Home > TOP CHEFS' RECIPES 4 KIDS

Avner Samuel’s Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls — Rolling the Matzo Balls is Half the Fun!

Chef Avner Samuel, owner and chef of Aurora,  is a super chef! It’s a moniker attributed to him by journalists and foodies that have followed his 35-year culinary journey. At the age of thirteen, he got his first job cooking in a commercial kitchen. He and his son enjoy making the matzo balls in the recipe below together! Read more about Chef Samuel and Aurora at www.auroradallas.com.

CHICKEN SOUP WITH MATZO BALLS

Ingredients:
1 chicken
2 whole onions
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, sliced
Parsley Salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Add chicken to 2 1/2 quarts cold water, bring to boil and skim.
2. Cook for 1/2 hour then add vegetables and season.
3. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours until chicken is tender, then add matzo meal balls.

Chad & Lilia Houser’s Cucumber Tomato Salad

Chad Houser, Chef & Partner of Parigi Restaurant, has been making this recipe with his daughter, Lilia since she was only 3 years old! See why this salad is still a family favorite years later! www.parigirestaurant.com

Chad and Lilia Houser’s Cucumber Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
3 Beefsteak Tomatoes (Our favorite is Mr. Lemley’s from the Dallas Farmer’s Market)
2 Cucumbers
1 Garlic Clove (Minced)
¼ Cup Rice Vinegar
2 TBSP Canola Oil
1 TBSP Fresh Cilantro (Chopped)
1 TBSP Fresh Basil (Chopped)
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preparation:

1.  Remove the seeds from the tomatoes.  Dice the tomatoes into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl.
2.  Peel, seed, and dice the cucumber into ½ inch pieces, and place in the bowl with the tomatoes.
3.  Mix in all of the other ingredients with the cucumbers and tomatoes.
4.  Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come out before serving.

Serves 4 friends!

Chris Ward’s Cracklin’ Chicken

Chris Ward is the executive chef and partner of The Mercury in Dallas and also the author of “Restaurant Life: The Culinary Chronicles of Chef Chris Ward. His recipe for kids below is simple and sure to please the whole family!
www.mcrowd.com

Cracklin’ Chicken

Ingredients:
1 4” Whole chicken
2 tbl vegetable oil or clarified butter
Salt and pepper
½ cup brown chicken stock
Bone the chicken into 4 parts
2 Breast skin intact
2 thighs and legs, skin intact – legs and thighs bones removed

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450°
2. Place a large heavy gauge sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add the vegetable oil or clarified butter to the pan.
3. Season the boned chicken with salt and pepper.  When the oil begins to smoke add the chicken pieces skin side down.  Don’t agitate the chicken in the pan.  Look for 2-3 minutes to begin the browning process.
4. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked.  The chicken is only cooked on one side – the skin side.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a “resting” plate- skin side up.
6. Deglaze the pan with the brown chicken stock and reduce until a desired consistency is reached.
7. Place the chicken on a plate and spoon the sauce around the chicken and serve.

Enjoy!!

Kent Rathbun’s Rocky Road Ice Cream Sandwiches — Kids Will Love Making them and Eating them!

Kent Rathbun, Executive Chef and Partner of Abacus, Jasper’s and Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen shares a favorite summer treat of the Rathbun family! Read about Kent and his restaurant concepts at www.kentrathbun.com.

Rocky Road Ice Cream Sandwiches

Makes 6 Sandwiches

Preparing the Ice Cream:

Ingredients:
¼ gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
6 ounces chopped almonds

Directions:
1. Place the sliced almonds on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 6 minutes.  Watch carefully for these can easily burn.
2. Scoop the vanilla ice cream into balls and roll the balls in the toasted chopped almonds.
3. Freeze balls until ready to use.

Preparing the Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:
4 ounces butter, room temperature
3 ounces granulated sugar
4 ounces light brown sugar
½  teaspoon salt
7 ounces all-purpose flour
½  teaspoon baking soda
½  teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
6 ounces chocolate chips (dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate or peanut butter)
2 ounces nuts of your choice, optional

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugars with a paddle attachment in the bowl of a mixer until smooth.
2. Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly, but do not beat.
3. Add the vanilla and mix.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda and sift.  Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the egg batter.
5. Scrape the bowl and continue mixing on low/medium speed until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and just mix.
7. Drop spoonfuls of mixture on sheet pan lined with parchment or silicone baking sheet.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

Putting It All Together:
Place one ice cream ball in between two cookies to make an ice cream sandwich and garnish with Hershey’s Syrup, Caramel and Marshmallow Fluff.
Enjoy!!

