Cooking at the Academy

Master Pastry Chef Bo Friberg expands your culinary repertoire with three stunning desserts. Begin by creating a light, seductive Mendocino Poached Pears with Almond-Pear Sauce. Make a classic short dough and pastry cream base topped with sliced fruit for a perfect Fresh Fruit Tart. Chocolate Mocha Inside-Out Cake is a lesson in layering and cutting with the finesse of a Master Confectioner.

Chef Ian Algerøen begins with the fundamentals of preparing Basic Egg Pasta, with subtle variations such as Lemon Dill Pasta. Learn to roll out, cut, and cook the dough, and to match the cuts and weights of noodles with the right sauces. Later, you'll make Spinach Fettuccine Alfredo, Ravioli of Bay Shrimp and Goat Cheese in White Clam Sauce, and Whole Wheat Pappardelle with Andouilles and Peas.

Poaching and steaming techniques put a bit of culinary magic at your fingertips. Chef Brian Mattingly begins with Poached Beef Tenderloin with a tarragon-flavored Sabayon Sauce. Next, make a quick mousse for Chicken Imperial Ballotine - rolled and poached in a sealed package. Finally, use an Asian-style bamboo steamer to create Chinese Steamed Fish with fragrant lemongrass, ginger, and garlic.

Chef Greg Tompkins illustrates how to make "Philadelphia-style" ice cream with an easy Orange-Buttermilk version, complete with dark chocolate sauce. Next, create a simple Sparkling Wine Sorbet with Strawberry Sauce, followed by Individual Baked Alaska with Italian meringue prepared by Master Pastry Chef Bo Friberg. This lesson includes guidance in flavor components, texture, and terminology.

Exceptional cuisine often begins with mastering the essentials of stocks and sauces. Prepare flavorful beef, chicken, fish, and vegetable stocks with confidence, and transform the stocks into five primary sauces that can take on endless variations. Attention to detail and patience are as important as the correct mirepoix, herb sachet, and roux. Chefs Susan Klugerman and Don Woods.

Nutritious, pleasing textures, easy to make in advance, and filled with honest flavors, homemade soups are infinitely versatile, ranging from delicate first courses to hearty main-dish chowders. Chef Ian Algerøen begins with creamy, aromatic Four Onion Soup. Then try contemporary Grilled Corn Chowder, and refreshing Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho, the chilled "garden soup" of Spain.