Highfield Hall Cooks!

Spoil ‘Em Then Shock ‘Em

I've kind of adopted this little policy in my head that if I know I'm going to challenge the kids' taste buds one week I'll spoil them a little bit the week before. Call it a false sense of security, if you will. This is not to say that we go crazy and make, say, candy houses and chocolate flowers (although now that I've said it the idea intrigues me) or break out a box of mac and cheese (I'm not the least bit intrigued by that idea), but I'll usually give them a break with something I know they're going to love—like things made with enriched bread dough. The only trouble with yeast bread was that I couldn't figure out how to accomplish some good artisanal loaves in these short, once-a-week classes. First of all, we don't have a mixer big enough to handle a large amount of dough and all that mixing and kneading by hand would more than likely be too difficult for all the kids (including my Young Epicureans) and secondly, there simply isn't enough time for all the mixing, rising, punching, rising, and proofing in one class.

And then I found this:

 

What a great book! The mixing is minimal and the dough does all the hard work by itself. All the kids have to do is combine the ingredients in a bowl, make sure everything is incorporated, and then leave it on the counter to rise. Then it goes in the refrigerator for up to five days. It's so easy that I was even able to have the Kids Café class mix small, individual batches and combine them in one big plastic container for later use. There were variations in each little batch, but together they made a great dough.

For Friday's Young Epicureans class I mixed the initial batch of dough (they mixed another one later for the Kids Café class). While I was mixing someone came into the kitchen to talk to me and I lost track of what I was doing. As a result I halved the amount of water I needed and doubled the amount of honey. Since we were doing sticky buns in that class I decided to let it go, but cautioned the kids that it was going to take extra time to rise. Because of my error we didn't bake any that night and instead everyone took them home to rise overnight for baking in the morning. Just so I could see the results myself I brought a batch home too and was pleasantly surprised.

(I'm most likely going to adopt the accidental recipe and use it instead of the recipe from the book!)

That same night the Young Epicureans made Souffléed Banana Pancakes with caramelized bananas and every one of them came out great. (Unfortunately I was camera-less that night, so you'll just have to take my word for it.)

Two days later my Kids Café kids made pecan sticky buns too, but they also made Challah bread.

They enjoyed rolling and braiding the dough.

And they decorated with poppy seeds.  A few of them seemed underwhelmed with the size of their loaves, but their disappointment dissolved the moment the hot, steaming, golden breads emerged from the oven.

My favorite part of the day (and I think it might be theirs too!) is when they get to taste what they've eaten. Inevitably a group of them ends up under the small table having a conversation while they devour the fruits of their labor.

Tots are Goin’ Crackers!

Graham and cheese crackers, that is. No, not all in one! This last class was all about crackers, and I realize that graham crackers are really just cookies, but how many of you have actually made your own graham crackers? Uh huh. That's what I thought! These kids have one up on you now, so you better get your culinary act together. Now, you might think that graham flour is a really special flour. And, in a way, it is. But, there's no such thing as a graham plant. Graham is not a whole grain or special type of grass. In fact, it's simply a type of whole wheat flour that has been ground in such a way that it contains more bran than whole wheat flour. In the early part of the 19^th century it was named for Rev. Sylvester Graham, who believed it to be more nutritious. Today some producers, like King Arthur, still make graham flour, and if you can't find it in your grocery store some natural foods stores carry it, but you can easily approximate your own by substituting 2 Tablespoons of wheat germ for 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour per cup of flour in your recipe (in other words each cup of flour in your recipe would be 7/8 whole wheat flour 1/8 wheat germ).

We used all purpose flour augmented with some wheat germ simply because it is easier for the littlest kids to handle (it's more durable!), and we added honey and sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar. The kids especially loved poking holes in the dough.

Some of the "crackers" had more holes than dough, it seemed!

They were all different shapes and sizes, but they looked terrific and tasted good too!

Cheese crackers were second on the agenda, and the Tots got to cut them in a wide variety of shapes.

They emerged from the oven in all their cheesy goodness just as parents were arriving, and they were yummy!

Memorial Day Weekend Breakfast

We had a light turn-out for the last Kids Café class because of the holiday weekend, but we still had a ton of fun, and because the class was small enough I even got to cook! The day's menu was Chive, Ham, and Potato Frittatas and Banana Bread. I love chives because they're one of the season's first signs that fresh garden vegetables are on the way.

Sunday's chives had been up long enough to produce some flowers, so the kids also got to see what a chive flower looks like. I was a little worried they wouldn't want to cook with them, but my fears couldn't have been more unfounded. Everyone chopped and sprinkled without complaint, and to my surprise, Xavier stood there eating one long grassy piece after another as he waited for his frittata to emerge from the oven.

The frittata above belonged to Jillian, who was thoughtful enough to cut hers into four portions so the rest of her family could enjoy her cooking. Everyone had a chance to work on the stove this week and some of the budding chefs were brave enough to try chopping with a chef's knife.

The mini banana breads filled the kitchen with an irresistible aroma and provided a satisfying end to a warm spring morning in Highfield's kitchen.

 

Just look at Jenna's happy little face.

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer on Cape Cod, and after we were all done cooking we celebrated by rolling down the grassy hill in front of Highfield. What could be better?!

It’s a Long Way from Three to Thirteen

It is, really. Thirteen year olds are light years away from three year olds in so many, many ways, but when it comes to handling dough they're closer together than they might think. They also really, really like pizza.

In this class, of course, there's a lot more freedom (and time) to come up with some unique creations.

I was glad to see them using their sautéing skills to cook onions, and their newfound knowledge of stovetop pepper roasting to roast and peel peppers to use as another topping. Sliced mushrooms were also a popular addition.

As always, there was friendly goofiness, fun conversation, and lots of giggling, all of which I am not allowed to blog because I'm sworn to secrecy in spite of my whining that they are leaving me with very little blog fodder.

 

Instead of telling you about teenage romance, friendship dramas, and general goofing around I suppose all I have left to report is that we also made Italian sugar cookies, but none of us was particularly impressed with the results. They were dry and, in retrospect, could have used a generous drizzling of icing.

 

Pizza Perfect Morning

I know they're out there somewhere, but it's a rare child who doesn't like a good pizza. An even rarer child who doesn't like playing with a little pizza dough. The recipe we use in class makes for a truly epicurean experience. I might even venture to say that this dough is positively luxurious. It is easily stretched by its own weight—no need for tossing. Thank goodness, too, because who knows what could happen in a kitchen full of dough-tossing tots! As it was we had plenty of other things to get us messy.

Everyone made his or her own sauce, and let me just say right now that even though it's one of the best sauces I've ever had, it's a bit of a menace. It jumped all over Reilly's head and got in her hair! On the plus side, Reilly didn't seem to mind a bit, and was distracted by the beautiful basil and scrumptious fresh mozzarella and aged provolone we had for toppings.

 

I'm not sure how it happened, but the mozzarella disappeared almost as quickly as it was cut and let's just say it didn't all go on the pizzas. Abigail might know where it went!

What we created were truly traditional pizzas margherita, right in our own ovens. Do you know the origin of Pizza Margherita? No? Well, in 1899 Queen Marghereta visited Naples to escape the cholera epidemic that had invaded the northern part of Italy and chef Raffaelle Esposito served her a special pizza, whose colors (red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil) represented the colors of the Italian flag. The Queen so enjoyed her pizza that she sent the chef a thank you note. He then decided to name the pizza after her.

The hot pizzas emerged just as parents were arriving for pick up, but we still had some time to enjoy them. Crispy chewy crust, hot and spicy sauce (we gave it a little kick with some cayenne pepper), gooey melted mozz, and aromatic cooked basil. Yum!

Ten Pots a’ Boiling…60 Dumplings Cooking….

