Issue Date: February 22, 2004
Kids in the kitchen: A lesson they'll love
Dinner becomes a teachable moment when children help you cook. Here's a good child-friendly meal to get started.
Making dinner with my daughters has turned them into confident cooks.
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It may be the TV commercials with children staring bug-eyed at cinnamon rolls rising and cookies baking, but when you talk about kids and cooking, the standard kitchen project is making something sweet. Think about it for a minute: When have you seen a kid actually help Mom put dinner on the table?
For years I have baked with my two daughters, and we've had our share of cookie-decorating fun. But that's a once-in-a-while event. I cook every day, and it's those impromptu dinner lessons that have made my daughters the confident college-student cooks they are today.
Simple Chicken Parmesan is the perfect dish to lure kids into the kitchen -- what kid doesn't like chicken tenders and spaghetti? And this dish is loaded with mini cooking lessons. With one simple recipe, kids learn how to boil pasta, mince garlic, grate cheese, make tomato sauce, and pound, bread and sauté cutlets.
If you think this recipe contains too many lessons for one night, consider a few shortcuts. You can substitute a good-quality tomato or marinara sauce for the homemade, and you can buy pre-grated cheese and butcher-prepared chicken cutlets from your store's meat case.
Teaching kids to cook is good for them, and for you, too. They'll need plenty of practice honing those life skills, so on the days you lack time or motivation, let them make dinner.
Contributing Editor Pam Anderson is the author of CookSmart (Houghton Mifflin, $28).
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Simple Chicken Parmesan
Bonus: This recipe makes twice the sauce needed, so freeze half for another meal.
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (quality varies dramatically; I prefer Redpack, Progresso and Muir Glen brands)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), halved crosswise
1 large egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
8 ounces spaghetti or linguine
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for passing at the table
In a large saucepan, heat garlic and 2 Tbs. oil over medium-high heat until garlic starts to sizzle. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a simmer; simmer until sauce thickens a bit and flavors meld, 10 to 12 minutes. Cover and keep warm. (Remember, this makes twice the amount of sauce you need, so put aside half for another meal.)
Put chicken pieces between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound, using your fists or a heavy pan, until the cutlets are about 1/4-inch thick.
Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large soup kettle.
In a pie pan, beat egg until well-blended. In another pie pan, mix bread crumbs and more black pepper.
Preheat broiler.
Working one cutlet at a time, dip both sides of each in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs. Put cutlets on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet (this step helps breading stay put).
Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet. When oil starts to shimmer, add cutlets and sauté until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes total. Wash and dry the wire rack and return to cookie sheet. As the cutlets sauté, cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions.
Transfer cutlets to clean wire rack over cookie sheet. Top each with a portion of the cheeses. Broil cutlets, 4 to 5 inches from heat source, until cheese melts and is spotty brown.
Drain pasta. Put a cutlet and a portion of pasta on each of 4 plates. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce over part of each cutlet, then sauce the pasta as desired. Serve with extra Parmesan.
Serves: 4.
Per serving: 585 calories, 39g protein, 57g carbohydrates, 21g fat (5g saturated), 3g fiber, 723mg sodium.
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Give them a task
When making assignments in the kitchen, consider your kids' ages. Here's a guide for some of the jobs in this recipe. Warn children to wash their hands thoroughly after handling the raw egg and chicken.
Little ones
Measure bread crumbs and cheese
"Help" pound the chicken cutlets with their fists
Bigger kids
Crack the egg
Open the canned tomatoes
Push garlic cloves through a press
Grate cheese (watch knuckles!)
Slide cutlets into pan
Teens
Most teenagers don't want to be told what to do, so give them a piece of the recipe, along with the right tools and ingredients. Let them do it their way, giving casual advice only when asked. If they make a mistake, so what? How else will they learn?
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