Video Tutorial: Old Fashioned Waffles – Sunday, January 3, 2010

Hey Young Chefs!

This is an easy waffle recipe that tastes great. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Waffles

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 3/4 c. milk
Dash vanilla extract

Directions:
Heat the waffle iron. In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Pour 2/3 cup batter onto the waffle iron. The batter will spread once the top is lowered. Cook the waffle until golden brown, about 2 to 5 minutes.

Note: Waffles may be cooked, stored in a plastic zip bag, and reheated in a 350°F toaster oven until warm and crisp. You may also store waffles in a zip bag and freeze them.

Cool kids cook so get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Video Tutorial: Ragin’ Cajun Burgers – Thursday, August 6, 2009

Hey Young Chefs!

This is a great recipe for a burger with a little Cajun kick. If you want to make it spicier, you can add Cayenne or Tabasco to the meat. Enjoy!

Ragin’ Cajun Burgers

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef (we like 85/15)
2 tbsp. Cajun Power Garlic Sauce
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. Eliana’s Magic Seasoning Blend (or your favorite seasoning salt)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Form meat into palm-sized balls. Put ball on flat surface and use a plate to press down, forming a patty. Season both sides of patties with Cajun seasoning. Fry in an iron skillet until blackened. While patties are still hot, top with slices of Comte cheese (or cheese of your choice). Use soft French bread for a bun. Garnish with sauteed Vidalia onions (from Louisiana or your favorite sweet onion), Creole tomatoes (or any large tomato), and green leaf lettuce. Yum! Yum!

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Recipe: Parmesan Serrano Potato Quiche Muffins – Tuesday, August 4, 2009

8-4-09 Parmesan Serrano Potato Quiche Muffins

Hey Young Chefs!

Today, I made Parmesan Serrano Potato Quiche Muffins. They turned out so yum yum! In case you don’t know what Serrano is, it’s a type of ham from Spain. This quiche is super simple and bakes quickly.

8-4-09 Kid Chef Eliana mixes the quiche

Here’s a tip: use a large ice cream scoop to put the quiche mixture into the muffin tin. It gives you the perfect amount every time.

8-4-09 Kid Chef Eliana spoons quiche mix into muffin tin with an ice cream scoop

Parmesan Serrano Potato Quiche Muffins

Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 c. diced, cooked potatoes
1 c. chopped Serrano ham (you can substitute your favorite thinly shaved ham)
1 c. Parmesan cheese
6 oz. of diced cream cheese
1 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Eliana’s Magic Seasoning Blend (or your favorite seasoning salt)

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, mayonnaise and seasoning salt. Mix well. Stir in Parmesan, potatoes, ham and cream cheese one ingredient at a time. Spoon mixture into an oiled muffin tin (use your favorite cooking spray). Mix should fill the muffin cup. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until top of muffin is golden brown. Makes 8-12 muffins. Serve each muffin on a small plate with fruit spread and two slices of green apple.

8-4-09 Eliana serves quiche with fig spread and green apple slices

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

New Orleans Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre’ on TLC’s Ultimate Cake-Off – Monday, August 3, 2009

8-1-09 Kid Chef Eliana with Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre in New Orleans

Hey Young Chefs!

Tonight, I watched the Ultimate Cake-Off on TLC. My friend, Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre’ in New Orleans, competed against two other pastry chefs to be the winning cake at the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Shark Summer celebration. Plus, there was a $10,000 prize! The pastry chefs had 9 hours to build a spectacular cake that had to wow the judges and the client, who was from the Aquarium of the Pacific.

I was so nervous watching the episode, especially when he lost the first skills challenge and had to sit out for 30 minutes. Then he lost the second skills challenge but he didn’t have to sit out, thank goodness!

Guess who won?! Chef Tariq made a splash with his five feet tall cake-eating shark cake. It was such a cool cake. It was covered in fondant (which is like edible play dough made of sugar) and airbrushed. It had blown sugar bubbles and little fish swimming around it. The main feature of the cake was a shark busting through, eating the cake. The one thing I missed seeing on this cake was his signature edible sparkles. Still, it was a kid-friendly, tasty cake made with Tahitian vanilla bean. Congratulations, Chef Tariq! You deserved to win!

Cool kids cook and watch The Ultimate Cake-Off!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Video Tutorial: Devil’s Food Monster Muffins

(Jewelry by Sarah of HeavyEyeliner.com. Thanks, Sarah!)

Hey Young Chefs!

Here is the recipe for Devil’s Food Monster Muffins. These muffins are so yum! yum!, super simple to make, and low-fat too!

Devil’s Food Monster Muffins

Ingredients:
1 box super-moist devil’s food cake mix
1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix pumpkin and cake mix until fluffy. Spoon into muffin pan. Batter will rise, creating mega muffin tops. Bake 20 minutes. Makes 12 monster muffins.

Mmmm. Mmmm. Delish!

Cool kids cook so get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Kid Foodies Review: A Gourmet Day at St. James Cheese Company & Sucre’ in New Orleans – August 1, 2009

8-1-09 Kid Chef Eliana with Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre in New Orleans

Hey Young Chefs!

