Kitchen Notebook

To celebrate our final class, we invited family members to join us for dinner. Tomas lobbied hard for the tortellini minestrone; Briana pleaded for the chicken spiedini, and the roasted broccoli was everyone's favorite. Our biggest challenge was time. To our surprise, our preparation ran smoothly and we were ready and waiting for our families. The students were excited to welcome their family members. The children felt proud of the meal they created for their families, and we were proud of them, too!

- Nancy Donahue and Beth Stack

"Please pass more of the broccoli." Yes, that is what we heard at the table this week. The recipe for the roasted broccoli won over all of our chefs. Though the school oven was way too hot, and our broccoli burned, the charred veggies were a tasty winner! Simple, healthy, and packed with lots of lemony flavor. A repeat dish for sure in any household.

Our menu included poached chicken in individual parchment paper wrapped up in twine, a technique none of us had done before. Brown rice was the side dish, which the students had never tasted before. But all agreed they liked it.

- Amy Steinberg
and Cindy Rappaport

The children entered the kitchen on our last Wednesday afternoon, and we knew it was going to be a bittersweet day. "What can I chop?" asked Raymond Hankins. "I know, I know - wash your hands first," said Anthony Bové. It was such a pleasure that the boys all knew exactly what to do. What a significant change from 10 weeks earlier.

When the moms and grandmoms arrived, all were full of smiles and enthusiasm about the love the boys have for the class. We heard about how much they learned over the past several weeks, and how much more cooking they are doing at home. Everyone loved the food. Hugs were given, and e-mails were exchanged. We will absolutely miss "our" boys.

- Lisa Krader and Linda Todorow

Our chefs chose the paprika sweet potatoes, chicken kebabs, and roasted broccoli to prepare for their parents and guests for our last week. The marinade time for the chicken was cut short and everyone only skewered one kebab because family was coming earlier than our usual eating time and stuff had to get in the oven. We set up the dinner buffet style, so everyone served themselves. There was plenty to eat and everyone came back with empty plates. It was confirmation of the answer to the question "What did you like best about class?" The answer: The food.

- Adrian Seltzer and Sylvia Wilson

We made poached chicken and roasted broccoli for our last dinner. We used the chicken scraps to make broth to add to the canned broth we used for poaching. The broccoli was a hard sell but all tasted it and some even liked it. It must have been the garlic! Kaiya started in immediately on the brown rice so it would begin to cook as we prepped. Everything was ready at the same time and the girls vied for the leftovers.

- Diane Fanelli
and Barbara Krumbhaar

The final My Daughter's Kitchen session at Sacred Heart had a definite "last day of school" feeling with lots of laughing and admissions that we would miss getting together. Given their weeks of experience, the prep for the simple dish of pasta with zucchini and tuna (which we amplified with fresh Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and grape tomatoes) was a piece of cake for the girls. This left us time to talk about favorite meals and other program highlights, such as familiarity with fresh, healthy ingredients, developing prep skills, and the satisfaction of doing something from scratch. - Jeanne Runne and Alice Sandmeyer

Our last supper was both a fun and delicious experience. The girls chose buttermilk chicken and sweet potato fries for our meal with family members. While sharing the meal with our guests, conversation flowed freely. The girls told us that they felt that the program helped them improve their eating habits and food preparation skills, and laughingly said that they probably still wouldn't be allowed to cook at home. After insisting on a group hug, they left more knowledgeable about the world of nutrition, saying that they'd definitely recommend the class to next year's fifth graders.

- Jane Pupis and Susan Munafo