Hey Young Chefs!
Take a listen to my radio show, “Cool Kids Cook,” on the Voice America Kids network.
I interviewed Michael Prados, a 12 year old food critic, and the Louisiana winner of The Healthy Lunch Challenge, a contest sponsored by Epicurious and First Lady Michelle Obama. Visit Michael’s website at JrFoodCritic.com.
Michael Prados, The Jr. Food Critic
Here are the recipes that appear in the various segments of my radio show.
“A TISKET A TASKET WHAT’S INSIDE MY BASKET?”
Grilled Cinnamon Honey Peaches
Ingredients:
Peaches, halved and pitted
Cinnamon
Honey (local if possible)
Directions:
Heat grill to 300 degrees. Place peaches face down on the grill. Grill for 5 minutes or until peaches soften and develop char marks. With tongs, turn peaches over. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of peaches. Drizzle honey into the peach pits. Grill for a few more minutes until honey begins to soak into the peaches.
Inside Out Peach Crumble
I modified my Nana’s crumble topping recipe for this version of a peach crumble. The cool thing is that everyone gets their own serving inside half of a peach.
Ingredients:
2 peaches, halved and pitted
½ c. pecans
2/3 c. flour
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1½ tbsp. melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the pecans, flour, light brown sugar, and melted butter in a food processor. Put the peach halves in muffin tins. Next, add mixture in the dip of the peach halves. Finally, bake in the oven for 20 minutes. I hope you enjoyed my peach recipes!
Simple Guacamole
Ingredients:
2 avocados, ripe
1 tbsp. white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. lime juice ( tell why you add lime juice)
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions:
Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Scoop insides out of the shell and place in a food processor. Combine all ingredients and blend until creamy. If you prefer chunky guacamole, mash the ingredients together in a bowl.
“KITCHEN TIPS AND TOOLS”
Blackberry Sauce
Ingredients:
3 c. fresh blackberries
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
Directions:
Put the blackberries, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan on medium high heat and cook till the blackberries create a sauce. Next, take your immersion blender and blend until it’s a smooth sauce. Now, strain your sauce into a bowl. Pour over pancakes, waffles, biscuits, and more.
“THE SPICE DETECTIVE!”
Today we’re investigating… Cinnamon!
Cinnamon Tortilla Triangles
Ingredients:
4 tortillas
butter
cinnamon
sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread butter and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar to your liking. Cut tortillas into quarters. Place on your baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. (Crunch!) Mmm! Crunchy!
“SNACKTIVITY TIME!”
Today’s Snacktivity is… Sweet Salsa! This recipe will go well with those Cinnamon Tortilla Triangles. This salsa is made of fruit, so it’s sweet. The ingredients in it have the colors that are in regular salsa. Here’s a recipe for Sweet Salsa.
Sweet Salsa
Ingredients:
1/4 c. diced strawberries
1/4 c. halved green grapes
1/4 c. diced pear
1/4 c. raspberries
1/8 c. mint, cut into a chiffonade (or sliced into thin strips)
1/4 c. strawberry fruit preserves
Directions:
Add all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.
This is a great recipe when you’re hungry after school. Make it the night before, cover it, and put it in the fridge so that it’s ready to eat when you come home.
“CREATIVE CUISINE”
Homemade Microwave Popcorn
Homemade Popcorn
Ingredients:
1/4 c. popcorn kernels
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 brown paper bag
Directions:
Put the popcorn kernels in the paper bag. Make sure you keep the bottom folded. Then, roll the top of the bag down towards the folded bottom. Next, put the bag in the microwave rolled side up for about 1 and 30 seconds or until the popping slows down to 1 to 2 pops per second. Finally, take it out of the microwave and put the popcorn in a bowl. Put the rest of the popcorn kernels in the freezer to make more kernels pop next time. Pour the melted butter evenly on the popcorn.
To make butter popcorn add:
1 tsp. salt
To make kettlecorn add:
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
You can experiment with your popcorn flavors. You can make cinnamon sugar popcorn and even spicy Cajun popcorn.
Monkey Bread
Monkey Bread
Ingredients:
4 cans of regular size biscuits
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. or 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a bunt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a resealable bag. Cut the biscuits in half and roll them into balls. Then, put them into the bag and shake until coated. Put them into the bunt pan. Finally, mix together brown sugar and melted butter. Pour over the biscuit balls. Bake for 28 minutes. Enjoy your monkey bread!
Cool Kids Cook and Get Creative in the Kitchen!
Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana
