Man Behind the Scenes

Wanted to give a shout out to Dave "Pops" Dean, for his support during our camp.  He was great about helping wash pots and pans, unloading the dishwasher, and offering helpful suggestions and moral support.  I think he kind of liked getting fed three times a day, though.  There will be no living with him now.

Parting Poem to our Cooking Camp Students

You’ve had a long week, but you’ve learned a lot,
And we are so proud of the confidence you got.
You’ve learned to make roux, and to cut, chop, and slice,
And you know how to make a buffet table look nice.
You aren’t afraid to “wing it” and try something new,
And you know to read a recipe all the way through.
We hope you had fun, we were glad to have you here,
But don’t plan on Camp II until we’ve rested for a year.

- written by "Master Chef" Brandy

Cooking Camp - Day 8

Wow, the week is over.  It started out hectic and busy, but as the confidence of the students grew, and the need for heavy instruction and modeling lessened, the week ended on a relaxed note.  The Master Chefs treated everyone to a brunch of Dutch Babies and fruit salad.  Sorry, we forgot to take pictures again.  Jerry joined us for brunch.

The students were then given their diplomas for successfully completing the requirements of the camp.

Jack - special commendation for accuracy and precision

Kyndall - special commendation for helping others and willingness to experiment

Robert - special commendation for enthusiasm

Skye - special commendations for being the perfect student; attentive and eager

So we bid a fond farewell to our wonderful teenager students.  They exceeded all of our expectations.  We met all the goals of the camp, and the students met their individual goals as well.  Their enthusiasm, ability to learn, teamwork, attention to detail, cleanliness, positive attitude, and willingness to experiment, were refreshing and pleasurable. 

Cooking Camp - Day 7

Day of the big "Final Exam".  We kept the day pretty simple - kids were on their own for breakfast, and they just made soups for lunch from leftovers.

Students then had the rest of the day to prepare their chosen dish for the final exam judging.  First course - appetizer.  Robert made Chicken Poppers.  He pounded chicken breast and cut it into strips which he then topped with ground ham and cheese.  All this was then rolled in bacon and cooked in a skillet.  Yes, they were as yummy as they sound.

Second course - entree.  Jack chose a tough dish - manicotti.  His prepared his Meaty Manicotti with care and diligence and managed to stuff his pasta without breaking them.

Second course - side dish.  Kyndall sliced 4 pounds of potatoes and made a creamy sauce for her White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes.  This was served with the manicotti and some vegetables cooked by the Master Chefs.

Although she is fully clothed, Kyndall's strapless top made us label this photo
"Naked Chef".

Last course - dessert.  Skye worked hard all afternoon on her Classic Red Velvet Cake.  But then she got to relax while the others were putting together their dishes closer to serving time.

The Master Chefs took the judging very seriously and followed pre-determined standards for planning and preparation, following the recipe, cooking techniques, appearance and presentation, and taste, texture, and flavor.  By a narrow margin, Jack won the competition due to his precision, well-prepared recipe notes, and garnish for not only the pan but also for each individual serving.  We were very proud of all of our students for tackling a new recipe by themselves.  It was a delicious competition.

We added up how many different dishes we prepared this week.  Anyone want to guess?
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .

more than 20. . .

. . .
. . .
. . .

getting closer. . .

. . .
. . .

49!
  
After dinner, the students surprised the Master Chefs with a thank you card and gifts.  This was really appreciated and almost made us cry.  The beautiful serving bowls will make a nice addition to our kitchen collection.

Cooking Camp - Appetizer Party

Everyone helped to prep for our Cooking Camp Invitational Reception.  Each student was then in charge of final preparation and presentation of a different dish.

Kyndall stuffed the Deviled Eggs.

Crudites by Skye.

Jack baked Pizza Puffs.

Robert stirred up Cheese Fondue.

  Then we had some fun decorating the buffet table.  Went with a Vegas theme
- go figure.

     We invited Grandma Bev and Chris to join us for our appetizer lunch.  I mean, what fun is all this party food, if you don't have someone to share it with?  A great time was had by all.

Cooking Camp - Day 6

Started the day making Grandma Bev's Grits.  Some of the kids had never tasted grits - but everyone liked them.  We learned an important lesson about multiplying fractions.  4 x 1/4 is not the same as 4 x 1!  The students were then told about their "Final Exam".  They were all given new cookbooks and challenged with picking out a recipe to prepare by themselves.  Many groans were heard, but then they eagerly poured through the book to find their perfect choice.

We then prepared for our appetizer party (see separate post), and enjoyed eating and talking with our invited guests (Chris and Grandma Bev).

We then set off for the grocery store.  The students each had to write a list and get the ingredients they needed to make their dishes.  For dinner, it was pasta sauce experiment night.  Each student created their own sauce.  Jack tried a recipe for a carbonara sauce, Robert made a white sauce and then added Italian cheeses to make his own version of Alfredo.  Kyndall and Skye decided to just do their own thing, and each one made a unique tomato  sauce.  We forgot to take a picture when they were done, but you can see that we devoured most of what they created.

Gold star to Kyndall for going "outside the box" and trying a sauce without a recipe that was unique and delicious.

"Master Chef" Eileen presented 2 special gold stars.  These were given to Skye and Robert for being enthusiastic learners.  They were usually the first ones ready in the morning, the first ones ready at their stations, and handled constructive criticism well.  Congratulations.

"Master Chef" Recipe of the Day

JELLO FLUFF

1 small package jello
1 cup boiling water
8 oz. regular cream cheese - softened
1/4 cup sugar

- Place the boiling water in a 2-quart heat-proof bowl.
- Stir in jello and sugar until dissolved.
- Break the cream cheese into small pieces and mix into hot Jello mixture a few pieces at a time, stirring after each addition.
- Whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Set in the refrigerator until it just begins to thicken slightly, about 30-45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make whipped cream
     - put 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 4 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract in electric mixing bowl with whip attachment.  Begin mixing at low speed until mixture begins to thicken and then increase speed to medium.  Continue to whip until you have 3-4 cups of whipped cream and it is relatively stiff.
    
- Fold in 3 cups whipped cream into thickened jello mixture.
- Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Suggested flavors - raspberry, peach, orange

recipe adapted from one found in Everyday Low Carb Cooking

Cooking Camp - Day 5

     We made delicious Fritatas this morning for breakfast, with each pair of students designing their own combination of meats and vegetables.  Then we did some prep work so that we could have some free time this afternoon.  We made One Pan Cake (a chocolate cake with cinnamon sugar on top), two batches of Jello Fluff (jello mixed with cream cheese and whipped cream), and prepared vegetables for our stir-fry dinner.  Since we already cooked some ground beef on Sunday, it didn't take much time to make Sloppy Joes for lunch.  After lunch, we went to see "The Green Hornet", which we enjoyed.

After the movie we walked through Willams Sonoma to see all the fun cooking gadgets - the kids were less than impressed - oh well.

"Master Chef" Tip of the Day

Yams vs. sweet potatoes

Yams are a reddish-brown color on the outside, and orange on the inside. 
Sweet potatoes are a tan color on the outside and whitish on the inside.
Sweet potatoes have more fiber, so they are better for you than yams.
Cooking suggestion: line a cooking rack with aluminum foil and pre-heat oven to 400.  Wash and dry short, thick sweet potatoes or yams and place them on the foil.  I try to find ones that are shaped kind of like russet potatoes, but you can cut off small ends, if you need to.  The cut end will seal when you cook it.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 and-a-half hours, or until they soften and sugars start coming out (thus the need for aluminim foil).  Cut them open (like a baked potato) and add lots of butter, brown sugar, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon.  Yummy!

Cooking Camp - Day 4

     Another busy day!  We made French toast, and then the kids got to experiment with add-ins for their chocolate chip cookies.  This turned out to be quite a delicious experiment.

For lunch, the kids were given some free reign to turn cooked chicken breasts into chicken salad.  They are REALLY taking their cooking seriously!  They were chopping, and mixing, and tasting, and spicing, until they were proud to share their results with everyone.  Each chicken salad tasted different, and they were all yummy.

    For a little out-of-the-kitchen fun, The kids spent a couple hours at the community center pool.  They were pretty wiped out, so then we just all had a little down time.  For dinner, we made homemade Macaroni and Cheese, salad, and Bisquick Biscuits.  Sorry, we were too busy eating to take pictures, but it did look as good as it tasted.
     I wish I could put in words the excitement, interest, and hard work that these kids are putting in to this cooking camp.  They are great about cleaning up, sharing, and working together.  And wait until you see their knife skills in action!  They are slicing and dicing fools!  (And still no bandaids required)

Gold star for Skye -     she is almost always the first one ready at her station, and is always attentive to the master chefs and their instructions.

Cooking Camp - Day 3

  

   

     After learning different ways to cook eggs for breakfast, we headed to the grocery store.  

We spent 2 hours choosing fruits and vegetables, checking labels, learning about different kinds of pasta and potatoes and onions, and discussing fat content in meats.

     A really nice produce worker, Byron, came to the rescue to help us ALL learn how to choose a ripe melon, define the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, and showed us how to peel broccoli so that you can cut and cook the stems. 
     When we came home and put the groceries away, we used some of the ground beef we had cooked the day before to make burritos.  Dinner consisted of Creamy Baked Chicken (sort of like Chicken Cordon Bleu only much easier to make) with Confetti Rice (white rice with carrots, onions, and celery), and sauteed zucchini.  The kids are really good about trying new things and are fine-tuning their critiquing skills and thinking about how they might do things a little differently.  "I think I would have liked the zucchini better if it was cooked a little more."  "The sauce on the chicken is really good mixed with the rice."  "Can I use ground turkey instead of ground beef for the burrito meat?"  Yes, we are having fun.

Gold star for Kyndall -     She guessed, within 2 dollars, how much we spent at the grocery store.

Cooking Camp - Day 2

Color-coordinated work stations

This was a busy day with lots of prep. Started the day with a surprise of fully-stocked stations and their cook books.  The kids were impressed with themselves when, in three hours, they had made blueberry muffins from scratch, cooked oatmeal, eaten breakfast, cleaned up, and cooked 4 pounds of ground beef and 8 chicken breasts (to be used later in the week for lunches). They weren’t too crazy about the oatmeal breakfast, but they were good sports and ate it. They flipped over the Chicken Parmesan for lunch, I mean, FLIPPED! They also loved their meatballs and gravy with homemade mashed potatoes. Kid's spirits are still good, and they are doing a fantastic job of keeping their areas clean and working in teams. When Master Chef Eileen told the bunch that they would have popcorn and a movie in the evening, Robert, with shoulders slumped whined, “Do we have to make the popcorn?” Yeah, we are working them hard.

Gold Star for Robert - great cooperation with partner and cleaning both work stations

Cooking Camp - Day 1

Paying close attention

Wow! Can’t believe how well the first day went! Master Chef Eileen and Master Chef Brandy gave the orientation wearing their new aprons and chef hats. You should have seen the looks on the kid's faces - priceless. After rules and procedures, a tour of the kitchen, and choosing their work stations, the students watched a video of Alton Brown (Food Network chef) showing cutting techniques, knife safety, and knife cleaning. Then, to put that learning to good use, each student helped to cut, slice, dice, and grate ingredients for chef salads. They took this task very seriously, and the kitchen was quiet except for the sound of knifes on cutting boards. And not one cut! All-in-all a great start!

Gold Star for Kyndall - quick and efficient prep work, clean area

Gold Star for Jack - creativity with prepping for chef’s salad

Prepping chef salad

Family Thyme Cooking Camp

     Talking to Ann on the phone tonight, I came up with the idea of blogging about the Cooking Camp that my mom and I are hosting for 4 teenagers in the family. So, here we go. I'm going to kind of back track a little to get things caught up. I will try to update every day so you can find out what our campers are up to.
     

 

"Master Chef" Eileen

 

"Master Chef" Brandy