Recipes From George and Katie Brown of GEORGE Catering: Yummy Masa Fried Catfish Tacos & Delicious Chocolate Gooey Cakes–easy enough to make with young kids or for bigger kids to make on their own!

Since 1999 George and Katie Brown have been catering to Dallas’ finest diners.  They are the chef/owners of GEORGE Catering, in addition to cooking for Dallas’ discerning clientele, they have been feeding the discriminating palates of their triplets, Clementine, William and Oliver since 2004.  Order your spicy pecans for the holidays at www.killerpecans.com and visit us at www.georgecatering.com.

Masa Fried Catfish Tacos

Ingredients:
2 ½ lb. Catfish Fillets (Farm Raised is Best!)
2 c. Buttermilk
¼ c. Masa Harina
2 tbsp. Yellow Cornmeal
1 tbsp. Corn Starch
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
¼ head  Purple Cabbage, shaved
1 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
As needed  Flour Tortillas,  we love *Luna’s handmade!
As needed Tarter Sauce

Method:
1. With a boning knife, remove all excess belly fat and bones and cut the fillet end to end into 4” long strips (approx. 1-1/2 oz. per strips).
2. Place the cut catfish in the buttermilk and set aside for later use.
3. In a large mixing bowl add masa harina, yellow cornmeal, cornstarch and kosher salt mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Drain the buttermilk off the catfish, then dredge the catfish through the masa harina mixture and fry at 350 degrees until golden brown and delicious.
5. Warm the tortillas in a hot skillet for about 20-30 seconds on each side or until warm and pliable.
6. In the center of the tortilla place fried catfish, tarter sauce, shaved purple cabbage, and cotija cheese then fold in to a taco or roll.
7. (For picky eaters you can make the tacos plain or cut the catfish in small nuggets or strips and serve as fish sticks or bites)

Luna’s Tortillas is located at 8524 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75235   (214) 747-2661.  Handmade tortillas are available on weekends or by placing an order in advance.

Chocolate Gooey Cakes

This recipe is always a crowd pleaser and is easy enough to make with young kids or for bigger kids to make on their own!

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups  Good quality chocolate chips
2 ½ cups  Unsalted butter
12  Whole eggs
12  Egg yolks
1 ½ cups  Sugar
1 ¼ cups  Flour
Super yummy with Ice Cream!

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a double boiler, then let it cool to room temp.  You can also melt it in the microwave, but be careful chocolate burns quickly!
3.  Whip the eggs and the yolks on a mixer with the whip attachment until they are light yellow and fluffy.
4. Pour the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs and stir.
5. Stir in the flour until incorporated.
6. Spray a muffin tin with pam then dust with granulated sugar.
7. Scoop batter into the muffin tin so they are about ¾ full.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, cake should be firm around the edges and gooey in the middle. 
9. Allow the cakes to cool, then carefully remove from the pan.  Serve with your favorite flavor of ice cream.

Tip:  You can store the gooey cake batter in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  Just scoop and bake what you want and save the rest!

Tim Love’s Grilled Pizza — Great for Kids!

Chef Tim Love is the foremost pioneer of urban Western cuisine! Love’s flagship restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas — The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro — has earned critical acclaim. His restaurant, The Love Shack, in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards serves fresh burgers, sausages, hand-cut fries and onion rings, and root beer on tap! Below is one of his favorite recipes for kids. Read more at www.cheftimlove.com

Grilled Pizza

Makes 4 Pizzas

Dough (Camp Bread):
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups warm water
½ oz. dry active yeast
¼ cup olive oil
1 T. Kosher salt
1 t. cracked black pepper

Toppings:
Fresh spinach, chopped
Roma tomatoes, cut into thin rounds
Cheddar cheese, grated
Pepperoni
Red onion, sliced thin
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Bell peppers
Mushrooms, sliced thin
Parmesan cheese
Yellow squash, sliced thin

Directions:
1. With a mixer, add flour, olive oil, salt and pepper to bowl and turn to medium speed
2. Add yeast to water and stir.  Add this to the mixing bowl and mix until everything looks smooth.  Remove dough from mixer and put on a floured table and knead for 1 minute
3. Cut dough into four equal parts, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or more.  (This can be made early and kept up to five days)
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and dust with a little flour and flatten with your hands then let dough rest for about 10 minutes
5. Stretch dough, pulling it out to form rectangles
6. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper
7. Grill Camp Bread over medium flame until underside is golden brown, 3-4 minutes and Flip dough on grill
8. Carefully sprinkle bread with all of your favorite toppings and cheese.  Close grill lid for about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted