Junior Chef Night

Our club had Junior Chef's Night last week.  I wasn't sure what the club Chef had in mind, but I was hoping for enough of a lesson for them to start cooking for themselves on a regular basis.

After dawning their aprons and toques, they headed into the kitchen.  The moms were more excited than the kids (wouldn't you be?)

First was a quick corn shucking lesson (so the corn could be boiling while the kids continued to prep and prepare their dinner.)  You would think a couple of kids born in Oklahoma would naturally know how to shuck corn.  Not so much.

Then a quick snack: Ants on a Log.  A logical hor' derve for a bunch of youngsters.  The funny thing?  I've made Ants on a Log for them plenty of times and they never ate them.  This time?  Munched away with pleasure.

Then came time for zucchini fries.  They had assembly lines for the flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs.  Clearly from his face, the Monkey didn't care for his station.

Next a little cole slaw.  Here Chef was asking them to put in a pinch of salt.  Let's just say, there was PLENTY of salt in the cole slaw.

Then on to some carrot salad.  More salt was pinched.  Also a little EVOO.  But the fun part was squeezing in the lemon juice.  Monkey was captivated by the cloth covering the lemon.

Now on to the main course: kabobs.  There were plenty of skewers and kabob choices: meat, chicken, pork, mushrooms, bell peppers, onion, and pineapple.  There was a lot of pineapple put on those kabobs.  The Monkey made one with pineapple and nothing else.  That's my kind of kabob.

And of course, the best was saved for last.  Decorating cupcakes.  Chocolate, vanilla, and carrot cake with all of the frosting and toppings that anyone could want.  

You gotta admire the kid in the middle who put on a bunch of pecans and nothing else.  He clearly was out of arms reach of the M & M's.

For this course, the waiting was going to be the hardest part.

Upon leaving the kitchen, the kids and Chef headed outside to grill their kabobs.  Once the grilling was complete, all of the chefs, big and little, headed inside to enjoy their feast.  And you know what?  It was pretty darn good.  I plan on making the boys cook once a week, minimum.