Author: chefscott

Scott lived in the Washington DC area where his love for food began in his teens and his mentors were Julia Childs, Jacques Pépin and Jean Louis Palladin. Scott taught private cooking classes taking his students on tours to restaurants and up-scale food outlets. He also catered in the Washington, DC area for several federal and state officials, and held several positions as Banquet Chef. His work with children’s education began in 1992 when he was an advocate for some of the cable educational initiatives. Scott moved his family to North Texas in 1996 where he continued his education in ministry, communication and family crisis management. Scott has gone on several missionary journeys around the world and has helped thousands of families as he has traveled to Japan, China, Asia, Philippines and his tapes and materials have gone to India, South America, Africa and Australia. Scott wanted to fundraise for missions and educational programs and had the idea of a cooking program. After having consulted the best in TV and Radio broadcasting, the concept of Chefsville - Kids™ was developed. 1st Class Kids will expand Chef Scott’s influence to reach an international audience through the Internet, TV, radio, DVDs, books, merchandise and speaking tours as well as alliances with key retail outlets. Chef Scott’s passion for working with children, his well-regarded advice and cooking skills makes him a great host for Chefsville - Kids™. Scott serves as executive director building awareness of 1st Class Kids and its Chefsville Kids brand. Under Scott’s directorship, 1st Class Kids completed its first set of library and school appearances in 2007. In 2008 demand and focus went towards the classes and workshops. In 2009, camps were added along with three new services, “Kitchen Pirates”, “Honor the Family” and children’s programming for festivals. Chef Scott conducts on-sight classes with Sprouts Farmers Market and has been a guest chef for Market Street United grocery store in Allen, TX. 1st Class Kids delivers life-skill education to kids through the lens of a chef. As a chef, Scott has the ability to offer hands-on learning opportunities while demonstrating how cooking relates to the core academic subject of language arts, math, science, and social studies, plus fine arts. Kids love these connections! Today, Scott sits as a member of the Dallas Coalition for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity, the Healthcare Commission of Collin County and on the program advisory board for Remington College School of Culinary Arts. 1st Class Kids offers service learning opportunities to Remington College students, students of Collin County Community College, Le Cordon Bleu, El Centro, and The Art Institute of Dallas. Additionally, Scott serves on the Gifted and Talented Committee for Plano ISD. Chef Scott lives in Texas with his wife Sarah and 4 children.
Library Cooking Program

Library Cooking Programs for Kids, Teens and Adults

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Library Cooking Program
Euless Public Library 2017

Library cooking programs are hot! Chefsville’s excitement about our library cooking programs is contagious. It doesn’t matter if a library has a commercial or a residential style kitchen. Chefsville can put on a library cooking program with simple facilities and minimal furnishing such as tables, trashcans and access to a sink.

Continue reading “Library Cooking Programs for Kids, Teens and Adults” →

Comments from Alice Waters and Jacques Pepin on cooking competitions

Cooking Competitions – A word of caution about them

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A Word About Cooking Competitions

Comments from Alice Waters and Jacques Pepin on cooking competitions
PASADENA, CA – 2017: (L-R) Chef, film subject, “James Beard: America’s First Foodie” Alice Waters and chef, film subject Jacques Pepin of ‘AMERICAN MASTERS “Chefs Flight”’ speak onstage during the PBS portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at Langham Hotel on January 16, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Cooking competitions are the rage right now!

This is Chef Scott, founder of Chefsville. I found an interesting article about cooking competitions and wanted to comment on the remarks made. There were some very true insights in this article by 2 extremely influential forces in the food industry, Alice Waters and Jacques Pepin.

Chef Alice Waters is one of the original founders of the farm to plate movement from back in the late 1970s. Continue reading “Cooking Competitions – A word of caution about them” →

Waffle Iron Hashed Browns

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Waffle Iron Hashed Browns

Waffle iron hashed browns are fun! This platform for cooking potatoes will allow for crispy crunchiness plus nooks and crannies which are great for toppings. While keeping a moist, cooked interior. A waffle iron helps achieve this. A note on cooking technique for this recipe is that a good cook controls the amount of moisture in a dish. By making this recipe, one will learn 3 great methods for controlling moisture. These moisture control skills are called for again and again in cooking. Once this basic recipe is grasped, how about adding delicious ingredients like ham and cheese; or top with sour cream chives and smoked salmon; or how about Parmesan style with tomatoes and mozzarella or even poached eggs? Where does your imagination take you? Let us know in the comments!
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Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Side
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 russet potatoes shredded
  • 3 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt 1 for extracting water from potatoes, the other teaspoon for seasoning later
  • 2 Tablespoons onion grated, or chopped green onions
  • 2 Tablespoons herbs of choice (Thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, dill)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

Instructions
 

  • Shred the potatoes on the largest holes of the box grater.
  • Wrap the shredded potatoes in a kitchen towel and salt with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir salt in using a spatula and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Wring out the towel by twisting and get out as much liquid as possible. Move potatoes to a microwave safe bowl.
  • Cook in a microwave on high for 2 minutes.
  • Turn on the waffle iron for at least two minutes. Then brush with oil the tops and bottoms of the iron.
  • To the microwaved potato bowl, add grated onions and herbs along with 1 more teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Using a spatula, stir the mixture, then divide the grated potatoes into four equal portions into the waffle iron.
  • Close the waffle iron and cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.
  • Remove from the waffle iron using a tongs, spatula or a wooden spoon, then drain off the extra oil.
  • Top with whatever your imagination desires. Then serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

To prevent potatoes from turning brown, grate them just before cooking.
Tools Necessary:
Microwave oven
Kitchen Towel
Box grater
Waffle Iron
Spatula or wooden spoon
Measuring cups and spoons
Medium bowl
Adult Supervision
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
cooking skills

Cooking Skills Every Beginning Cook Should Learn

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Cooking skills are so important! When it comes to cooking, there are so many wonderful ingredients, equipment, cultures and techniques to use that one will find they never will get bored.

Chefsville provides all kinds of teaching venues throughout the Dallas Metroplex. After working with over 250,000 students (both kids and adults) we decided to drop this online as a great read. Teaching cooking skills is wonderful fun for us. Continue reading “Cooking Skills Every Beginning Cook Should Learn” →

Eggless Pasta Dough

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Pasta --- eggs or eggless?

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Eggless Pasta Dough

One of the great questions if you are a huge pasta fan is: Egg or eggless? Well to be honest, in Italy, the recipe for pasta changes from town to town. Adding eggs was made by more "well to do" people. It does add a slight richness to the dish, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with eggless pasta. Basically in Italy, they use a different type of flour than we do here in America. They use "semolina" which is a dry duram wheat - very hard flour. Semolina because it basically is a whole grain product has nutritional value. Contrast to that, in America, all-purpose flour is used that doesn't have any nutritional value.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Dish, Poultry and Eggs
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 6 People

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 cups semolina flour or 1¼ cup semolina and 1¼ cup regular all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup water have another 1/2 cup ready in case dough is dry
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl mix all ingredients together until a ball of dough is formed.
  • Allow dough to rest for about 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the wet ingredients to moisten the dry flour(s).
  • Roll out dough and send through pasta machine according to desired thickness.
  • Adjust attachments to which desired pasta: fettuccine, or any long strand shaped pasta. Or make your own shapes. There are over 650 different shapes and sizes of pasta. Find your favorites.

Notes

Equipment Necessary-
Measuring cups and spoons
Dough scarper (optional)
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Sheet tray
Plastic wrap
Pasta maker or rolling pin
Adult Supervision
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Baked Chicken with Orange Apricot Glaze

Baked Chicken with Toasted Spices and Orange-Apricot Glaze

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Baked Chicken with Orange Apricot Glaze

Baked Chicken with Toasted Spices and Orange-Apricot Glaze

Kids love dipping chicken pieces in sauce. Adults love grilled meats, pork, fish and poultry. Having the combination together makes for exciting dishes. All over the world, glazed poultry can be found. There is the maple glaze, whiskey glaze, honey mustard, honey soy, lime soy, orange glazed, etc... The list can be as long as a few pages of print. This recipe takes the glaze further by using toasted spices, baking technique, and adding a curry mayonnaise drizzle. Apricots are a completely under-utilized fruit. While the demand for fresh apricots is growing, this dish celebrates the integration of this ingredient with poultry, spices and orange.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish, Poultry and Eggs

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 bunch scallions trimmed and minced
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 skinless chicken breast fillets skin removed (organic preferred

Curried Mustard Mayo:

  • 1 teaspoons canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Orange-Apricot Glaze

  • 4 tablespoons apricot preserves chopped
  • 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 C orange juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • canola oil
  • 3 cups really fresh crisp watercress leaves
  • Cilantro and watercress sprigs for garnish optional

Instructions
 

  • Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or use a silicon mat.  Using a silicon mat means you can cook with less fat.
  • Use a small sauté pan, heat over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add coriander and cumin seeds and toast the spices moving them in the pan for 2 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from pan, cool and grind (use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
  • Place ground spices in a large bowl; add cilantro, scallions, kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; mix well. Cover each chicken breast with this mixture and refrigerate for one hour.

Curried Mustard Mayo:

  • Using the same sauté pan that spices were toasted in, add and heat canola oil over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in curry powder and continue to sauté for 1 minute. Remove mixture to a mini food processor; reserve pan. Add mayonnaise and mustard to processor and puree. Remove to a small bowl, stir in cilantro and season, to taste, with sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate until needed.

Orange-Apricot Glaze:

  • Place preserves, butter, orange juice and cayenne in reserved saucepan and cook over medium heat,
  • stirring, until preserves and butter have melted. Boil glaze for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Bake Chicken at 400 degrees F for 4 minutes or broil for 2 minutes. Brush Chicken with half of the glaze; cook for 1 minute. Flip Chicken, brush with remaining glaze; Cook for 1 additional minute. Remove from heat.
  • Place the Chicken on top of the watercress leaves and top with 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise mixture;
  • Garnish platter or dinner plates with cilantro and watercress sprigs, as desired.

Notes

Tools Necessary- 
  • Baking Sheet
  • Silicon Mat
  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Sauté Pan
  • Mortar & Pestle
  • Large Bowl
  • Small Bowl
  • Mini Food Processor
  • Pastry Brush
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!