A Month of Braising

Wow, our Jr. Chef Elite Team has truly fed their families well this month! January was the perfect time to perfect their braising capabilities and feedback from all demonstrates they were up for the challenge. Here is what they had to say:


Jr. Chef Allison, Age 12
Spicy Oven Fried Chicken
My family and I loved this dish. Almost everyone had seconds and it was almost gone by the next day! The best part though was that it was super easy to make. Everything came out great and I had no complications while making it. The only thing I would recommend is to spray the racks with non-stick cooking spray before putting the chicken on it. When I took it out of the oven, some of the pieces stuck to the racks. This dish also served as tasty left-overs when I cut it into strips and combined it with some Top Ramen the next day for lunch. I'll definitely make this in the future again.

Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Braised Greens
This dish was pretty good, despite the one problem at the end of the cooking process. I cooked the apples, sweet potatoes, and collard greens with no problem at all. When the recipe said to combine then all together, was when it went wrong. Since this dish made 10 servings, I decided to cut it in half. But when I measured the salt to season it, I accidentally measured it for the whole recipe. When I served the dish, it was very salty. Next time I'll actually write on the recipe paper to make sure that I measure the right amount. I think that I'll also taste it, then add more salt and pepper as needed. My dad liked it, besides the salt situation, and said that " It had potential", and that I should try it again sometime.

Jr. Chef Dakota, Age 13
Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
With the lemon cake it said cook until toothpick comes out clean, but it was burning and the toothpick wasn’t clean so I pulled it out and must have set because it came out fine.

Jr. Chef Alex, age 14
Braised Chicken w/Peppers & Tomatoes
My family really enjoyed this dish and it was easy to make. I felt like I did this recipe very well, and I will definately do it again. I would probably try to add a little more of a consistency to the sauce, by thickening it. Over all it was an easy and a delicious meal.

Jr. Chef Ben, age 11
Braised Shrimp & Endive
The braised shrimp with creamy endive recipe was a success. It was very fun to make. I accidentally misread the recipe and ended up having to shell all the shrimp. Instead of buying already peeled shrimp, I bought shrimp in the shell and had to peel them.My family thought this dish was excellent and gave it rave reviews.It is one we will keep in my recipe box for further usage.

The winter salad with mustard walnut dressing came out a little bit bitter. I think maybe I used too much mustard.I also used fresh lemon juice from a lemon off a tree in our yard and I am wondering if maybe the lemon was a little bit bitter.I do think the salad presented well even if it tasted a little bitter.

Jr. Chef Julia, age 11
Sour cream lemon pound cake
This was a fun, messy, and delicious dish. There was a ton of clean up to do. I love to make desserts and see the expression on my family’s faces as they eat it. I also love to stir things, so this was the perfect recipe for me! I would certainly make this again!

Spicy oven fried chicken
My parents said it was the best chicken they ever had. I don't like to handle raw meats. It's just so disgusting, yet I liked to coat them with the bread crumbs. It was a very fun recipe and very good. I will be making this again when guests come to visit.

Fruit syrup for Fruit Salad
I hated cutting up 3 beautiful oranges and putting them in the syrup. I would have rather eaten them on the spot. It was painful because I love oranges. This was the first time I had made syrup. It was another good recipe, but not as much fun because of those beautiful oranges. It was good though. I figured out that I liked pineapple, which is nice. It was extremely easy and good.

Creamy endive shrimp with salad
It was easy, fun, and very good. The dressing was so tart, but oh I don't know, GOOD. I don't know why but the shrimp’s legs were so interesting. I always like creamy stuff, so yet again it was a perfect recipe. I learned how to peel the shrimp’s legs off.

Braised Sweet potatoes/apple/collards
Not my favorite. It took along time to make and wasn't the best dish I have had. I accidentally put more butter in than I was supposed to. I cut the recipe in half (well tried) and that is probably why I didn't like it as much. Cutting a recipe in half is harder than it sounds. I liked the sweet potatoes more than anything else because the tasted and were basically fries.

Braising w/Jr Chef Elite

Our Jr. Chef Elite team members are busy working to perfect Braising. So far this month, their menus have included Braised Chicken w/Green Peppers & Tomatoes; Braised Sweet Potatoes w/Apples and Greens, and Oven Baked Spicy Chicken; and this week they'll be making Braised Shrimp w/Endive. Here is what Jr. Chef's Allison and Megan have to say about their experiences with these recipes:

Braised Chicken w/Green Peppers & Tomatoes
This dish didn't exactly come out the way I planned it would. The finished product was watery, so when I served it, I had to drain some of the liquid. I think maybe I should have reduced it a bit longer, but I feared that I would over cook the chicken. Instead of using green peppers in this dish, I used yellow ones. Despite the watery factor, the flavors were really good and the chicken was very moist. Next time, I'll have to reduce it longer at the end.

Braised Greens Apples & Sweet Potatoes w/Spicy Chicken
Spicy Oven Fried Chicken:
My family and I loved this dish. Almost everyone had seconds and it was almost gone by the next day! The best part though was that it was super easy to make. Everything came out great and I had no complications while making it. The only thing I would recommend is to spray the racks with non-stick cooking spray before putting the chicken on it. When I took it out of the oven, some of the pieces stuck to the racks. This dish also served as tasty left-overs when I cut it into strips and combined it with some Top Ramen the next day for lunch. I'll definitely make this in the future again.

Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Braised Greens:
This dish was pretty good, despite the one problem at the end of the cooking process. I cooked the apples, sweet potatoes, and collard greens with no problem at all. When the recipe said to combine then all together, was when it went wrong. Since this dish made 10 servings, I decided to cut it in half. But when I measured the salt to season it, I accidentally measured it for the whole recipe. When I served the dish, it was very salty. Next time I'll actually write on the recipe paper to make sure that I measure the right amount. I think that I'll also taste it, then add more salt and pepper as needed. My dad liked it, besides the salt situation,and said that " It had potential", and that I should try it again sometime.
Jr. Chef Allison, Age 12


Spicy Oven Fried Chicken
For this dish I served it with a side of gnocchi. I had fun making it because I didn’t know how it would turn out if it would be too spicy but it turned out perfect. This meal reminded me of my Dad’s breaded chicken but more spice. My favorite part of the making the chicken was seeing the final product because you never know what it will look like or how it will taste till it is done. If I could do something different with this recipe I would have a little less spicy because I am not a fan of spicy food.
Jr. Chef Megan, Age 12

Jr. Chef Elite Posting

This week our Elite Jr. Chef group is making Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Braised Greens, Oven Fried Chicken & Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake. Here's what Jr. chef Matthew, age 12, has to say about this week's assignment:

I had fun making this dish for two reasons my Mom had never had sweet potatoes and it was easy to make. Once we found the Swiss Chard at the store (thank you produce man) we went home and I made this as a side dish to the pork chops my Mom made. My Mom and Dad will of course try everything I make but I was looking to my 2 year old brother to be the real judge, and he loved it..all except the chard. There was not much seasoning in this dish and it was interesting how the chard really picked up the flavors of the sweet potatoes. I will definately make this dish again.

Matthew, age 12

If you want the recipe, send us an e-mail at www.karlaskitchentable.com!

Eating More Vegetables!

My kids are 13 & 16. The elder one will eat fish, no other meat. The younger one eats no meat except for the occasional sweet & sour fish. They were raised without meat in their diet (except seafood), their father having followed this diet for more than 25 years.
Trying to ensure everyone has a balanced plate, without repeating the same dishes over and over, is often a frustrating exercise.
This year my goal is to expand our palate and boost our nutritional intake at every meal at least 5 days a week. If you know the fickle eating patterns of teenagers, you can appreciate what an undertaking this is, even for someone who is a professional cooking instructor! So I asked both kids to come-up with 2 meals each that incorporated proteins and vegetables (always the hardest part!).
Last night’s meal consisted of stir-fry veggies with spinach, onions and red peppers with a splash of Trader Joe's Oriental marinade (spicy kick); yams which I first micro’d for 10 minutes, than cut in half, added s&p and a drizzle of maple syrup and finished off for 20 minutes in the oven; and brown coconut sticky rice with toasted coconut. They ate everything, and lots of it. They also went back for a snack about 2 hours later!
Daughter asked for Mexican flavors tonight (yes, she suggested beans – it’s a start!). I did black beans (secret to great tasting beans - rinse well, add enough water to cover and stick in a large chunk of onion!) served over spaghetti squash instead of repeating a rice dish. Salad with red onions and avocado; quesadillas; salsa verde. Again, wiped their plates clean. This time, there was not snacking afterwards as the beans were filling.
Tomorrow I plan to stuff and roast portabella mushrooms with vegetables and goat cheese. Always a salad on the plate. Will cook my famous banana & blueberry pancakes Saturday morning (after that they’re on their own for the day) and if I make it to the Farmer's Market under the freeway on Sunday we'll have fresh soup for a couple of days!

Jr. Chef Elite, Braising Session

This past Saturday our Jr. Chef Elite team learned how to Braise, under the expect guidance of Executive Chef Stu Edgcombe of the Esquire Grill. For 3.5 hours, these 10 young people chopped, diced, sliced, sautéed, stewed, stirred and seasoned, then ate like it was their first and last meal!

Their lesson started with an overview on the history of braising and the typical meats used for this method of cooking. From there, they worked on prepping the root vegetables.

The food they created was delicious. Braised Carrots w/Orange Juice & Ginger; Braised Turnips with Fresh Parsley; Braised Beets w/Apples; Braised Sweet Potatoes - all vegetables were from Thursday's Certified California Farmer's Market on Florin Road (in the Sears Parking lot). The menu also included Braised Chicken Thighs w/Tomatoes & Peppers, and Polenta w/Parmesan.

Once the veggies were in the oven, it was time to move to the stove and sear their chicken. These young people demonstrated why they were picked for the Jr. Chef Elite team by keeping their cool through two small fires while at the stove - a dish towel came too close to the flame, followed by the hot oil in one pan igniting. All part of a day in the kitchen for these kids! The entire meal was put together without a recipe, and now they have the month of January to perfect this technique at home.

Their menu to be completed at home the week of January 6-12: Braised Chicken w/Tomatoes & Green Peppers over Egg Noodles; Pineapple, Kiwi & Oranges in Mint Syrup. Check back regularly for their pictures and comments.
Ready to put your skills to the test? Contact jrchef@karlaskitchentable.com for a copy of the recipes.