Tater Tots Cooking Class

OK, I am not going to share a recipe for tater tots in this post.  Tater tots is what they call kids ages 4-6 at the Chopping Block cooking school.  Last week I took the boy to a class on picnics.  At first he seemed a bit nervous but it appears that he gets his cooking prowess from his aunt and not his mom.  Here are the recipes and some photos from class.  It was a great time for me to watch the boy concentrating so hard on his knife skills and he told me that class was a lot "funner" than he thought it would be.  That's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one.

Pasta Primavera Salad was our first recipe.  The kids showed off their knife skills cutting the veggies to be roasted.

1/2lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed and cut into 1/2 inch slices on the bias
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, rough chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2lb. short noodles of your choice (we used elbows)
1/2 C. fresh mozzarella cheese, medium dice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the vegetables with the olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Spread out on a parchment lined sheet tray and roast until they are golden brown around the edges and tender, about 15 minutes.  Set aside.

While the vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt.  Boil the noodles until they are al dente.  Drain well and transfer to a bowl.

Toss the roasted vegetables with the cooked noodles and stir in just enough Pesto (recipe to follow) to coat.

Fold in the mozzarella cheese and serve warm or at room temperature.

I wish I could have gotten a photo of the boy when he tried pesto for the first time.  I could tell from the look on his face, when he put the spoon in his mouth, that he didn't want to like it.  Then he looked at me and said, "It's good!"  I just about fell over!

Pesto

2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp. Romano cheese, grated
2 C. fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Turn on a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Drop in garlic cloves through top opening and process until finely minced.

Turn off the processor, add pine nuts and cheeses and process until finely minced.

Add the basil, and while the food processor is running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate until use, up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

For our picnic dessert, we made brownie bites.  Each kid got to crack an egg and stir the big batter bowl.  This recipe is certainly richer than what comes out of the Betty Crocker box I use all the time.  Sorry Betty.

2 sticks unsalted butter
6oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
6 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 C. all purpose flour
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

Place the butter, chocolate chips and sugars in a saucepan.  Place over low heat and stir until the mixture is melted.

Remove from heat and stir in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.  Gently whisk into the chocolate mixture until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester, when inserted into the center, comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then cut into desired shapes.