One hundred golden cookies! I'm not joking, that's how much food thirteen kids produced in two hours. This past week the Kids Café made Chinese dumplings too, but they also got to make Almond Cookies. We started out with the dumpling dough because as every child in any one of my classes knows, dough's gotta rest. Dough is easy to make, but it requires a lot of elbow grease. It's a workout, which I think the kids enjoy, but once they get the dough to the right consistency they are always glad to move on to chopping and mixing. This week they had a lot to chop and mix. Cabbage, scallions, ginger, tofu, soy sauce, egg white, and sesame oil were mixed together to create a tasty and fragrant dumpling filling.

While the dumplings boiled they got busy mixing and shaping almond cookies (the smell of Amaretto didn't go over very well with most of them). Everyone made at least six, although some made significantly more. While they were baking the kids got to eat their dumplings, and as soon as they emerged from the oven the cookies were devoured. There were quite a few empty plates at the end of class!

Where Does Pink Lemonade Come From?

That was the question at last week's Tots 'n Pans class. "Pink sugar?" one of the little ones ventured. Hmm. Well, not exactly. They ooh-ed and ahh-ed when I explained to them that lemonade can be made pink with strawberries. For this beautiful pitcher of lemonade we squeezed fifteen lemons (two of which were also zested). I cooked a simple syrup on the stove, added the strawberries and zest, and let the mixture simmer until the strawberries gave us this gorgeous color.

While the lemonade was simmering we made some fantastic ginger snaps, which were flavored with five spice powder and minced crystallized ginger.

They mixed everything by hand—no mixers here! Not an easy job for an adult, much less a child, but they did it and the result was some lovely, fragrant cookies.

We had quite a few visitors during class who claimed to be coming to bask in the cuteness of the children, but I think they were really hoping to mooch a cookie or two. There was no way Roberto was going to give up any of his.

In fact, I think he may have eaten four cookies before his dad came to get him. The kids did a pretty good job on that pitcher of lemonade too!

Class wouldn't be complete without a little flour drawing. What? Don't look at me like that. A little flour in the car never hurt anybody!

Stir Fry-day

Friday nights are fun in the Highfield kitchen. That's the night I have the teenagers in to cook. When I first started teaching this age group I wasn't sure I'd be able to relate to them all that well since it's been…um…let's just say a while since I was a teenager, but truthfully, these kids are pretty terrific. They rib each other mercilessly, but they are incredibly respectful. They may whine occasionally about the copious instructions on some of my recipes, but they're all in the kitchen with me because they want to be. They love to cook. There are no cliques, no popular kids vs. not-so-popular kids, they're equals.

(Henry did not want his picture taken. Stephen insisted. Luckily I was a quick shot because Henry got away a fraction of a second later.)

During our last class we made Chinese Chicken (tofu for our vegetarian) Stir Fry with brown rice, Chinese dumplings, and fortuneless fortune cookies.

The atmosphere was positively jovial. Everyone was relaxed and happy and it was great watching them work while they laughed and joked with each other. There was a lot to do in three hours, but just about everyone got everything done with a little time to spare.

Emily's mom declared Friday nights her favorite because Emily is nice enough to share her goodies. The only thing these kids need to work on is their cleaning skills. Fortunately, I've got some ideas for motivating them to work harder in that department. [Bwahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

 

 

Little Dumplings and Monsters Under the Stove

Not the Tots! Although an argument could be made for dumplings (the proof is in the photos)—that's what we made this week. Before we go any further, however, you need to see how we started class. I was doing some prep on the counter and turned around to see this:

It was catching, too, because when I looked over at Roberto he'd joined in:

Once we got the bowls off our heads and exchanged them for fresh ones, we started the dough for our Chinese Veggie dumplings. It was an easy dough, just flour and water and lots of elbow grease. Little Sean doesn't say much, but the boy makes a mean dough. And he does it all by himself. He won't hear of getting any help. The kids cut up cabbage, tofu, and scallions and mixed it with sesame oil, soy sauce, and fresh ginger. I made them a simple sesame oil and soy sauce with toasted sesame seeds. We put the dumplings on the stove to boil

and got busy making batter for fortune cookies. When those were going in the oven the dumplings were coming off the stove.

