Just for Fun
Attention dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles and assorted other relatives (and friends): Want to help a child in your life prepare a meal for Mom for Mother's Day on Sunday? Just remember that there's nothing to be afraid of.
"It's OK if you make a big mess. It's OK if it doesn't turn out," said Liann Tackett, who teaches cooking to kids at the Mirabelli Community Center in Las Vegas. "I think the experience is so important."
Catherine Margles, owner of the Creative Cooking School in Las Vegas, said whether she's teaching kids or adults, the same principles apply: "Everyone is coming to learn," she said. "Don't intimidate them. Welcome them and invite them. Make it a fun type of thing."
Margles, who has 10 nieces and nephews and is expecting twins in late summer, is a firm believer in getting kids into the kitchen as young as possible. When tots start peeking into the kitchen to see what's going on, "don't shoo them away," she said. "Welcome them. Have them crack an egg. Have them put some flour in a bowl. Just get them started."
And you can get them started younger than you may think. Margles said her 11/2-year-old nephew, Matthew, can roll dough into a ball to make cookies and she has let him work with pizza dough.
Margles said she suggests starting kids with a simple recipe and trying to bring them into the kitchen when it's not a particularly crazy time -- when you're preparing Christmas dinner, for example. They can help with something as simple as a smoothie and work up from there.
"They can easily help you with putting in some fruit," she said. "They don't have to work with a big knife; they can work with a plastic knife." Tackett said when her students make strawberry shortcakes, they cut up the strawberries with scissors or plastic knives.
Which, of course, raises the very important issue of kitchen safety. Remind kids "from Day One," Margles said, that kitchens are dangerous places with hot stoves and sharp knives. And teach the basics of sanitation, so they know the importance of washing hands and equipment.
"Make them realize that cooking is also about cleaning up," Margles said. "It's an important aspect, and they need to help you with that."
Some dishes that can be made with kids are so simple you can wing it. Tackett said she has the kids cut up strawberries, mix them with a little sugar and then either put them over cupcakes or store-bought shortcakes, or layers them in pieces of baked pie crust.
"And then making homemade whipped cream is really good," she said.
Also seek out kids' cookbooks. Margles said she especially likes Emeril Lagasse's "Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup!"
"That's one of my favorite cookbooks to start kids out with," she said. "It has all the pictures of the equipment, step-by-step, very easy recipes."
The reward may be breakfast in bed -- or lunch, or dinner -- for Mom, and a kid who won't go hungry when Mom and Dad are at work, or it's time to go away to college.
The alternative? Margles sighs as she thinks of her 30-year-old bride-to-be sister, who never learned to cook.
"She really regrets it today."
CREME BRULEEFRENCH TOAST
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1 loaf Texas Toast-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a small saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring until smooth.
In a second saucepan, scald 1/2 cup cream or half-and-half and add to the mix above. Pour into a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish.
Remove crusts from Texas Toast. Arrange slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.
Poke holes in bread with a fork. In a small bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until combined well, and pour evenly over bread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Serves 6.
-- Recipe from Catherine Margles, Creative Cooking School
SWEET AND SPICY BACON
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 pound thick-cut bacon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together brown sugar, cayenne and black pepper in a pie tin or other flat bowl. Dip bacon into sugar mixture, pressing to coat the meat. Shake off excess.
Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on a sheet pan, cookie sheet or broiler pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until bacon is done. Do not overcook as sugar becomes caramelized.
Keep warm until ready to serve.
Note: For easy cleanup, line your cooking pan with parchment paper before layering bacon.
Serves 6.
-- Recipe from Catherine Margles, Creative Cooking School
STRAWBERRY BREAKFAST PIZZA
1 10-biscuit package (71/2 ounces) refrigerated biscuits
1 orange
2 3-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
4 teaspoons honey, divided
1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stack 2 biscuits; roll out to a circle about 6 inches in diameter, 1/8 inch thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Prick all over with fork. Repeat with remaining biscuits to make total of 5 circles. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Loosen biscuits and cool slightly.
Meanwhile, finely grate peel from orange. In bowl beat cream cheese, peel and 2 teaspoons of the honey to blend thoroughly; set aside. Juice orange into another bowl. Add strawberries and the remaining 2 teaspoons of honey; toss. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Spread biscuits with cream cheese mixture to within 1/2 inch of edges, dividing equally. Bake just until edges of cream cheese brown lightly. Top with drained strawberries. Garnish with mint sprigs. Serve immediately.
Serves 5.
-- Recipe from www.fruitandveggieguru.com and the California Strawberry Commission
ORANGE-BANANS SMOOTHIE
1 6-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 banana
1 cup cold water
1 cup milk
12 ice cubes
Scoop frozen orange juice concentrate into a blender. Peel and slice banana; add to blender. Pour water and milk into blender.
Blend mixture until well combined. Add ice cubes 1 or 2 at a time through lid of blender; process until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.
Serves 2.
-- Recipe from www.fruitandveggieguru.com
SOFT SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH FRESH RICOTTA AND CHIVES
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
4 thick slices whole-grain bread, or 8 whole-grain baguette slices, lightly toasted and buttered
Whole chives (optional)
Whisk eggs, chopped chives, and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel in medium bowl until well blended. Melt butter in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When foam subsides, add eggs and stir with heatproof silicone spatula until eggs are almost cooked but still runny in parts, tilting skillet and stirring with spatula to allow uncooked portion to flow underneath, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add ricotta and stir just until incorporated but clumps of cheese are still visible.
Arrange 2 toasts or 4 baguette slices on each of two plates. Spoon scrambled eggs atop toasts. Sprinkle with more fleur de sel and pepper. Garnish with whole chives, if desired.
Serves 2.
-- Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine
POTATO, GREENS AND GOAT CHEESE QUESADILLAS
1 1/3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
Salt, pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (5 to 6 ounces)
1 1/3 cups jarred salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
4 2/3 cups coarsely chopped stemmed mustard greens (from 1 bunch), divided
4 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
3 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Olive oil
Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 275 degrees. Steam potatoes until tender, about 8 minutes. Place in large bowl; sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder. Toss to coat. Cool potatoes 15 minutes. Mix in Jack cheese. Meanwhile, blend salsa and 2/3 cup (packed) greens in miniprocessor until greens are finely chopped.
Arrange tortillas on work surface. Divide remaining greens between bottom half of each. Top greens with potato mixture, then goat cheese and 2 tablespoons salsa mixture for each. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling, pressing to compact. Brush with oil.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas, oiled side down, in skillet. Brush tops with oil. Cook until quesadillas are brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 quesadillas.
Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 wedges. Serve with remaining salsa.
Serves 4.
-- Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
