Celebrate the flavors of the spring as our renowned Culinary Institute of America chefs bring you five delicious recipes, which are perfect for the season.
Delicious Dishes for Every Season: Spring
Taste all the freshness of spring flavors, produce, and recipes-all without the box subscription.
Overview
About
Bill Briwa (1957–2018) was a Professor of Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and worked in the hospitality industry as a professional chef and culinary instructor for more than 30 years. He was the resident chef for The Hess Collection Winery in California’s Napa Valley, the executive chef for The Wine Spectator Restaurant at the CIA at Greystone, and an officer on the board of the St. Helena Farmers’ Market. As a member of the Industry Services Group at the CIA, he worked closely with a range of corporate clients to help them realize their culinary goals. Chef Briwa was a speaker, presenter, and judge at numerous professional conferences, gatherings, and competitions in the culinary world. He presented at the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and spoke at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. His writing on food and wine, olive oil, and cooking was featured in Fine Cooking, Mise en Place, and Sunset, as well as in the trade publications Flavor & the Menu and Practical Winery & Vineyard Journal.
Stephen L. Durfee is a Pastry Instructor at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, where he has been on staff for more than 10 years. He is a Certified Executive Pastry Chef and a Certified Hospitality Educator. Before then, he was the Executive Pastry Chef at The French Laundry in Yountville, California. While there, he won the 1998 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef and in 1999, he was named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier magazines. Chef Durfee's extensive career includes working as a pastry chef at Charles Nob Hill in San Francisco, California, and at the Wheatleigh in Lenox, Massachusetts; and as a pastry instructor at the New York Cooking School (where he earned his certificate in pastry/baking). He also apprenticed at restaurants in Paris and ChambEry, France. Chef Durfee has also participated in and judged numerous cooking competitions and challenges. In 2007, he represented the CIA at the National Pastry Team Championships, where his team won a bronze medal. In 2010, he finished third in the World Chocolate Masters competition. In 2012, he won the position of chocolatier on the U.S. team that will compete in the Coupe du Monde de P,tisserie in Lyon, France, in 2013.
01: Tortilla Española and Sherry
A tradition of Mediterranean small dishes exists all around the Mediterranean region, which is perfect for light dining fare during the spring. Among the most well-known are tapas from Spain, typically enjoyed as separate from a meal and with sherry. Join Chef Briwa as he demonstrates how to prepare three easy and delicious complementary tapas: a Spanish tortilla, stuffed olives, and Padron peppers.
19 min
02: Potato Leek Pizza
Try a tasty twist on a traditional favorite with a healthier version of pizza that incorporates a light spring vegetable that is often overlooked: the leek. Part of the allium family and related to onions, garlic, shallots, scallions, chives, and Chinese onions, leeks are used in numerous cuisines around the world. This delicious pizza is surprisingly easy and flexible, working well with a variety of cheeses and pairing deliciously with a number of other dishes.
14 min
03: Spatchcocked Chicken
Spring is not usually a season associated with heavy meat dishes, but Chef Briwa shows you an innovative way to prepare chicken in a fast, efficient, and exceptionally tasty manner, a dish which goes seamlessly with the warmer days this season brings. Spatchcockin (as it’s called in England) or crapaudine (as it’s called in France) allows you to roast a chicken perfectly in about 20 minutes. And wait until you see how he uses a brick!
7 min
04: Southeast Asian Spaghetti Squash Salad
With an abundance of produce springing in spring, salads are a staple of the season, but they don’t have to be limited to lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. Chef Briwa introduces you to a Southeast Asian salad that incorporates chicken, fruit, a spicy dressing, and a special touch: spaghetti squash. If you've never used spaghetti squash before, this is a great introduction to what it can do in your kitchen and it makes for a delicious and refreshingly unique spring salad.
11 min
05: Panna Cotta
For a lovely, cool dessert to top off your perfect spring picnic, discover the deliciousness of panna cotta. Panna cotta, which literally means “cooked cream,” has the rich, luxurious quality of a custard, but in fact, it’s not a custard; it’s a cream-based dessert thickened with gelatin. Join Chef Durfee to discover how incredibly easy panna cotta is to make, and how the delicious dish allows for such variation and versatility.
8 min
