Connect cooking with family, community, math, science, language arts and social studies to empower kids in the kitchen, classroom & beyond!
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.
At Huffhines Recreation Center, 200 N Plano Rd. Richardson, TX 75080
972-744-7881
Pre-Registration is required!
School is almost out. Come and see our Girl Scouts Summer programs and Camps. Even our camps go for the different merit badges. The programs listed are specifically for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. Please join us for fun and discovery this summer. Continue reading “2016 Girl Scouts Summer Programs”→
Make either one big piece of foil that will hold all of the garlic cloves, or you can wrap them individually. If you wrap them individually, then make four square sheets of aluminum foil.
Coat the bottom of the foil with a 1 teaspoon of olive oil and rub with your hands. This makes the food not stick to the foil when cooking is done.
Remove any loose paper from the garlic heads. Then cut about 1/3 way down from the top of the garlic head and open keeping everything in the top together.
Sprinkle the open flesh of the garlic with salt and fresh pepper. Then drizzle olive oil over both halves. Then top with two sprigs of thyme each, wrap the heads if you are doing it individually. If making one big cooking envelope, wrap up the garlic.
Cook in oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then open up the package(s). The garlic will become soft and squeezable. Take a section of the head of garlic and slather it on bread, crackers, or raw fresh vegetables of your choice.
Grilled fruit has become popular in the recent years gaining ground to the old fashioned fried desserts.
These fruit rings can be seasoned and topped with anything that your imagination could think up.
Pineapple is all American. Explorers paid lots of money to get a hold of pineapples and transport them around the world.
Turn indoor grill on or use a broiler. (If using a broiler, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Then place the pineapple rings on the baking sheet.)
Layout on a cutting board some of the sliced pineapple. Sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.
Grill for about 2 – 3 minutes each side.
Notes
Replace the pineapple with your favorite grill-able fruits.The flesh should be able to hold up to this method of cooking. Be creative and invent a masterpiece.
These fresh fruit nachos are so much fun to make. They only take a short bit of time and they really make the family happy while they are playing video games, watching moves, board games or just snacking around the house.
Kids love making these and have them invite their friends. You will be the neighborhood hero!
Nachos with Fresh Fruit
Fresh nacho chips made with cinnamon sugar, topped with a fresh mango yogurt and topped with fruit and your favorites.
They say we made the nacho here in Texas, but I can't find any live footage of this. These are a wonderful version of a healthy choice nachos that are fun to make and fun to eat.
Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small cup or bowl. Set aside.
Melt butter. Lightly brush butter on one side of the tortillas, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on each side.
Stack 3 tortillas on top of each other then cut in ½, then stack and cut in ½ again forming triangles.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes or until crispy. Place chips on serving platter or in a large bowl.
Preparing the mango yogurt
Mango yogurt: Cut mango, add to blender with yogurt, blend, remove from blender into a small cup/bowl, refrigerate until ready to use. Put in squeeze bottle for fun.
Assembling the nachos
Finely dice fruits and chill in a refrigerator, if using fresh blueberries, wash them before cutting them in 1/2.
Top nachos with mango yogurt sauce. (I use a squeeze bottle- this sauce is great on ice cream as well) then with diced fresh fruit (kiwi – green, strawberries – red, blueberries – blue and any optional fruit you desire)
Notes
Suggestion: Top with chopped pecans, sliced almonds, or other nuts of choice; grated/shaved chocolate, coconut or combination of dried fruits.Be creative!Top all of that off with either honey or Agave syrup.Fresh fruit may be substituted with frozen, just drain extra juice off.Try using bananas, papaya, raspberries, blackberries, and chocolate to grate on top.
Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool slightly, then roughly chop.
Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings from the pot. Increase the heat under the pot to medium high. Add the onion, apples and potato. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are soft, about 8 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, apple juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the potato is soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the cheddar until melted.
Work in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree. Then return the soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper.
Top with croutons, bacon, chives and a bit more pepper.
Asparagus is known as the “queen of all vegetables”.
Early spring is asparagus season. This is a wonderful chance to dive into incredible seasonal fare. When food is in season, it costs less. If possible find a local grower, farmers market or a trusted vegetable vendor.
There are so many ways to use asparagus. This recipe uses asparagus in its pesto. Feel free to change this recipe to make this a family seasonal favorite.
Asparagus is rich in vitamins K, A, B1, B2, B3, C and E. Our bodies use folate to process vitamin B. Asparagus is also loaded with healthy minerals such as copper, magnesium and potassium. Asparagus also has fiber to help our digestion.
Many asparagus dishes have lemon with them. This is because lemon is a great pairing. We’ll see that in other asparagus recipes.
Orecchiette with Asparagus Pesto
Orecchiette is a variety of home-made pasta typical of Apulia, a region of southern Italy. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a small ear.
This is a wonderful way of using early spring asparagus. As an option, add just a touch of ham, chopped prosciutto or your favorite bacon.
Orecchiette can be made from scratch so that this can be a family fun recipe. Kids will love making shaped pasta. This recipe can start their exploration and discovery of the many different types and shapes of pasta. This is a favorite in our Chefsville Kids Cooking Club.
Bring a large bowl of salted ice water to a boil. Zest and juice lemon. Wash and dry the basil and parsley. Peel the garlic clove. Grate the cheeses. Wash the asparagus, then trim the ends off.
Take a large bowl and fill it half way with ice water.
Add the asparagus to the boiling water with the garlic and cook until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the asparagus and garlic to the ice water. Reserve the pot of water for cooking the pasta. Keep it on the stove for later use. Let the asparagus and garlic cool, then drain and pat dry. Chop off the asparagus tips and set aside; Chop the stems about 1 1/2 inches long cutting the ends so that they are diagonal.
Preparing the Pesto
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and let cool. Pulse until roughly chopped.
Add the asparagus stems and garlic to the food processor; pulse until smooth.
Add the basil and parsley. With the processor motor running slowly add the olive oil and puree just until smooth.
Add the Pecorino, Parmesan, lemon zest and lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper, pulsing until combined.
Preparing the Pasta
Returning to the pot of water, bring it back to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook until al dente (to the tooth) according to the package instructions. Medium sized pasta usually takes about 5-7 minutes.
Reduce heat of the stove to low heat. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return the pasta to the pot.
Add the pesto, butter and the reserved asparagus tips. Toss and add the reserved cooking water as needed to keep the mixture loose while coating it with the pesto. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of each serving, along with a sprinkle of more cheese.
Cooking Clubs, invite e-mails have been sent to the e-mail addresses used for registration to join our Google Classroom. Zoom meetings … to be announced starting 4/27. Please see your email inbox!
Online programs… to be announced starting 4/27
Camp Registrations, please see our Calendar or Rec Center Website … to be announced starting 4/27