Every year, these lovely people throw a charitable wild game dinner, and this year they chose me to head up the event. Incredible wine, great crowd, and amazing food! Already looking forward to next year!
Kids are cooks too!
I had an old friend reach out to gift her niece some cooking classes.
Why not? I can teach kids! And they’re SOOOOO excited about everything.
So, we did 3 weekly classes, and they were great. We’ll likely be continuing them, too, as she’s looking into going to a culinary magnet school!
So, what did we study? I had to figure out a good starting point.
- Lesson 1 – Flavor profiles: Sauces and Dressings
- This was a longer class than I’d like when teaching a young teen, but it gave the girls a great start, and homework for expanding on their knowledge.
- We talked about what a “salad” is (or could be), and worked on a couple dressings as well as a great formula for the perfect show-stopping balsamic salad (available now if you book this class!)
- We also taught two of the Mother Sauces, which we used to make Spaghetti and Meatballs and a Mac and Cheese. There was much rejoicing.
- Lesson 2 – Baking
- We had to start her on the pastry train, too. It’s a good way for people to figure out if they want to be a pastry person or not. Spoiler: she likes the pastry.
- For this one, my lovely sous chef, Kate, was on-hand to help teach some of her favorites. We had her make a self-saucing pudding, as well as scratch-made chocolate chip cookies. BUT to throw in a twist, we offered her three different ways to use the cookie dough, and she did super well at all three. Great job!
- Lesson 3 – Grilling
- This class was all about a lot of prep followed by a lesson of how to use a grill. Being summer, it was a heck of a bit of heat out there, but the girls powered through!
- They made a whole menu for their family all on the grill! Grilled Panzanella, Grilled Carrots, Pork Tender, and (of course) the perfect burger. A fabulous ending for 3-class package!
If you’d like to have your kids start learning their way around the kitchen, get in touch! Here are some of our favorite photos of our adventure.
Cool Summer Flavors
Summer time is here! Well, it’s almost gone, but next week it’ll probably be back, as is the nature of Texas. Ah, summer. With its sweltering heat, its bikini-clad sunbathers, and the knowledge that your New Year’s Resolution to lose 20 pounds didn’t quite go so well. What to do? I say ignore the food truck with the duck fat fries and truffle aioli that hangs around your favorite swimming hole, taunting your love for all things fried and emulsified.
Swim, my little pretties…
So, what to do? Distract your mouth with some foods that are crispy, healthy, and flavorful. Having something that’s on the cool side is a great idea as well, just help you beat the heat. And since the Mediterranean Diet is all the rage nowadays, give this little paleo twist on a traditional treat will hit all the tight spots, and help to keep the pounds off!
Turkey Kafta Lettuce Wraps with Cucumber Salad and Roasted Garlic Tahini Sauce
Let’s start with the salad, since the onions need to marinate.
Tomato Cucumber Salad
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar 
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 T Agave Nectar
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/2 pint Grape Tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
1/2 Red Onion, quartered and sliced
- Combine the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste
- Toss the onions in the dressing and let it sit for about an hour.
- Add in the cucumbers and let marinate for about 1/2 an hour more.
- Finally, toss in the tomatoes.
Turkey Kafta Meatballs
1.5 lbs Ground Turkey Thigh
1 cup Bread Crumbs or Almond Flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
8 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 an Onion, finely chopped
2T Cumin
2T Coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 350
- Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and mix well.
- Form into meatballs. You should get between 12 and 16, depending on size.
- Place on a greased baking sheet lined with foil or parchment
- Bake for 20-25 minutes
Roasted Garlic Tahini Sauce
1/3 cup Roasted Garlic cloves
4 T Tahini
Juice of one lemon
2 T Sriracha Sauce
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
- Combine above ingredients in a food processor
- Adjust seasonings
- If the sauce “breaks”, add a bit of water and re-blend until smooth
In order to assemble this properly, so that you can wrap this all without too much spillage, cut the meatballs in half before placing in a leaf of romaine. Top that off with a bit of salad and a fair amount of the sauce and enjoy this flavorful treat!
