Hot on the heels of my Israel trip in March, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) outpost in Napa Valley offered a one-day class on how to make Middle Eastern street foods. I signed up immediately, and the $75 half-day class was one of the best cooking lessons I’ve ever taken.

What made it great was its intense hands-on experience—no pre-prepared dishes, no watching the chef demonstrate steps, no slacking off while your partner does most of the work. After he taught us where to find the needed ingredients and equipment, along with some basic rules—how to handle knifes (from cutting to cleaning), operate the ovens, and properly maintain and clean your work space—our chef instructor Andy Wild treated us as if we were regular full-time students and knew our way around a professional kitchen.

Burns and cuts were entirely likely.

Eleven of us showed up that April morning and were paired into groups of two, with less than 90 minutes to prepare, cook and display our dishes, after which we would get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I drew the proverbial short straw and worked alone, which meant if my dish was inedible, there was no one to blame but moi.

I was charged with making Lamb Kofta With Raita (skewered ground lamb with yogurt-cucumber sauce), which also meant I had to prepare two items, alone, so I needed to haul ass. The sauce needed to chill for at least 30 minutes before it could be served, so I began with grating English cucumbers then mixing them with yogurt, fresh squeezed lemon juice, minced mint leaves, kosher salt and freshly minced garlic made into a paste.

Sounds easy enough, yes? It was, save for the garlic. It takes more strength and repeated mincing to get garlic cloves into a paste than I had anticipated, but I’ve since become a pro at it and regularly include the tasty treat in other dishes.

The raita chilling in the fridge, I moved onto the lamb, which also wasn’t too difficult to prepare since I was able to use packaged ground lamb as opposed to grinding it myself. The time sink is in mincing all the ingredients—Italian parsley, green onions, mint leaves—while the clock keeps ticking. If you’re the type of cook who makes sure all your slices are even, this can take a while—and end up frustrating non-perfectionist (read: less anal) cooks in the kitchen. Chef Wild kept glancing at my slow slicing and at one point offered to speed up my process by cutting the onions for me, but I politely declined. I could do this!

Once kneaded with the salt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and freshly ground black pepper, I shaped the lamb paste into little sausages, slid them onto skewers and placed them over a medium-hot fire, turning regularly until all sides were brown, about eight to 10 minutes. I started cooking the koftas with about 12 minutes to go.

Tip: If using wood skewers, make sure to soak them in water first so they don’t catch on fire while over the flames.

As Chef Wild called out how much time remained, we scurried around trying to avoid crashing into each other as we finished our dishes and scrambled to find just the right serving plates to garnish and perfect our presentations. We finished with seconds to spare. Burn-free, fingers intact.

Our feast also included Watercress and Tabbouleh Salad, Falafel, Muhammara (a red pepper dip), Green Harissa (a green pepper dip), Kibbeh Samak (stuffed fish fritters), House Made Pita Chips and Luz Biskwe (almond and cardamom biscuits). CIA provided a red Gamla 2005 wine from the Golan Heights Winery. All was excellent.

Each of us agreed that the class was well worth the investment and significantly helped improve our cooking skills. It took place at CIA’s beautiful Greystone campus in St. Helena, Calif., located 18 miles north of Napa and 8 miles south of Calistoga on Highway 29 (about two hours from San Francisco). CIA began to offer its culinary continuing education classes this year, as local laws changed recently to allow nonprofessionals to participate.

Greystone was built in 1889 as a cooperative winery, and from 1950 to 1990 it was home to the Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order, which produced its own brand of wines. Be sure to walk around the grounds and take in the vineyards and flower and herb gardens. Students also get a 10 percent discount in the CIA store.

CIA offers weekend culinary enthusiast classes at its Hyde Park, N.Y., and San Antonio, Texas locations, too. Upcoming courses: North African Spice Kitchen, Baking at Home—The Desserts, and Sharpening Your Knife Skills. I think that last one has a space reserved just for me.

For schedules and additional information, visit www.ciachef.edu.

(Photos: Donna M. Airoldi)

Our first few days in Israel were jam packed with fantastic sights and activities, during which we pretty much had minimal downtime since there is so much to do and see. (Hence, no posts the past couple days. Read previous post on arrival in Israel.) Skipping briefly back to Tuesday …

We continued our exploration of Haifa with a stop at a vista point from Mount Carmel, overlooking Haifa Bay and an historic Carmelite church. You could see all the way to the border with Lebanon, which is where white rocks fall straight into the sea and the only place along the coast where there isn’t a beach, says our guide, Ziv. Trawlers and military boats shared the waters.

While we didn’t make it to Elijah’s Cave, where Elijah hid from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, we did see the cave in which he is believed to have lived, located below the alter in the church at Stella Marais Carmelite Monastery.

The structure at one time was an infirmary that housed Napoleon’s ill soldiers. The church has a wonderful painted ceiling of Elijah in his chariot of fire on his way to heaven and a striking black-and-white marble floor. The original church was destroyed; the current one was built in 1836.

We next strolled through one of the 18 terrace levels at the Baha’i Gardens, which have been open only since 2001. Stunning. Precision landscaping; flowing lines of trees, plants and flowers; and rich textures and colors make for a beautiful and peaceful sanctuary. The founder of the Baha’i settled in Haifa during the mid-19th century, after being persecuted in Persia.

Our tours of ancient cities also began in earnest on Tuesday with trips to Akko, the Druze community of Pekee’in and Safed, a center for Kabbalah study. (See below for info on Akko, and I’ll address Safed in a future post. For info on Pekee’in, and another take on sights we saw this day, check out fellow traveler Janelle Nanos’ post on the National Geographic Traveler blog.)

Akko, also known as Acre, is a wonderfully preserved port city on the north end of Haifa Bay. It dates back to at least the 19th century B.C.E., and was an important site for the 13th century warring crusaders and Muslims, between which it passed hands a few times. As you walk among the layers of the civilizations that have been—and continue to be—unearthed at this site, you can’t help but feel the weight of not only the massive rocks used to build the solid structures and fortifying walls, but also the thousands of years of history this city has experienced.

You’ll see the remains of a citadel; Al Jazzar mosque, which stands on the site of a former crusader cathedral; large halls beneath arching ceilings used for dining, dormitories and meetings; old courtyards; narrow escape passages; and the remains of a destroyed market as well as an intact one, still in use today. Roam the stone paths that wind past vendors hawking general housewares, pastries, fresh squeezed juices, fish, nuts, spices, etc.

I guess no place is immune to the boutique hotel trend. On the way out we pass the chic-looking entrance to Akkotel, a relatively new property housed in a corner of one of Akko's fortified walls. Will have to check it out on a future visit, because there is much more to see of this incredible historic site.

We then got delayed a bit in what to an overhead observer would look like the middle of traffic puzzle, with drivers trying to maneuver in front, behind and around each other. Why the jam? Some roads and parking areas were closed beginning the day of our visit due to a new archaeological find in the area.

And so the discovery of history continues.