The kids liked the chicken parm

"I expected good, but this is great," Samaya Goodwin said as we dined on our healthy version of a classic chicken Parmesan. At the start of class, almost all our student chefs said they hated tomatoes, but after they tasted and loved this dish, we decided to anoint ourselves the "We hate tomatoes but will try them anyway" club.

- Cindy Rappoport

Although the girls were used to chicken parm with lots of tomato sauce, they enjoyed the lighter, faster variety. Many wanted to make this at home, and there were leftovers to share with their families. They enjoy the new dishes they are making and are very interested in other ways to cook.

- Elena Levitan,
Beth Buckman

The kids had great fun making the healthy version of this popular dish, slicing the tomatoes, grating the cheeses, tasting fresh basil ("I thought this was lettuce"), and eagerly awaiting the cheeses to melt ("It smells like pizza") and finally getting to taste their masterpiece. Everyone ate seconds and wrapped a piece to take home.

- Nancy Smith

We took the time to taste everything raw (except for the chicken) as we prepped. The Parmesan cheese was nutty and hard, while the mozzarella squishy and watery. Tomatoes were deemed OK and basil a no-go. But put it all together into chicken parm, and it was a winner.

- Fran Melmed,
Rachel Josloff

When the chicken came out of the oven, Saniyyah Mack noticed that "it smells like pizza." When asked how she'd expected the chicken Parmesan to taste, she said: "It tasted better." Raven Davies said that the chicken parm was good, but that she would have liked it more crispy, like she's used to.

- Lisa Krader,
Linda Todorow

When going over this week's ingredients, Marquan asked, "What's basil?" Everyone smelled it and agreed it smelled good, but after a taste test, Dominique exclaimed, "That's nasty, but I may like it when we put it with something else." Wow, having an open mind about the basil was a real accomplishment in thinking positively about new food.

- Sylvia Wilson,
Ruth Biemer

Although Naiomy Rodriguez was concerned that she had a heavy hand with the salt and pepper, the students enjoyed tasty chicken Parmesan. Instructor Frank Iannuzzi demonstrated how to mix seasonings into the oil on the bottom of the pan so that both sides of the chicken were flavored. - Jane Elkis Berkowitz, Frank Iannuzzi

A hit! As soon as the kids saw the recipe, excitement started. All were familiar with chicken parm and shared what they knew about it. Chicken, tomato sauce, cheese - can't go wrong. Elijah Byrd said, "If there's cheese on it, I'm good with it." We discussed how much less oil we were using when compared to the deep-fried version, and had an appreciation of what version was healthier. When it came out of the oven, all the mini-chefs took a moment to smell it and concluded, "It smells like pizza."

- Lorrie Craley

Week four in the St. Martin of Tours kitchen was a great success. The students all had a blast smothering the chicken in layers of cheese. After tasting the result, Jasmine DeJesus said, "It was amazing - nothing could change my mind." It looked so good, they all wanted to take leftovers home. But so many people had seconds that it was all gone.

- Diana Hamlin

This week's recipe gave each student the opportunity to slice in half and lightly pound whole, boneless chicken breasts into cutlets. For some, controlling the knife to cut through as evenly as possible was a challenge.

A number of the students didn't care for the tomato or basil on the chicken.

- Glenn Petrucci

"I don't want any tomatoes," said Mikayla Ocasio and Katelyn Garcia in unison, but they added them grudgingly to the dish. The chefs were asked to make predictions about how the finished chicken would taste based on the appetizing aroma. "How do you spell scrumptious?" asked Mieko Watson. While some of the tomatoes were left to languish on the plate, the chicken was a big hit.

- Maureen Dodson, Amy Falkenstein

The kids raved about the chicken parm. Nialah Crawford reflected the attitude of the kids when she wrote; "Hope to make some more healthy and amazing food."

- Barbara Krumbhaar, Dianne Fanelli

We talked about how our version of chicken parm was healthier than the version most of us are used to: We broiled instead of fried and used fresh tomatoes rather than marinara sauce, which has added fats and often sugar. Our guest volunteer, Maddy Booth, discussed handling chicken and the dangers of cross-contamination. She also modeled how to carry a hot pan, saying, "Hot corner!" and how to carry a knife, saying, "Hot behind!" They loved saying and practicing that throughout the preparation.

- Jill Kaiserman, Maddy Booth

Sinmi Adegboyega wrote that she liked the meal's uniqueness and that it was healthier than the usual chicken Parmesan. A few of the boys, including Shaun Daniels, thought it tasted like KFC. I guess that's a compliment.

- Maureen Barrett and Mariann Owens

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Tune in at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to watch the kids from Wiggins Prep in Camden make chicken parm and talk about cooking class. EndText