in oil, holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.

2.         Peel back cornhusks and remove silk. In a mixing bowl, combine tequila or vinegar, lime zest and juice, butter and Tea-sonings. Brush butter Tea-soning completely over corn. Close husks and set aside until grill is hot.

3.        Place corn indirectly on grill and cook for about 10 minutes until tender and lightly browned, turning occasionally.

4.        Enjoy warm!

2008 Farm Dinner

Culinary Arts Farm to Table Program begins in a mere few weeks. CSR is getting the professional kitchen ready (semi-annual spring cleaning!) and our partner farms on the Western Slope of Colorado are eagerly anticipating our return. One in particular, Zephyros Farm and Garden in Paonia, can’t wait to have our Culinary Arts students back. September 15^th, CSR and Zephyros Farm and Garden will host our second annual Farm Dinner. The Culinary Arts students will create a fantastic meal on the farm with produce and proteins harvested directly from the land. The dinner is a celebration of life on the farm, featuring the bounty of ingredients that are plentiful and sustainable. “It was the most amazing meal we had to date and we can not wait to do it all over again,” says Don Lareau, owner of Zephyros Farm and Garden. The public is welcome and invited to attend the dinner. Purchase tickets here http://www.zephyrosfarmandgarden.com/content/774

After six months of rigorous culinary training,10 students in CSR’s Culinary Arts France Program will graduate.  (This is bitter-sweet for CSR. This is the last class to include the France externship. However, we are very proud that our future programs are all Farm-to-Table focused.)  The students have tested their limits, ”cooked” in the pressure cooker and are now finished. These talented students have been in our kitchen for 6 months and spent a five-week externship in Avignon, France learning classic French cuisine from masters of the industry. Chef Instructors Adam Dulye and Rebecca Peizer have taught these culinary students everything from brunoise to braising. We are all excited to share in the future accomplishments and successes of these students.

Items on tonight’s buffet includes:  Quail Stuffed Mushrooms, Twice Baked Fingerling Potatoes, Duck Meatball with Heirloom Tomato Sauce, and Lemon Mousse Vol au Vents. Culinary School of the Rockies extends best wishes to all of the students and a big congratulations.

Chef Tracks Toasts To A Great Class

It was an evening filled with smoked trout, local produce and cheeses, breads from around the world, mushroom “cappuccinos“, strawberry rhubarb stuffed pork, and braised bison brisket. The Chef Track students worked hard and felt the pressure of working in a kitchen last night as they put out a celebratory meal for eighty friends and family.  The students presented their dishes by describing each one as they placed it on the buffet table, whereby the guests helped themselves to the fabulous foods. Guests of the Chef Track program applauded loudly for their friends and family as they received their diplomas. Each guest left with a smile and a full belly.

Chef Adam Prepping in the James Beard House Kitchen

Chef Traci Des Jardins

In a recent article published by Forbes, the magazine said that female chefs are the new rising stars in kitchens across America. Women are firing up grills and flambéing their way towards rebuilding the high-end restaurant scene by crafting down-to earth menus and affordable dishes. Working in a world dominated by men, women are chopping along, proving to be the underdogs in a struggling niche market of fine food and dining. Featured in the article is Chef Traci Des Jardins, one of the few female veterans of the upscale culinary world. Chef Jardins is now the owner of her own mini-empire including restaurants such as Mijita, Jardiniere, and the Acme Chophouse.  CSR also has some powerhouse female graduates who are making waves in the culinary world. Culinary Arts graduates Sylvia McGrath and Cathy Wearp just opened their own restaurant named Cilantro, which is located in Ft. Collins. Kelly Simonton is the chef at Empire Café in Louisville and Adia Benson is working as a cook at d.b. Bistro Moderne, owned by Daniel Boulud in New York. Traci Des Jardins, along with Culinary School of the Rockies alumnae are becoming role models for a new generation of female chefs sprouting up around the country.

Did you know in the past 20 years, the enrollment of female students at Culinary Institute of America has nearly doubled? And, 30% of the James Beard Foundation “Who’s Who” are women, and 40% of national celebrity chefs on TV are women. As for CSR, 54% of our students are female.

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Ahoy. The Pastry Arts Spring classes graduation sailed its way to success this afternoon. This Pirates of the Caribbean themed graduation was filled with pate a choux skulls, skull and cross bone shortbread, and the big hit of the day sculpted cake that exactly resembled The Black Pearl pirate ship. It was even complete with a steamy caldron of pirate punch. There was loot and booty to be found in nearly every inch of the kitchen. Gold cookies that looked like hidden treasure were scattered throughout and every guest was clearly impressed. The students did a marvelous job. The food was delicious and the chefs, staff and students are extremely proud!