Culinary Kids

Looking for something fun but educational to do with the kids this summer? The Gaylord Texan is hosting their Jr Chef Camp again this summer, and this year the theme is Alice in Wonderland. I can’t think of a better theme for this unique experience, because getting to work side by side with the very talented professional chefs and staff in the kitchens at the Old Hickory Steakhouse is a chance of a lifetime for the lucky participants.

Chef Joanne Bondy has come up with another great series of menus including “Smoke the Monster Out!”, “Bread and Butterflies Brunch” and “A Very Merry Birthday”. The kids learn about what goes on behind the scenes in a restaurant and get to prepare the meal from prepping to serving it to their parents and friends at the end of class. They also receive copies of the recipes so they can make the dishes at home and a commemorative chef’s hat, apron and photo of the class and the chefs.

My very own Jr Lifestylist® Jenna and her cousin Sam took the class last year and they absolutely loved it. Jenna went home with a new love of cooking – she even helped make her birthday cake this year and is now talking about being a chef when she grows up.

My only complaint is that they don’t have a class for adults – I’d love to take every class!

For more information contact the Gaylord Texan at: 817-722-9423.

Summer is definitely here, and I decided to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend by trying out my Lifestylist® skills making something I’ve been craving – homemade ice cream. Lucky for me JC Penney had a great sale on so I got a great deal on my new Cuisinart Flavor Duo and it’s exactly what I wanted – easy prep and cleanup and you don’t need a bunch of items that you already wouldn’t have around the house. No rock salt needed – this uses two freezer bowls that easily fit and can stay in your freezer. I LOVE that it has the two separate bowls so you can make two different flavors at the same time without making more than you can eat in a weekend.

For my test run I opted for a fresh peach ice cream using peaches grown at the wonderful Lemley Farms in Tyler. They have a stall at our local Farmers Market and I couldn’t pass them up. I like a custard style ice cream which means you have to do some cooking but it was well worth it. There are some recipes in the instruction manual for ice cream where you just add ingredients – no cooking necessary.

The entire process could not have been easier, and sitting on the porch eating fresh ice cream brought back such great memories of the times our family shared when we all got together of all of the holidays. Now I can’t wait for my grandkids to visit so I can make some ice cream and memories with them as well.

Few things are as satisfying to me as helping kids explore the culinary world. You can see how excited they get when they learn they can make and bake things themselves and the more they learn, the more they want to try. I’ve seen it time and time again where a child will eat things that they made themselves but you couldn’t force them to try it if someone else was the chef.

I just got back from spending a wonderful weekend with my grandchildren and I was able to help Jenna plan her 8th birthday. She had very specific ideas about what she wanted to do, and my job was to execute all of the things that she imagined. Her brother decided he wanted chocolate instead of a white cake, so we compromised  and had chocolate cupcakes and a white birthday cake. When I went to the grocery store to get the ingredients I realized it would be much less expensive and just as easy to make the cakes from scratch. If you are looking for a recipe for a specific ingredient, check out the package or their website -the company is only going to share recipes that put their products in the best light so this is a great place to start. I didn’t have recipes with me so I checked out the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box and there were recipes for chocolate frosting and cakes. Their grandpa has always made a wonderful butter cream icing that is a family favorite so we went with that for the birthday cake. Jenna will also never let me live down the fact that I misspelled “birthday” – that’s a story she’ll be telling for a long time!

The kids were so proud of what they were able to accomplish, and the chocolate recipes were fantastic – I think some of the best I’ve ever had. Jenna wanted a pet themed party, and that’s what she got.

Don’t underestimate the skills and interest of your culinary kids. Even when things don’t turn out exactly as planned you can still create memories and recipes that can last a lifetime.

Happy Holidays from our workshop to yours!

Builders, chefs, and community members teamed up today to start the “Home Sweet Gingerbread Home” competitions at NorthPark Center. Lifestylist® Suzanne chaired the event which looks like it will become an annual favorite.Chef and cookbook author Karel Ann Tieszen teamed up with Shared Housing board member Mona Lincoln and TX State Fair Celebri-chef Peter Clarac (he was a winner in the Oprah cook-off) to decide which of the houses would be awarded the coveted blue ribbon. Pastry Chef Instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas Nina Hunter amazed the judges with her beautiful victorian home complete with playful penguins enjoying the pool in the backyard and was awarded first place.

Thursday the “Builders and Bakers” competition will be taking place from 12pm to 4pm also at NorthPark. Teams comprised of members from the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas will be creating homes on-site with celebrity chefs from Stephan Pyles, Sambuca, Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan, DC’s Catering and The Cupcakery. They will then be judged and awarded various prizes in different categories.

The competitions will benefit two great organizations – Shared Housing Center and HomeAid / Homebuilders Care, both which break the cycle of homelessness and abuse in the Dallas area.

One of the most rewarding things that this Lifestylist® is a part of every year is Days of Taste which is sponsored by the American Institute of Food and Wine. Fourth and Fifth graders from local schools come down to the Dallas Farmers Market to learn about food and have a lot of fun! This year my group was the best I’ve ever had, and I think a lot of that can be because of a great teacher and the chef that taught the class – Chef Joanne Bondy from the Gaylord Texan. I always learn as much as they do, and after Chef Joanne teaches them about the senses, buying local produce from farmers and how to make a pasta salad from scratch the teams get to go down to the Farmers Market and buy the ingredients for their own salads.

My team (The Grinches since we were buying green and were at the green table) did a great job of negotiating with the farmers so that not only did they stay within their $5.00 budget, we actually had $1.00 to give back to the program! I think they were all amazed with how much food could be purchased for $4.00 that was healthy and delicious. Teaching kids about food and getting them to try new things isn’t a matter of tricking them – you just need to let them have fun and try things their way. Who would have thought a pasta salad with avocado, corn, green peppers and kiwi would taste as great as it did?

Congratulations to the AIWF Dallas chapter for another amazing event.

Touring New York City with a James Beard recognized chef is a treat in itself, but going to the Union Square Green Market with that chef and learning how to shop at a green market is the chance of a lifetime. One of the things that Chef Joanne got me excited about going home and experimenting with again is soups.

Our household meals are full of vegetables and we come close to living a vegetarian lifestyle. I tend to go back to the same favorites, but Chef Joanne showed us how many vegetables we typically wouldn’t try can be fantastic additions to our daily diets, especially when we buy from farmers at a green market and are able to take advantage of the fresh, seasonal offerings. Some of the vegetables she showed us how to use in the James Beard dinner she prepared were baby bok choy, tomatillos, and my new favorite brussel sprouts.

I’m now determined to make a vegetable soup at least once a week from scratch with fresh vegetable from my local farmers market. This probably isn’t the way a true chef would do it, but I love using my Crock Pot and using just water, carrots, celery, potatoes, celery and corn. I let these cook on high for a few hours, then because we like things with a kick, I add Adobo seasonings that I get from Penzeys and a can or two of Rotel. Couldn’t be easier or healthier.

If you think you can’t cook, or that you don’t have the time to do a meal from scratch, give this a try. Just substitute whatever vegetables are in season for your region and you’ll be in for a great treat!