I wasn't the least bit surprised that the dumplings would be a hard sell for these kids, but every now and then I like to challenge them. Abigail was dead set against trying the dumplings, but hey, guess what?! She tried them. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd….she liked them!

Sean was a big fan too

 

He seemed especially fond of the sauce and drizzled it onto his dumplings with a spoon before finally giving up and throwing the dumplings right into the sauce bowl and scooping them straight into his mouth. My other two friends, Ella and Roberto, were less sure about this strange new food, but I'm hoping they gave it a try once they got home. (Or that at least their parents enjoyed the fruits of their nascent Asian culinary skills.) I'm not sure what Reilly would have thought of the dumplings if she'd been in class, but I know she wouldn't have hesitated to let me know! We missed seeing her this week and can't wait for her to come back next Thursday.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the fortune cookies because we were rushing to get them out of the oven and folded before their parents arrived, but they each took home three or four cookies tied up in a cellophane bag with colorful ribbon as a special Mother's Day gift. The fortunes all celebrated mom with, "I love you," "Happy Mother's Day," and "You're the Best!"

Oh, and you'll all be happy to know that there are no longer any monsters under the stove. Roberto and I chased them right out the door. I'm relieved about that (as is Roberto!) because I'm sure the house ghosts wouldn't appreciate monsters invading their territory.

 

Chocolate Pasta

I know, I know. You're thinking I've gone off my rocker now. If it makes you feel any better, the chocolate pasta isn't even really bad for you. I mean, it's got a fraction of the calories of steak cake. Honest! I'm willing to admit that I got a little obsessive about chocolate pasta after I read something online about it. I even bought some wildly expensive hazelnut (gianduja) chocolate from Valrhona because a) Valrhona, and b) Hazelnut chocolate. That's it, really. No other reason. Well, that and I love trying some off-the-wall recipes because food is all about the fun. Yes, yes, we HAVE to eat, but we don't have to eat the way we do. We don't have to make it such a production, such a sensory delight. And yet, we do. Because it makes us feel good.

Chocolate pasta is weird and wacky and kids are all about that. It's like a trip to a wild and wonderful candy factory, only better—they have their parents' permission! What more could a kid ask for?

Two of my classes this week were lucky enough to make chocolate noodles. The Young Epicureans, who, by the way, I was delighted to see again because, just look at these faces, were the first:

They are happy to be there and I feel privileged to spend this time with them. It's like taking a trip back in time; only I don't have to go through the teenage angst thing again, I just get to enjoy them enjoying each other and their night out creating something beautiful and tasty. A keen observer may be noticing right now that the pasta they're enjoying isn't chocolate. I did make them do a batch of regular noodles first. We kept it simple and added some roasted red peppers, fresh basil, parmesan, and sundried tomatoes.

And then we indulged in some fantastic chocolate ravioli with hazelnut chocolate filling.

I'm not sure they even realized it, but they learned to make pastry cream that night and were treated to some of the best chocolate in the world.

For my Sunday Kids Café class I had originally intended to do the chocolate ravioli again, maybe with a nice strawberry banana sauce, but realized on Friday night that the whole operation would be too much for them, so I stepped it down a notch and went for fettuccine.

They made a nice, light chocolate sauce and cut some fresh fruit to decorate their plates. Xavier created a beautiful plate.

Some had enough time to sneak in a few forkfuls before their parents arrived. Others took it to go and shared it with their families. I've been advised that chocolate fettuccine is best served hot, so if you ever get a wild hair and crank out some of your own chocolate noodles eat them fresh out of the pot.

So that's it! A great week in the Highfield kitchen. You might think we are all aboard the Crazy Train with steak cake, fruit pizza, and chocolate pasta, and at this point you'd be well advised to not even bother asking what comes next. I mean after chocolate ravioli and fettuccini, there's no telling what could happen. Vanilla bean spaghetti? Five-spice fusilli? (Anybody else thinking about "The Fusilli Jerry" Seinfeld episode right now? Happens to me every time I hear the word fusilli. Anybody? Just me? Yeah, well, go ahead and Google fusilli and see what comes up.)

See you all next class!