Today I had a totally gourmet day. Mommy, Daddy and I visited St. James Cheese Company, a gourmet cheese shop filled with aged meats, preserves, cheeses from around the world. You could also eat there. I had a Beechers cheddar and turkey sandwich. Yum! Yum!

8-1-09 St. James Cheese Company

We bought three kinds of cheese (Manchego [Spain], Comte [France], and Ibores [Spain]). We also bought Serrano ham. We will be using these yummies for a surprise meal – stay tuned!

8-1-09 St. James Cheese Company's cheeses

After St. James Cheese Company, we went to Sucre’, a sweet boutique.

8-1-09 The window of Sucre', a Sweet Boutique

If you have a sweet tooth, you will LOVE Sucre’. It is filled with artisan chocolates (handmade), stuffed cupcakes, creamy gelato, and desserts that look like works of art with edible glitter. I even met Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna. He said, “Everything tastes better with sparkles!”

8-1-09 Sucre's marvelous macaroon cake

Chef Tariq was very nice. He said that he wanted to be on the Eliana Cooks! Show. How cool is that?! I hope to film a segment at Sucre’ with Chef Tariq before school starts. I had a toasted coconut fudge gelato, filled with small shavings of coconut and ribbons of fudge. Mommy had a dark chocolate and raspberry mousse while Daddy had a caramel chocolate mousse cake. Look at this presentation! Ooh la la!

8-1-09 Sucre dessert - caramel chocolate mousse cake and dark chocolate & raspberry mousse

If you visit New Orleans, the sweet treats at Sucre’ on Magazine Street are a MUST! Chef Tariq and the “Sweet Boutique” are city treasures. Chef Tariq’s pastries are so good that he competed on TLC’s Ultimate Cake-off, which will be airing episodes this August (2009). You can catch a sneak peek on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 9:00pm CDT. Good luck, Chef Tariq! I hope your story ends with sweet success!

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen (like Chef Tariq Hanna)!

Bon Appetit! Eliana

Video Tutorial: Mexican Chicken Tostadas

Hey Young Chefs!

Bienvenidos! Welcome! I recently came back from vacation in Cancun, Mexico and was inspired to create a Mexican dish. In this video, I make chicken tostadas. Here is the recipe:

Mexican Chicken Tostada

Chicken Tostadas

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas (you can crisp them in the oven beforehand by baking them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes)
3 cups shredded chicken (Tip: Buy roasted chicken from grocery store and shred with fingers)
1 can of mild Rotel (diced tomatoes & green chiles)
1 can of refried beans
Grated Mexican blend cheese
2 c. chopped lettuce
1 c. diced tomatoes
1/2 c. salsa

Directions:

Spread refried beans on corn tortillas, about 1 heaping tbsp. per tortilla. Mix can Rotel with shredded chicken. Spoon mixture on top of refried beans. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. After tostada has cooled a little, top with lettuce, tomatoes & salsa. Makes 12 tostadas. Optional: You can also top with sour cream and guacamole! Ole!

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen.

Bon Appetit! Eliana

Video Tutorial: Pesto Pizza Muffins – Saturday, July 18, 2009

Hey Young Chefs!

Today, I made Pesto Pizza Muffins. It’s a super simple recipe, perfect for an appetizer, small lunch or snack. It’s perfect for kid parties too! Hope you enjoy the tutorial! Here’s the recipe

Pesto Pizza Muffins

Ingredients:

1 English muffin, halved

1 tbsp. ready-made pesto

1 tbsp. marinara sauce or pizza sauce

1/4 c. mozzarrella cheese

4 slices pepperoni

Directions:

Spread pesto on top of English muffin. Spread marinara sauce on top of pesto. Sprinkle cheese. Top with pepperoni. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and edges of muffin and pepperoni are crisp. Serves 1-2

Cool kids cook so get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Video Tutorial: Berry Simple Fruit Tart – Friday, July 17, 2009

Hey Young Chefs!

This is my very first cooking tutorial video on YouTube! I am making Berry Simple Fruit Tart. Here is the recipe:

Berry Simple Fruit Tart

Ingredients:

1 pkg. of ready-made refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese, softened

1/4 – 1/2 c. sugar

splash of vanilla extract

3 c. seasonal berries

Directions:

Roll out the cookie dough on a small cookie sheet until it is about a 1/4 inch thick. You can even use a small pizza pan if you want. Bake the cookie dough according to the package instructions. You may have to bake the dough a little longer because of its size. While the cookie is baking, mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a bowl with an electric hand mixer. After the cookie dough has fully cooled, spread the cream cheese on top of the cookie, going all the way to the edges. Sprinkle your favorite berries on top. Cut into squares and serve. Great chilled too! Serves 8-10

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

Grilled Pork Chops Over Creamed Spinach; Monday, November 10, 2008

Hey Young Chefs!

Here I am cooking creamed spinach. Yum! Yum! It’s very simple. First, you wilt the spinach over medium heat. Then you add half a bottle of Mexican Crema (cream). Next, you add 1 cup of Italian blend cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mommy and I grilled pork chops to set on top of the spinach. We also had macaroni & cheese, green beans, and a cheddar cheese biscuit.

Dinner was delish!

Cool kids cook so get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit! Eliana