The Best Little Souschef-8/26/09

I can't wait until Eyrleigh is old enough to cook with me. There are a few things she can do to help, even at 21 months old. She loves to stir, though I do need to come behind her to make sure I've gotten the edges. She's great at turning on appliances and is no longer scared of the food processor. But she can't get near the oven or stove top and knives are definitely off-limits. She's not strong enough to pour things or smash things.
Today, I got a chance to see how much fun it is to cook with a kid. I was watching my friend's son, Dylan, after school today and he's at that great age where he really wants to help out. I had two recipes on tap for today that were perfect for a young helper. The Perfect No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream on page 84 of this month's Gourmet is as advertised and involves no cooking. Dylan was a master with the potato masher and the strawberries had no chance. He loved turning on the blender and the ice cream maker and dumping in the ingredients. The only problem for him was the amount of time the ice cream maker needed to run to freeze the ice cream. After about 2 minutes, he was convinced it should be done.
The second recipe Dylan and I made was the Buckeyes on page 14. We had spent some time over the weekend with Dylan's dad and knew he was a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. (He has the tattoo to prove it!) I really hadn't decided when to make the Buckeye recipe as it's not really a dessert. This was the perfect opportunity to give away a few and not feel guilty about sweets laying around uneaten. I made the peanut mixture while Dylan was at school. (Kids and mixers scare me!) I melted the chocolate over the stove and cooled it a bit and Dylan and I rolled the peanut mixture into balls and dipped them in chocolate together. Dylan was really excited to show his mom the Strawberry ice cream and couldn't wait to take some Buckeyes home to Dad. I love cooking with kids!
I did make a recipe for dinner all by myself. It was kinda lonely! I made another of the no-cook pasta sauces, the Roasted-Almond Ricotta Pesto with Olives. This sauce was a pretty traditional pesto sauce based on basil with the addition of Kalamata olives. I found it a bit bland. After writing that, I sit here wondering what else to say and that pretty much sums it up. It's not a bad pesto but it's no better than a jarred pesto from the grocery store. Maybe it would have been better if Dylan had helped me, it sure would have been more fun.
Perfect No-Bake Strawberry Ice Cream-A
Buckeyes-A
Roasted-Almond Ricotta Pesto with Olives-C

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