BRINGING/WARMING TO ROOM TEMPERATURE. When reference is made to bringing a food to room temperature we are speaking of taking a cooled item and setting it on the counter till it reaches room temperature.
When reference is made to warming to room temperature we mean removing a cooked item from the stove and warming it (which really means cooling it, but we’re not actually cooling it) to room temperature.
Do not refrigerate a heated item, nor cook a cooled item to bring it to room temperature, unless specifically instructed to do so in a recipe.