CIA Boot Camp – Day 4

This is part 4 of a 5 part series on my adventures at the CIA Boot Camp. You can see other posts here:

Topics covered in the Day 4 lecture, and reinforced in the kitchen included:

  • Moist-Heat and Combination Cooking

Day 4 we learned about and practiced poaching, shallow poaching, deep poaching, simmering, boiling, braising, stewing, and steaming

Fun Facts we learned today:

  • To be truly called ice cream, it has to be made with 80% heavy cream.
  • When you double a recipe, you don’t always want to double the aromatics and spices.
  • Searing is done for flavor, color, texture, and appearance. It does NOT seal in juices, it actually dries food out a bit.

Team 1 (my team) prepared:

  • Tarragon Chicken
  • Whipped Sweet Potatoes
  • Roasted Herbed Root Vegetables

Tarragon Chicken
Tarragon Chicken
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Herbed Root Vegetables
Roasted Herbed Root Vegetables

Team 2 prepared:

  • Ossobuco Milanaise
  • Saffron Risotto
  • Braised Swiss Chard

Ossobuco Milanaise
Ossobuco Milanaise
Saffron Risotto
Saffron Risotto
Braised Swiss Chard
Braised Swiss Chard

Team 3 prepared:

  • Poached Red Snapper Veracruz
  • Aromatic Rice
  • Drunken Beans

Poached Red Snapper Veracruz
Poached Red Snapper Veracruz
Aromatic Rice
Aromatic Rice
Drunken Beans
Drunken Beans

Yet another day of amazing food. It’s difficult to convey how much fun, and work, all of this was. And I don’t think the pictures do it justice either. By the end of Day 4 we had learned so much. And Day 5 was to be our most interesting day. Each team receives a market basket of food. We have to prepare a first course (appetizer, etc) and an entree. We must use some of each item in our basket. So, of course, we had a lot of homework on Thursday night!

Got questions about my CIA Boot Camp experience? Leave a comment below or use my contact page.

This is the fourth in a series of 5 blog posts on my adventures at the CIA. Look for the series to continue for the next few Fridays. To view other posts:

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One thought on “CIA Boot Camp – Day 4”

  1. I thought that searing DOES seal in the juices. I wonder who started that rumor if it’s not true?

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