Just in time for Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just over a week away, it's time to think about the holiday menu.  My cooking skills ranks somewhere in the novice/amateur category.  I'm pretty skilled with baking, soups and stews - foods that can be ignored while they cook.  But Thanksgiving is the one time of year where I don the apron and try my hand at something complicated. 

Luckily, we don't host the holiday ourselves - relatives have homes that are actually more than two rooms, so they offer the space - so my contribution is one well-crafted dish.  A lot of love and care goes into that one item.  I break out the fancy knives, play with exotic ingredients and pore over complicated recipes.  Essentially, for one day I pretend I'm in cooking school.  This exercise always leaves me wondering: what would it be like to attend cooking school?

Kelly Kingman has the answer to this question.  Spending some time on the campus at the Culinary Institute of America, she met met students and teachers as she attended classes, explored the dorms and tasted the food. It's a unique educational facility and experience. She also shares some helpful tips she picked up on how to improve your own cooking experience.  You can read her article in American Way Magazine. 

(Kelly Kingman has a passion for food, writing and the sustainable food movement.  To read more of her work visit Hudson Grown. Also check Needle and Thread and the Chinatown Night in the New York Times about an adventure she had during my wedding reception.)