Day ??? Dallas Restaurant Week at Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House

So we sort of had a Kid's Cooking Challenge summer FAIL.  Big time.  We started, but sort of faded away with the business of life.  But today I, Mom, am back with a guest blog.

Let me just start with the fact that being a blogger who happens to be friends with Texas Holly of June Cleaver Nirvana and She is Dallas fame has perks.  Texas Holly has invited me to join her at a beef event put on by the Texas Beef Council.  Of course it was delicious (and I’m not even a huge beef eater) and I blogged about it.  

Then I got to go to a strawberry event sponsored by the California Strawberry Association.  I got to try--and have since made--Mahi Mahi Tacos with Strawberry/Mango salsa, and OMG, they are SO good.

Well, Friday night, husband and I got to experience Restaurant Week in Dallas--before the actual week began.  How cool is that?!  Thanks to Texas Holly and the very generous, very fabulous Texas Beef Council, along with Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House, about 20 bloggers were invited to partake of one heck of an amazing meal.

First off, I’ve never had such good herbed butter.  Just saying.  I could probably just eat it plain.

Second, summer corn bisque.  Who knew it could rival lobster bisque.  And boy, oh boy, it sure does give the more traditional soup a run for its money.  Corn bisque was to die for.  Husband, who ordered a tomato carpaccio salad for a starter (which was fabulous) sorta wished he’d picked the corn bisque.  I let him taste it.  Barely.  Then I slurped up the rest.

Next up was a choice between a Kobe sirloin or a pecan wood smoked prime rib.  Now, as I said, I’m not a huge beef eater.  I ordered the sirloin and he ordered the prime rib.  All I can say is that both were delicious (especially the garlic mashed potatoes!), but I now know I really like prime rib cooked the way Chamberlain’s cooked it (except not quite so pink--I’m more of a well-done like the crisp outside kind of girl). 

The wines, one from Lodi, CA (our old stomping grounds) and the other from Sicily were pretty much the best wine I’ve ever had.  

Then came desert.  OMG.  First off, the choices.  Lavender Creme Brulee.  Warm Chocolate gooey cake with XXX.  I didn’t read a single word further.  That was my choice.  Was it worth the 1000 calories it probably had in it?

Uh, yeah.  And then some.  

Texas Holly and those Texas beef people put on one helluva dinner.  They gave us all a second opportunity to eat out during restaurant week.  Me?  I’m going to Whiskey Cake in Plano.  Cannot wait!  

So, see, there are definitely perks to blogging.  I can never be the kind of friend to Texas Holly that she’s been to me.  I don’t know any Texas beef or California strawberry people.  But it’s cool.  She’s cool.  We’re cool.  Our kids are friends, so she can’t ditch me for some other blogger.  Maybe I’ll bake her some cookies.  Or better yet, use the beefy cookbook I got from Chamberlain owner/chef, Richard Chamberlain, and whip up some delicious beefy dish.

Holly, are you there?  Cookies or beef?  Or both?  You name it, it’s yours.  

Day 64 - Caleb Takes the Challenge with a Fresh Fruit Platter

Recipe from Jamie's Food Revolution

Fresh Fruit Platter

With Jared out to a last minute dinner with his friend, Drew, and Sophie at her friend Karissa's birthday party, Caleb stepped into the kitchen as pinch hitter.  He tackled a fresh fruit platter all by himself.  

Here's an exclusive interview with the star hitter himself...

AKCC (A Kid's Cooking Challenge):

Why did you step into the kitchen tonight?

Caleb:

The first thing is why my brother and sister couldn't cook.  My sister is at a birthday party and my brother is at a friend's house eating dinner.  So me and my mom, who is typing, cooked the recipe.  I stepped into the challenge.

It was really fun trying to cut, but I didn't do the banana because my mom ripped it and said, "Ew, this is not a very good banana."

AKCC:

What was the first thing you did?

Caleb:

First I washed my hands, then I washed the cutting board.  And I washed the fruit.  I washed the fruit because it's all dry and it wouldn't taste good if it was dry.  I washed it with cold water.

AKCC:

What did you do next?

Caleb:

I started cutting strawberries.  

When I was cutting the strawberries I had to cut the green part off.  My mom said, "Save as much of the fruit as you can."  

The next thing is we grabbed a plate, we put a cup in the middle and we put the strawberries on the side.

And then, as you know, I started cutting the plum.

  

My mom said to cut around the seed. That was kind of hard to cut around the seed because I had to tilt the kid's knife to cut around it.  For me, at least, because I'm a kid.  

But I did it.

Next I did the cantaloupe.  The cantaloupe was easy as possible.  It was easy because I cut straight, straight, straight, then cut on the bottom of it, but not on the green part. It came off it in little crooked cubes.

The next thing we did--my mom kind of did this since it was a soft banana--there were two big pieces of banana.

AKCC:

What was the most fun fruit to cut?

Caleb:

The cantaloupe was fun to cut because I got to cut straight, and then across the bottom.  It made me feel good 'cause it was easy.

AKCC:

What went in the center cup on the plate?

Caleb:

In the center cup, I put some plain yogurt.  I tasted it and I didn't like it.  We dumped it out and put in vanilla yogurt and I liked that.

  

AKCC:

What did you think of your fruit platter?

Caleb:

I loved the fruit with the yogurt, especially the cantaloupe with the yogurt 'cause it tasted great.  GGGGRRRREEEEAAATTTT!

AKCC:

Is this something you want to have again?

Caleb:


I definitely want to have it all the time, especially with the cantaloupe.  I want to have it for tomorrow's breakfast.  I just can't take it, it's sooooooooooo, soooooooooo, so good.


Ten thousand and hundred sixty-two THUMBS UP!!!

AKCC:

Do you like cooking?

Caleb:


I LOVE cooking.  I love cooking because it is fun to cut food.  That's what I like best. 

Day 63 - Mama, the Guest Blogger

Howdy Dowdy!

Today is not dinosaurs like I promised. Today we decided to do an informational post on beef, the meat of the wild. My mother attended a Texas Beef Council lunch. She learned a bunch of stuff about beef and cooking and so she is our guest post lady. She will tell you all about it. So give it up for... Melissa Ramirez!!!!


~Jared

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Wow. That was quite an introduction. Most of it is true, although I'm not sure about beef being the meat of the wild. I'll let it slide, though.


What is true is that I was invited to a blogger event called Appetite for Inspiration by June Cleaver Nirvana and Burb Mom blogger extraordinaire, Texas Holly, along with the Texas Beef Council.

 

The event was held at Milestone Culinary Arts Center in Dallas, a really, REALLY fabulous facility.

I'm stepping in to write this post today for a couple of reasons. First, I'm so incredibly proud of Jared and Sophie. They've prepared something in the kitchen every single day for 62 days. They've done it with enthusiasm and commitment I didn't know they had in them! Today, day 63, is their first break from this and I think they deserve it.

Second, I had this unique opportunity today to be part of the Appetite for Inspiration. Since it so perfectly fits with Jared and Sophie's challenge and commitment to healthy eating, I wanted to share with them, and whatever readers they have, to broaden all of our knowledge of cooking.

The third reason is that, well, Jared's all talk with the dinosaurs. He needs another 24 hours to figure out just how he's going to relate a post to those extinct creatures.

Now, onto the day.

It began at 10:00 am with an informative talk by Angela Lemond, a local nutritionist and blogger at Mommy Dietician. I came away feeling really confident that we're doing great as a family. We're focused on healthy eating and choices, have exposed and empowered our kids to be part of the cooking process, and this challenge is a big part of that.

Angela gave a lot of great tips, many of which I'll implement, but the very first one will be repurposing my refrigerator crisper. She made a great point about making healthy foods visible. We usually hide these things in the crisper. She suggests putting staples in the crisper (things like eggs, butter, etc) and moving the fruits and veggies up to the shelves where they're visible.

Chef Richard Chamberlain of Addison's Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House, gave a cooking demonstration: Beef and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Balsamic Syrup and Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes and Cider Gravy.

Beef and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Balsamic Syrup

Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes and Cider Gravy

*     *     *

Things I learned from Chef Chamberlain:

• There are 29, yes, 29 lean cuts of beef.
• 
  
• Heirloom tomatoes (and anything with the heirloom moniker) means that years and years ago (100+) the best of the best fruit or veggie from a crop was selected, the seeds dried and planted the next year, etc.
• 
  
• Marbling in beef is actually a great source of monosaturated fat.
• 
  
• The marbling is where the moisture is held, as well as the flavor. When cooking with leaner cuts of beef, you need to make sure to add moisture.
• 
  
• Slicing onions into perfectly sized pieces is really easy! Jared will demonstrate very soon.
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• "We're only as good as our ingredients," Chef Chamberlain says. You can use a lesser cut of beef, but compliment it with other quality ingredients.
• 
  
• Thyme is an evergreen herb that everyone should have in their garden! It's subtle, versatile, and adds depth of flavor to dishes.
• 
  
• Use a meat thermometer to gauge whether a piece of meat is cooked. You have to find your own 'done' temperature. Once you do, stick with it no matter the cut of beef.
• 
  
• Cut against the grain for maximum tenderness.

The next part of the day was spent in the practice kitchen. All the bloggers were broken into teams. Each team prepared a beef recipe. My group made Mojo Beef Kabobs.

 Mojo Beef Kabobs with my team

Very tasty and one I will definitely teach Jared and Sophie so they can feature it here for you (along with a Jamie Oliver recipe, of course!).

I have so much to teach Jared and Sophie from my day with Chef Chamberlain and the Texas Beef Council. I realized that, while I'm a good cook, there's a lot I don't know. It's interesting and fun to cook in a facility like this and I hope to have Jared and Sophie take some sort of cooking class at some point so they can learn more, too. They're getting a great foundation from their challenge, from Jamie's new Home Cooking Skills site for kids, and from simply DOING.

They'll be back tomorrow, hopefully putting into practice some of what I learned today, and telling you more about how their skills are growing. This is a labor of love for all of us. They (and me) want to know who's out there reading about their challenge, so if you are, let them know with a comment!