Teaching kids to make healthier lifestyle choices for themselves and, by extension, their families; while focusing on the common denominator of food to bridge cultural, social and economic divides among young people.

Elite Jr. Chef

Nicolas E.

I loved the pound cake but it accedently boiled over...yikes. But i cleaned it up and it tasted great. I thought this meal was a lot of work to put together. I thought the chicken wasnt spicy but I added one less tablespoon of tabasco because I dont really like spicy foods and it still tasted good. I didnt marinade it in the sauce long enough because I didnt realize it would take that long to do a recipe. I didnt like the sweet potatoes but my family thought they tasted really good.

I thought that the cookies were really dry-I think i added too much cocoa powder. They would be good with ice cream. I thought the shrimp was really good but I didnt like the endives. I thought that the salad was good but I didnt like the dresssing.

I thought that the dessert was good because i liked the citrus fruit taste. I thought the chicken was good but I didnt really like the sauce that went on it.

Week 4 Menu

Braised Fish Steaks w/Olives & Lemons

With Couscous

Carrot Sandwich Cookies

Braising

Week 1

Braised Chicken w/Green Peppers & Tomatoes

Egg Noodles

Pineapple, Kiwi & Oranges in Mint Syrup

Week 2

Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Braised Greens

Spicy Oven Fried Chicken

Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake

Week 3 Menu

Winter Salad w/Walnut Mustard Dressing

Braised Shrimp & Cream Endive

Chocolate Cookies

Sauces

I really like the baked rigationi with the homemade cheese sauce. Me and my family <3 it! It taste a lot better than out of a box. For the salad I just got lettuce and put ranch or italian dressing on it since there was no recipe for it. And I thought that the pineapple was really good (I added extra sugar) but I thought that the carmalized sugar on top made it a little bit too strong...

I don't really like salmon, so I tried it and I thought it was ok but my mom liked it. She said I cooked it perfectly too. I thought that the asparages was good with the hollandaise sauce (I don't like plain asparagus either). I think that the apples were my favorite! It almost tasted like warm apple pie (accept for the crust).

I thought that the eggs benedict was good but I think the sauce was too big of an amount. There was too much, and personally, I think it taste better out of a package.. :D I thought that the potatoes were good also, they tasted good with ketsup. I like the crepes the most though. I thought that those were delic!

Week 4 Menu

Bacon & Avocado Sandwiches

 

Sweet Potato Fries

 

Brownies w/White Chocolate Chunks

Ice Cream & Crème Anglaise  

Week 1 Menu

 

Eggs Benedict w/Canadian Bacon & Spinach

 

Oven Fried Potatoes

 

Crepes Stuffed with Fresh Fruit, Maple Syrup, and Crème Anglaise

Week 2

Baked Rigatoni   

 

Green Salad w/Vinaigrette

 

Caramelized Pineapple w/Ginger

Week 3 Menu

Salmon w/Horseradish Green Goddess Sauce

 

Roasted Asparagus w/Hollandaise   

 

Baked Apples with Almond Butter and Crème Anglaise

I liked the sandwiches becuase the reminded me of b.l.t.'s and I really like those. I just didnt like the homemade mayonase. I just can't figure out how to make look right, or taste right. I did NOT like the "sweet potatoe fries." They don't even taste like sweet potatoe fries but, like they always do, my family loved them. But I loved loved loved the brownies because I have never made homemade brownies before and these ones tasted so good!

Grains

Grains

Week 3 Menu

Greek Burgers w/Arugula, Tomatoes & Feta

Tabbouleh

Coconut Brown Rice Pudding

Grains

Pastry

Menu 1

Smoked Chorizo & Cheese Empanadas

Black Eye Pea & Tomato Salsa

Mint & Apple Granita

Menu 4

Simple Green Salad

Chicken Pot Pies w/Cream Cheese

Stuffed Baked Apples

Menu 3

Winter White Salad

Chicken w/Tomatoes & Feta Cheese Sauce

Lemon Tart

Menu 2

Ricotta, Orange & Currant Fritters

Corn & Bacon Pie

Fruit Smoothies

Grains

Fish

Menu 1

Orange Spicy Salad

Shrimp & Vegetables in Coriander Ginger Broth

Pina Colada Cups

Menu 4

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Slow Roasted Salmon w/Braised Lentils

Jam Crumb Cake

Menu 3

Gingered Vegetable Stir-Fry

Thai Fish Cakes

Pineapple w/Basil

I thought that the coconut brown rice pudding was really good. I didnt have apricots so I used peaches. It had a nice consitancy; I cooked this while all the other meals were being prepared. I thought the tabbouleh was...interesting. I think it was kind of weird but overall I guess it tasted ok. I thought that the burgers were really dry though. I didnt like them at all.

I liked this dinner very much. I thought that the empanadas were very tasty. I also thought that the black eyed peas salsa was delicious. It was good with tortilla chips. I didn't really know what to do with the granita so I just cut it up into pieces and served it like a popsicle...that's what it tasted like.

I thought that the fritters were good, but sort of odd. I didn't really like the whole apperance thing. I thought that the pie was really good. I just didn't really cook all of the cornmeal all the way through, it was kind of crunchy. I really liked the smoothie. It kinda tasted like it was from Jamba Juice..lol

My whole family thought that the white winter salad, so good that they made it...lol >_< Ok so they also thought that the cauliflour was perfectly cooked. I really liked the chicken with tomates and feta cheese. It sort of reminded me of the braised chicken with green peppers and tomatoes. The extra sauce was really good to put on top. I thought that the lemon tart was ok. I just didn't really like the crust or the filling. It was just average

I thought that the pinapple was sort of plain, not really anything special. It felt like I had made it before. I thought that the stir-fry was the best dish I cooked that day, but still ok. I hate mushrooms, so I didn't like the shiitake ones in it.

I thought that the spicy orange salad, was, weird. It was too spicy and odd for an orange to take. I thought that the shrimp w/vegies were gross too and I thought that the scallions were overpowering. However, the fruit cups were pretty amazing... >_< I thought that they were great and they tasted almost like a popsicle, but it didn't really remind me of a pina colada....i'll have those soon at JAMAICA....lol

I thought that this week's recipies were very...interesting. I thought that the pot pie was really really good... but hard to make/ a lot of work. I didn't really measure how much chicken broth to put into it, so I ended up having to add a lot of cornstarch to the broth to thicken it enough to even call it a pie. For the salad, since there was no recipe, I just mixed lettuce with some leftover basil. Now, I thought that the apples tasted really...weird. I am not a fan of fruits and nuts, so this dessert wasn't my style...

Out of these three recipies, the crumb cake was my favorite. I really liked the crumb cake, it tasted so good...almost like it was made in a bakery. It just tasted so fresh and nice. I thought that the mashed potatoes were ok...it had too much dijon mustard, which made it too spicy. I think it would have gone good with gravy... I am definently not a fan of fish (besides sushi) so I didn't really like the salmon. My parents did though. They thought that it was delicious...