Not Small Potatoes

We're back!

The MiniChef has been reading Laura Numeroff's books in his first grade class (first grade!!!) and yesterday on the way home from school, he asked to start this project up again because "there are so many yummy things we can bake from books!" Since baking usually takes longer than fixing dinner, we're going to move our Project to weekends instead of Wednesdays soon, so we don't feel rushed.

Of course I wanted to make sure MiniChef knew I was as excited as he was, and get started as soon as possible. Fortunately, I had seen Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament in the front display at our library yesterday and picked it up on a whim. The book looked right up our alley, even though it didn't have any dragons, monsters, or any other mythical creatures in it. And since tonight's dinner included potatoes, I thought it would be a perfect way to dive back in.

Since The MiniChef knows more about books and storytelling now, I'll be asking him to share his thoughts on the books we read. Here's what he had to say about what happens in Mr. Crum:

"It was like fiction, but it was about a real story. He had to serve this one guy who only liked potatoes. And he didn't like three of Crum's potato servings until he invented potato chips, which the guy loved. My favorite thing about the book was that George invented potato chips, because I like potato chips. I do sometimes like my potatoes a certain way, but I'm not too picky about them."

George's specialty was potatoes, but if The MiniChef had a restaurant,

"it would be a diner or a bakery or something, so I would have lots of yummy breakfast foods. My speciality would be waffles with blueberries, chocolate, and strawberries. And syrup."

The book was a well-written and -illustrated work of historical fiction, which included context with photos as an epilogue. It was incredibly engaging, and I think I might have enjoyed it just as much as MiniChef did.

As for the recipe, MiniChef's "favorite thing about making our potato dish was grating the cheese." Here's how we did it:

Mr. MiniChef's Potato Procedure
(adapted from Sheet Pan Bruschetta Chicken from Damn Delicious)
1 pound small red potatoes
2 T olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
Kosher salt, to taste

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces fresh Mozzarella, sliced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I did:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray.

MiniChef did:
Wash the potatoes well. Cut each potato into 4-6 wedges depending on how big the potato is, like George did to the first three batches he served to Filbert P. Horsefeathers. (MiniChef noticed that George used the "claw grip" we've been practicing, with one hand stabilizing the potato while the other uses the knife.) The potatoes were hard to cut with his child-safe knife, so I helped a little bit.

MiniChef did:
Place the potatoes into a bowl. Add the olive oil, thyme, oregano, and Parmesan. Season with salt to taste. Toss or mix together, to make sure potatoes are coated.

We did together:
Place potatoes in one layer on one side of the prepared baking sheet.

I did:
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a single layer on the other side of the prepared baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Top the chicken with the sliced Mozzarella during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

While the chicken is in the oven, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl. Add Kosher salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

We all did:
Serve immediately, topped with the bruschetta. (If your MiniChef is like mine, they might enjoy the tomatoes on the side instead.)

Unlike Other MiniChefs

This week, the MiniChef decided he wanted to make something inspired by the book Unlike Other Monsters by Audrey Vernick, and illustrated by Colin Jack. And I had no.idea how to guide him to a fitting recipe like usual.

Unlike Other Monsters is a great book. Zander is a monster whose parents are monsters. (His sister is a fairy.) And monsters don't have friends. They're cordial and nod their heads at each other when they pass on the street, but they're creatures of little words, and don't do anything to get to know each other while they scare children. (His sister has friends, and they do things like eat together, share secrets, and give children with missing teeth money. But that's fairy stuff.) Zander hangs out with a bird sometimes, but...they're just hanging out. They're not...friends. The book is all about what it means to be friends, and it's a great read for a kindergartener who's learning more and more about kindness and what it means to stick up for other people.

I was totally open with MiniChef when he picked out this book. I told him I loved it--which he should have known since we read it together a whole bunch of times--but I didn't know how to be inspired to make something from it. But he knew exactly what to do.

(SPOILER ALERT, KIND OF.)

At the end of the book, Zander and his friend jump out of a refrigerator to scare a kid, and a ton of food falls out with them. MiniChef pointed to that illustration and decided he wanted to make something from their fridge. Specifically, sausages, apples, and bacon. (And bananas and ketchup, but I vetoed those.) That was an awesome idea! We added a salad and some bread from our favorite local bakery (shout-out to Uprise!) to round out the meal.

Boy Waits for Bacon

Full disclosure: MiniChef got pretty bored halfway through cooking the bacon, so I cooked most of the main course myself. But he did almost all of the prep and put the salad together, as well of course as figuring out what our ingredients were going to be!

