The week of July 9th – 13th was our ‘Back to Basics’ Culinary Camp for 10-16 year olds at Let’s Get Cookin’ in Westlake Village.  I teach all the Kids & Parent/Child Classes as well as Birthday Parties & Private classes.  I also teach Food Processor Classes.  The photos below depict the activities during this week.

 

Day One was introductory with all the Basics such as Safety, Measuring, Equipment, etc. being taught.  We also made Breakfast food on the first day and unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures.  The menu for this day was:

 

Almond Raisin Granola

Ginger Snap Granola 

Breakfast Shake 

Waffles  & Fruit Toppings

Omelets

Cooking Bacon and Sausage

Home Fried Potatoes

All the students worked in groups and helped to make at least three different items.  In addition, after a brief demo, each student made their own omelets with choices of vegetables, meat & cheeses to incorporate into them.  Depending on their appetities, each student made either a one egg or two egg omelet.  The omelets were eaten as soon as made, but the rest of the food was kept warm and served all at one time so the students could sit down as a group and also practice their social skills.

Day Two was a lunch menu which included  Bread Product, Salads, Sandwiches and a Dessert.  The dishes made were:

Buttermilk Biscuits

Jalapeno Cornbread

Tomato Basil Soup

Quick Clam Chowder

Corn Chowder 

Shrimp Salad Wraps

Baby Belle Sliders 

Southwest Chicken Salad

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

Ribbon Pasta Salad

Fudge Brownies

Again, the Students worked in Groups of four or five and at the end sat down and enjoyed their labors.  Shown below are some photos of ‘Lunch Day’.

 

The sliders buns are a yeast dough that the students made from scractch.  Some were finished with Poppy Seeds and some were finished with Sesame Seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Provolone Cheese, Tomatoes, and Lettuce also went with the Sliders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dressing was made with Mayonnaise and Sundried Tomatoes

 

Day Three was Dinner.  For this Menu we made:

 

Garlic Dinner Rolls

Baby Lettuce Salad

Caesar Salad

Vegetable Garden Chili

Macaroni and Cheese Supreme

Chicken Croquettes

Rémoulade Sauce

Beef Stroganoff 

Scalloped Potatoes

 

The Vegetarian Chili was made with a multitude of Vegetables including Golden Beets, Broccoli, Onions, Tomatoes, Northern Beans & Mushrooms.  Since the Menu for today was quite large and tomorrow’s menu was Desserts only, we saved the Chili for Thursday so the students would have something healthy to eat along with their desserts.  Also, the longer the Chili cooks, the more flavorful it is.  Also, standing refrigerated overnight helps to intensify the flavors.  The Chili was served the next day with shredded Mozzarella Cheese and garnished with snipped Chives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Four was Desserts.  For this Activity the students were asked to make requests on the first day of camp.  From the requests that were made, the following were chosen to best represent all the students desires.

 

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

In Oreo Cookie Crust

Tiramisu 

Chocolate Lava Cake

With Raspberry Sauce

Pate Choux

Pastry Cream

Lemon Curd

Apple Pie

Berry Pie

All the desserts turned our really good, but the one of the best ones was the Raspberry Covered Cheesecake.

The Tiramisu was also very good as were the Cream Puffs made from the Pate Choux.  The Cream Puffs were filled either with Lemon Curd or Vanilla Pastry Cream.  The ones with the Pastry Cream were glazed with a Chocolate Glaze.  Looking at the photos, you will see that the Chocolate Glaze turned out to be much more than a glaze.  The Chocolate Lovers, loved them though.  And everyone in the group was a Chocolate Lover!

We did not have time to bake all the pies so, they were taken home to be finished baking by the students.  They were purposely made in individual pie tins as we made a lot of desserts and I knew from experience that we probably wouldn’t have time to completely bake the pies.

The Chocolate Lava Cakes were made in individual ramekins and they of course had to be eaten right away to experience the molten chocolate inside.

Day Five was our Mystery Bag Day.  Each team of students were given a bag with a Protein, a Starch and a Vegetable.  In addition, they were allowed to use any spices and herbs available plus a number of vegetables, fresh herbs, eggs, butter and other ingredients that were put our for their use.  The rule was that they must use all the ingredients in their bags.  The students were very creative and came up with some very interesting and beautiful.  When they were finished, each group had to present what they made to to the other students and describe in detail what they made.  In the end, the food was served buffet style and all the students sat down together and enjoyed their lunch.  (See photo at beginning of this blog)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

MORE PICTURES 

Stephanie