Prepare a classic meatloaf with a sweet and savory glaze. Discuss the textural implications of the various ingredients added to a meatloaf and how we can maximize flavor throughout the cooking process.
Planning future meals/projects, Researching recipes and techniques
Lesson Outline
PJ recently added another 45 minute cooking class to his schedule on Monday mornings, so for our first meeting of this new class period we discussed how we can use this period for planning, researching, and preparation of ingredients.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
We discussed what sorts of things PJ has enjoyed cooking and learning about so far, and what he would like to work on in the future. He expressed a keen interest in cooking "cartoon foods," or foods/meals from popular shows and cartoons that he's been curious about. We did some online research and compiled a list of foods that he'd like to try making from a couple of different cartoons he enjoys. We talked about a few of the core concepts involved in making said foods and talked about what sorts of challenges/limitations we may come up against when trying to bring a cartoon to life, so to speak.
Pork Dumplings with a soy, ginger, sesame dipping sauce
Lesson Outline
Practice our knife skills and discuss efficient breakdown of produce by finely dicing vegetables/aromatics for the dumpling filling. Get some hands on practice filling and folding dumplings, and practice balancing flavors by combining ingredients to make the dipping sauce.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
Lucas had a lot of fun with this dish and the dumplings turned out delicious! He seemed to really enjoy filling/folding the dumplings, trying several different methods, and while he was at first skeptical of how his dipping sauce would come out he did a great job balancing sweetness, acidity, and saltiness to create a delicious sauce.
Prepare pan seared lamb chops basted with garlic butter and rice.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Libby was very excited to make lamb and did a great job! She asked lots of great questions and remained engaged for the full class time, doing a great job of relating new information to what she's seen her parents do at home while cooking. She really seemed to enjoy the dish and kept a lamb bone as a souvenir.
Prepare a basic meatloaf with a classic glaze and buttery mashed potatoes. Use this as an opportunity to talk about time and temperature, infusing flavor and safe meat handling practices.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
PJ was doing MAP testing for the first portion of our class time so we only ended up making the mashed potatoes today, saving the ground beef in the freezer for meatloaf next week. We had a great conversation about infusing flavor (garlic and rosemary) into fat (butter), and the various cooking methods we could use to soften the potatoes for mashing.
Using a variety of ingredients, prepare sliders (mini hamburgers) inspired by asian flavors. Through the preparation of theses various ingredients, continue our discussion on balancing flavors and textures and examine the results of balancing sweet with spicy, savory with acidic, etc.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
Lucas had the idea for this meal and it turned out great! He did an excellent job balancing the various components of the dish, tasting and adjusting throughout the process, and he did a great job cooking the burgers to a safe temperature while also developing a nice sear without burning.
Get to know each other and talk about Teddy’s likes and dislikes, brainstorm a list of things Teddy would like to cook.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Teddy did a great job in the kitchen! He was very enthusiastic about cooking and had lots of ideas for meals we can make together. After our brainstorming session we made scrambled eggs as a way to talk about food safety and being safe around hot pans etc. We made two batches of eggs, the first batch I took the lead and explained each step to Teddy. For the second batch I asked Teddy to take the lead and walk me through the steps. He did a great job! He remembered just about everything and was very proud of how the eggs turned out, passing out several plates to share.
Richard had expressed interest in cooking fish, so for our first class together we prepared two pieces of cod fish using the same ingredients but two different methods of cooking. We then compared the flavors and textures of the two pieces of fish, as well as the accompanying ingredients, and discussed why the differences may have come about.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Richard is a great cook! He's clearly spent a lot of time in the kitchen and has a great, intuitive sense of flavor. He really seemed to enjoy comparing the two pieces of fish and discussing how the ingredients reacted differently to the two methods of cooking. He was particularly interested in how the oven roasted tomatoes differed from the pan seared tomatoes, and how the flavor of the herbs/lemon came through differently on each piece of fish.
In previous classes Lucas had told me about one of his favorite breakfasts to make for himself, so today we decided to make it together: scrambled eggs with diced ham and hash-browns. Lucas did a great job explaining his methods and collaborating/adjusting to suit the equipment and ingredients we had on hand.
Session Minutes
90
Minutes Student Attended
90
Lesson Comments
We had a great discussion about organization and time management while making a plan to cook the various ingredients, and Lucas got to practice some multitasking at the end while cooking the eggs and frying the hash-browns simultaneously. We had both forgotten about cheese when discussing ingredients prior to class, but Lucas seemed pleasantly surprised with how well the dish turned out without it.