Unlike Other Sausage Dinners
(Sausages with Sautéed Apples, adapted from Food and Wine)
4 slices bacon
4 sweet Italian sausages (about 1 pound), pricked with a fork
1/2 cup water
2 apples (we used Fuji, but you can use any good baking apple that will hold its shape)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 Tblsp cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper

MiniChef did:
Peel and core the apples. Slice into thin slices. If you have an 8-slice corer like we do, you'll want to cut each slice again in half or thirds.

We did together:
Place the bacon in a cold pan. Lay the strips out so they don't overlap. Turn the heat on low, and watch your bacon. When it starts to turn curly on the edges, turn the strips over with a pair of tongs, Turn frequently until the bacon is done to your liking. We'll crumble it into a salad for this meal, so you'll want it to be pretty crispy. If you have a MiniChef with you, a splatter guard is your best friend here. The kitchen will smell delicious, but don't smell too closely!

When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside.

I did:
Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon grease. (You can save the rest to use another tie, if you'd like!) Turn the heat to medium, and add the sausages. Cook, turning occasionally, until the sausages are browned but not cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Pour the water into the skillet. Cover the pan and cook until the water has almost evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the apples and fennel seeds and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through and the apples are tender and browned. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Zander's Salad
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tblsp Dijon-style mustard
2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
4-6 pitted dates (like Medjool)
3 cups baby spinach
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 strips cooked bacon

MiniChef did:
Measure out the first five ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until incorporated. Alternatively, put them in a pint (or larger) jar or a squeeze bottle and shake until incorporated.*

I did:
Spray a paring knife with cooking spray. Using the prepared knife, cut the dates into bit-size pieces.

MiniChef did:
Place the spinach, blue cheese, and dates into a large bowl. Crumble the bacon on top. Add enough dressing to dress the salad, and toss.

*NOTE: This is the dressing that taught MiniChef to eat a dressed salad. We hope your MiniChef likes it as much!

Manticore Pasta

Have I mentioned that MiniChef is really, really, really into monsters and mythical creatures? I have? OK, carry on then.

Monsters as imaginary friends are kind of a new thing for me over the last year or so. My brother was scared of monsters when he was young, and relaxed when mom and dad made "monster spray" (water in a spray bottle) and sprayed his ceiling fan, which is obviously where they hung out. I would have had nothing to do with monsters; my imaginary friend was a little Orthodox Jewish girl named Rachel Berman who had eight brothers and sisters.

The Kid has been obsessed with monsters and other mythical creatures--real and imagined--since he first saw How to Train Your Dragon. We've never looked back. And as someone who loved nothing more than Greek mythology as a child, I'm totally excited to help him navigate this world. They consume our play-life, and I love that MiniChef gets to work out things that might be scaring him by embracing them and becoming them.

Obviously, this love affects our bookshelf, and so I have a feeling that a lot of our recipes (certainly this week's and the one to follow) will center around monster characters and themes. It's the way of our world. And a delicious one, full of imagination potential.

This week's book is If I Had a Gryphon by Vicki Vansickle and Cale Atkinson. This book has so many fun monsters and creatures in it, but MiniChef specifically wanted to cook something to represent manticores. Specifically, he wanted to make "orange pasta with long and short manticore fur. Long for the mane and short for the body fur." Done!

Manticore Pasta
(Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce)

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1 8-ounce can tomato puree
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 pound spaghetti
Parmesan cheese to taste

Working to open cans is good exercise!

NOTE: Most of this recipe is done on the stove. This is a great opportunity to remind your little chef about stove safety. We have an electric stove, so we went over the parts of the counter he could and couldn't touch, as well as the importance of keeping one hand on the handle of the pan while you stir. If your little chef can't work on the stove yet, this is a good time for him/her to watch you and learn. S/he can definitely help to open cans, grate cheese, etc.

I did:
Dice the onion. Mince the garlic. (Alternately, your little chef can squeeze the clove of garlic through a garlic press.)

Carefully stirring and holding onto the pot.

MiniChef joined me for:
Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until the onion is soft.

MiniChef did:
Stir in the tomato puree, diced tomato, tomato paste, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.

Grate or shred 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, or more or less to taste.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Break half of your spaghetti in half or slightly smaller, and cook the spaghetti according to box directions.

I did:
Drain the pasta.

MiniChef did:
Divide the portions onto plates and top with the sauce.

Plating by MiniChef!

MiniChef did:
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the sauce and eat in your preferred manner: carefully or slurping.

He prefers to slurp.

What We're Reading for Halloween

Since we're making our Halloween-inspired recipe on actual Halloween, and I won't have a chance to post until after the actual holiday, I thought I'd post a list of the holiday-appropriate books that are rocking our bookshelf right now. (Since, as I've mentioned, MiniChef loves monsters more than anything else in the world, there's no shortage of books that interest him on this topic.)

I think these books are all appropriate for older preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders, but of course, you know your little chef's "scare" limits best.

If you have comments or any other suggestions, hit up the comments on this post!

We're Reading...

• Monster Needs a Costume (Monster Needs Your Vote is another favorite, and one we'll be reading a lot next week.)
• Vunce Upon a Time
• Worst in Show
• Fright Club (our bedtime story for three nights running)
• Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody

We're Listening To...
The kid-friendly Halloween playlist I made on Spotify! Perfect music to which to carve pumpkins, get ready for Trick-or-Treat, and dance around when you're in a spooky mood.

Dragons (and MiniChefs) Love (not spicy) Tacos

MiniChef loves dragons. According to my Facebook memories, the true keeper of all things memorable, dragons and monsters have been his number-one interest for at least a year and a half. He devours any and all media about imaginary creatures, and as someone who was obsessed with mythology as a kid--most girls my age had posters of Kirk Cameron and the New Kids on the Block; I had a poster of Icarus--I'm 100% okay with that.

One of his all-time favorite books is Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Ruben and Daniel Salmieri, which was a very logical choice for our next Book-Cook Project!

I asked the MiniChef what kind of ingredients he'd like to have in his tacos. His answers were "pork and cheese." Tacos al pastor(-ish) with queso fresco were a perfect fit. Of course, neither MiniChef nor dragons agree with spicy ingredients in their tacos; dragons will breathe fire and burn down your house if they get a taste of jalapeños at a taco party, and MiniChef will burst into tears if he has any.

So, one of MiniChef's jobs as our resident dragon expert was to smell spices we were thinking about adding and deeming them "too spicy" or Just right." Cayenne, chipotle, and chili powder were too spicy, but cumin was just right.

The tacos came out beautifully, and it was fun to make them together!

We did have spicy salsa on the table for Jake...but be sure to read the ingredients with your little chef, and bury any spicy salsa in the backyard if you've invited any dragons over.

Not-Spicy Tacos al Pastor(-ish)

1 pound pork tenderloin
1 medium onion
1 large clove garlic
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 T canola oil
1 bunch cilantro
5 oz queso fresco (about half of a package)
Fresh pineapple chunks (we used pre-cut, but you can certainly chop your own)
6 (8-inch) soft corn tortillas (flour tortillas are fine, too)

I did:
Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2-inch strips. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, and put everything into a large zip-top bag.

Side note: measuring is such a great way to learn math!

Smushing the marinated pork.

MiniChef joined me for:
Add the next five ingredients to the bag with the pork, onion, and garlic. Seal the bag and smush everything until combined. (MiniChef had a lot of fun with that part.) Stick the bag in the fridge for at least two hours, and up to 24*. Go watch some Powerpuff Girls.

I did:
Warm the canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Take the pork mixture out of the fridge, and put the entire contents in the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is cooked through and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Put in a bowl and set aside.

MiniChef did:
Meanwhile, chop the cilantro and pineapple, and crumble the queso fresco. Put each in its own bowl.

I did:
Heat up the tortillas using your preferred method.**

We did together:
Set the tortillas and the bowls of pork, cilantro, pineapple, and queso fresco on the table. Make your own tacos!

"Mama! take my picture with my taco!"

*Since we made the tacos after school, the pork mixture spent about three hours in the fridge.
** I miss my gas stovetop, where I would have just heated them over the open flame. This time, I just used the microwave.

The Quest for Rainbow Cake

The first book that MiniChef picked for our Book-Cook Project was Quest by Aaron Becker. He loves it and its prequel, Journey. (MiniChef "wrote" a sequel called Adventure...and then it turned out there actually is a sequel called Return. We haven't read it yet, but we're excited to!) He says he likes it because "there's a king and they get to draw cool creatures."

Since MiniChef is kind of obsessed with cake competition shows--ok, ok, we're both kind of obsessed with cake competition shows, and we watch them together...a lot--it makes a ton of sense that the first thing he wanted to make was a cake. The wordless book features two children, who we call Penelope and Harold. They each have their own crayon (Harold's is purple, naturally), and in the course of their quest to defeat an evil ruler and return the rightful king to his throne, they collect a rainbow of other crayons, which they use to color their world. 

MiniChef's specific request for this recipe was a rainbow-colored cake to go with the world-saving rainbow. And here's how we did it!

For the Cake
(Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Gel food coloring (your choice of colors)
You can use liquid food coloring instead, but gel creates deeper colors with fewer drops, and doesn't change the liquid content of the batter.

(Note: it's important that the eggs and milk are at room temperature, otherwise the batter will separate.)

Here are the steps I did myself before MiniChef joined me:

Separate the eggs--we'll be using only the egg whites. Put the yolks in the fridge to use for another project.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and adjust oven rack to the middle position. We're still getting used to having an electric oven, so this step was actually the most difficult! Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment, grease again, and flour the pans. (You can also use three 8-inch round cake pans, if that's what you've got.)

My boy loves his...er, our KitchenAid.

Here are the steps we did together:

Pour your egg whites into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, and mix in the milk and vanilla. 

Put dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed for a few seconds, until just combined. Add the chilled butter one piece at a time, and mix on low for about one minute until you only see pea-sized pieces.

Add half of the milk/egg/vanilla mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat for about one minute, until light and fluffy. Turn speed down to medium-low, add remaining milk/egg/vanilla mixture, and mix for about 30 seconds. The batter might look slightly curdled, but that's ok! Don't fret--it's supposed to do that. Give the batter one stir by hand. Let your kid lick the paddle.

Divide batter evenly into six bowls. Set two bowls aside; these will stay white. Mix food coloring into each of the four other bowls to achieve the colors you've chosen. (We wanted red, orange, blue, and green. We experimented with how many drops of food coloring went into each bowl, and kept mixing until we liked the result.)

Decide which colors you want in each layer of cake: there should be two colored batters and one white batter in each. Drop your batters in random tablespoons into your prepared cake pans. Use a knife or skewer to "marble" the batter until the colors are mixed to your liking.

I did this part by myself too, because MiniChef isn't allowed to use the oven yet:

Put the pans in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes (18-22 minutes for 8-inch pans), rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes. The colder the cake when frosting, the better.

For the Frosting(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 6-8 cups confectioners' sugar1/2 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract We did all of this together: Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and cream until smooth and creamy. This will take two-three minutes or more. Look for the butter to lighten in color. With mixer on low, add six cups sugar, the milk, and the vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy. If the frosting isn't your desired consistency, keep adding sugar gradually until it's what you want. I did this part by myself: Frost the cake with your best method. I aspire to Joy the Baker's method of frosting; as it is, I put about 3/4 cup of frosting on the top of the blue/green layer and spread it with a butter knife. Place the second layer on top. Frost the whole cake with a light "crumb coat" and put in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Take cake out of the fridge and frost as thick a layer as you'd like. We did this part together: Toss sprinkles all over the darn place! Here's what MiniChef has to say about the cake: "It was very yummy. I liked the frosting. My favorite part of making it was that we had fun making it. I got to lick the batter!" The cake will last for at least three days in the fridge. You will absolutely have more frosting than you'll need. I recommend storing the leftover frosting in airtight storage, taking it out about a half-hour before you want to use it again, and dunking either pretzels or graham crackers in it.

What's the Book-Cook Project?

MiniChef is just about two in this picture.

We've been cooking together for a while now. We've been reading together for even longer. We love both.

I* was a stay-at-home mom (plus freelancing) for two years while we had a layover in Michigan, and grew to love cooking every day during that time. MiniChef was in half-day, three day a week preschool, and helped when he could. He learned to make all kinds of things, though--as a three- to five-year-old--he rarely headed up recipes, except for the odd blueberry pancakes or quesadillas.

Thanks to Pretend Soup for being our first together-cookbook!

After our move to the middle of the country, MiniChef started kindergarten (oy!), and I started a part-time job (plus freelancing). Meal planning fell by the wayside, and time after school was spent relaxing--a lot of it in front of the TV. We both missed the huge amounts of time we had spent together.

And then we had a brainstorm. Meal planning would be easier if MiniChef got to pick a meal or dessert or whatever to head up once a week. And! We could use one of our favorite books as inspiration for the meal or dessert or whatever, instead of being overwhelmed by the infinite choices out there. And we would call it...THE BOOK-COOK PROJECT.

So there you go. The Book-Cook Project will take inspiration from some of our favorite books. The food might be things people or animals actually eat in the books, or just food inspired by the pictures or story. MiniChef and I don't know yet, and that's part of the fun! MiniChef's dad teaches on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights, so we'll probably cook most on those days, since we have some extra time. This project might go on for a while, or it might be super-short-lived, if MiniChef gets bored with it. We'll see.

Unless noted otherwise, every recipe will comfortably serve four people.

Thanks for joining us on our journey.


*This is Jenn, naturally. MiniChef is five years old, and while he has excellent control over my iPhone screen, spelling isn't quite his strong suit yet. But he has tons of input, and lots of things will be in his words. I'm just, you know, the Mama. So I get to be in charge.