KID'S COOKING CLASSES archive

A FATHER-SON TEAM TRAINS YOUNG CHEFS
By Marilynn Marter, INQUIRER FOOD WRITER
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Published: 2000-09-20
Section: FEATURES FOOD
Ericka Gentile dreams of becoming a chef.

"I want to have my own restaurant some day," she said with all the assurance an 8-year-old could muster.
She's serious, says her mother, Lisa, who watched from the sidelines as her younger daughter joined in a cooking class with five other youngsters at London Grill one morning before school started. The classes, held several times each year, are a family affair, led by the father-son cooking team of Michael and Jake McNally. Michael is the chef. Jake is age 10.

Sporting a "Jake's Mom" badge, Terry McNally, as management, kept mayhem to a minimum, while Jake's "big sister" Chaela, 21, shuttled food and supplies from the kitchen. The senior McNallys share ownership of the restaurant.

Ericka Gentile, who often cooks at home, chose her career path early.

"Last year they had a career day at school, and she wanted to be a chef then. She watches TV cooking shows with her father all the time. My husband loves to cook, too," said Lisa Gentile, of South Philadelphia. Gentile's older daughter, Jacqueline, chose to stay out of the fray, watching with her mom as the others came near a giggling flour fight midway through the morning.

Others in the class, all from the Fairmount area, have similar interests in food and experience in the kitchen, more so than some might expect for such a young age.

"I do eggs at home and make dinner and breakfast for my family. I plan to be a chef," said 9-year-old Joanna Krasick Polaski, who has attended cooking classes before.

Making cakes, "a lot of cakes," is one way her friend Allison Fumo, 10, passes time in the kitchen. When she's not helping with meals built around prepared foods, that is.

"We go to Fresh Fields a lot," explained Allie, who is adept enough through the two-hour, hands-on session to keep her bangle bracelets out of the food.

At the boys' end of the work table, Brian Miller, 12, was rolling off a second tray of raviolis.

Making ravioli, he said later, made him feel he had really learned something new in the class.

"I cook with my Mom," he said. "My specialty is Buffalo Wings."

Across the table, Evan Berenato, 11, chimed in. "I make omelettes at home. And I've made bread before, and marinara sauce with my Dad."

The class was drawn from a list of more than 300 potential students Terry has gathered since starting the classes. It was the first time here for all but Joanna. The backlog of interest set Terry thinking about taking cooking lessons to the children, directly to schools, sometime in the future.

It was Jake's interest and coaxing that led his parents two years ago to start these Camp Chef Wannabe classes for children, ages 7 to 14, at the restaurant. Class size has inched higher on occasion, but Terry likes to keep the group to a manageable 6-to-10 students.

"At this age, they start bouncing off each other," Terry said. "Things get crazy."

Jake's idea that other kids might enjoy cooking as much as he does proved true. Now he plans menus, picks recipes, and helps teach. He has helped at the restaurant for years, pitching in to host and bus tables, and helping cook for family and staff. He makes cookies and mixes dough and has mastered some dishes such as the macaroni-and-cheese that is a favorite for his fall class.

Pasta is popular - from the homemade ravioli to that macaroni-and-cheese. Also, desserts such as pumpkin pie or strawberry shortcake.

And now Jake's inspiration - chocolate pizza - is a regular on the class menu. This day's version uses caramel sauce on the dough to hold candy and chocolate toppings.

Showing the group how to pat down and flatten the risen pizza dough, sometimes-shy Jake moved into his take-charge mode. While students chose from a pile of rolling pins, he reached for a cobalt-blue bottle on a table nearby.

"If you don't have a rolling pin at home," the junior instructor confidently informed his audience, "you can use a bottle."

At the end, each student left class toting three to five Styrofoam containers with nachos, quesadillas, raviolis with sauce, and dessert pizzas. And this after two tasting sessions, at mid-morning and at noon.

* For making nachos, there were bags of corn tortilla chips and bowls of London Grill's special Elizabeth Taylor chili, shredded cheeses, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and chopped scallions. (You can substitute canned chili or refried beans for kid-friendly flavors and convenience.)

Each child assembled a personal mix of ingredients. Lots of cheese and sour cream and very few beans was the order of the day for most. Clearly, these girls have no idea of sour cream's astronomical calorie count. The chili sauce spices also made the youngsters wary.

They filled their baking dishes nonetheless. At home, nachos are easily made on a large baking sheet, then sectioned for serving.

Spoon toppings randomly over a bed of chips. For a heftier nacho casserole, repeat some layers. Then bake the nachos at 375 to 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and nachos hot.

Some of the same ingredients are used for the Quesadillas, which chef Michael calls Mexican pizza.

"Do anything you want with the toppings, but not too much, because we're going to put another tortilla on top and then put it in the oven," he told the group.

"If you put on too much topping, it will spill out."

For information on future Camp Chef Wannabe cooking classes for children at London Grill, 2301 Fairmount Ave., call 215-978-4545.

* Here are more of the McNallys' recipes for young or novice cooks.

CITY-STYLE QUESADILLAS

8 (10-inch) soft flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese

2 cups chopped tomatoes, drained

1 cup shopped scallions

2 tablespoons oil

Place 4 tortillas on work surface or baking sheet. Distribute cheeses (see note), tomatoes and scallions equally on tortillas to within 1-inch of edge. Top with remaining tortillas. If baking, brush tortillas with oil and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes to melt cheeses. Or on stovetop, at medium, heat oil in pan and saute quesadillas 3 to 4 minutes on each side, to melt cheeses and brown lightly. Cut in wedges to serve. Makes four servings.

Note: Mixed Mexican cheeses or others may be substituted. If desired, each tortilla may be topped with cheeses, rolled and baked.

Nutritional data per serving: Calories, 652; protein, 24 grams; carbohydrates, 58 grams; fat, 36 grams; cholesterol, 82 milligrams; sodium, 1,327 milligrams.

HOMEMADE CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

4 sheets fresh pasta (see note)

1 pound fresh ricotta

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)

Cover pasta with a damp towel to keep dough supple. In bowl, mix ricotta, grated cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper; set aside.

Cut pasta sheets in half or position on ravioli mold to fold half over top. Brush dough with water or beaten egg. Fit mold-liner over pasta and press gently to form depressions. Place about 1 tablespoon filling in each depression. Top with other half sheet and roll dough flat on mold to seal and separate the ravioli. Repeat for each pasta sheet.

(If no mold is available, place filling by tablespoonfuls on the dough at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Place second sheet of soft dough, also brushed with water or egg, over top. Cut to separate individual ravioli. Press dough edges with fork tines or crimper to seal.) Spread ravioli on sheets; chill for 1 hour before dropping into boiling salted water. Cook until done or until ravioli rise to the top of the water. Drain and transfer to serving bowl. Toss with Fresh Tomato Sauce. Serve at once. Makes 48 ravioli, four to six servings.

Note: Pasta sheets should be sized to the ravioli mold, doubled, or about 10 inches square for a 12-unit mold of 1 1/2-inch square ravioli.

Nutritional data per serving without sauce: Calories, 441; protein, 26 grams; carbohydrates, 43 grams; fat, 18 grams; cholesterol, 126 milligrams; sodium, 411 milligrams.

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 red onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced

4 tablespoons minced basil

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh black pepper to taste

In bowl, mix tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with hot pasta. Makes four to six servings.

Nutritional data per serving: Calories, 240; protein, 1 gram; carbohydrates, 6 grams; fat, 24 grams; cholesterol, none; sodium, 10 milligrams.

CARAMEL & CHOCOLATE PIZZA

For the dough:

1 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

For the topping:

1 cup warmed caramel sauce

1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows

4 ounces chocolate, chopped or melted

1 cup M&Ms chocolate candies

1 cup raisins or Raisinets

In bowl, stir yeast into water; let sit 10 minutes to proof. (Yeast should dissolve and bubble up.) Stir in honey. Stir salt into flour.

In large bowl, mix yeast mixture with flour to form a ball. (This can be done in 3 to 4 minutes with a mixer and dough hooks, or in 6 to 8 minutes by hand.) Place dough in oiled bowl, turning to coat. Let rise, loosely covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough and divide into four balls, about five ounces each. Roll each into a flat, round shape about 1/8-inch thick, 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Top as desired with warm caramel sauce, mini-marshmallows, chocolate, M&Ms, raisins or other candy or dried fruit bits. Bake on sheets, lightly oiled and floured, at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until crust is lightly browned. Makes four pizzas.

Nutritional data per pizza: Calories, 1,234; protein, 21 grams; carbohydrates, 231 grams; fat, 27 grams; cholesterol, 11 milligrams; sodium, 937 milligrams.

Marilynn Marter's e-mail address is mmarter@phillynews.com.

© Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
All content is copyrighted and may not be republished without permission.

<<Back to All Press/Review Items