Monday, July 25, 2011

Cooking Camp

This spring I saw a brochure for a kitchen store that does cooking classes. They listed a summer cooking camp for teens that ran for a week. My daughter and I loved the sound of that, but not the price tag. $385. Seriously?? I can cook. I can teach. So I decided to have Cooking Camp in my kitchen for my daughter and a couple of her friends.

Since we have multiple schedules to juggle, we're shooting for once a week, and since I do desserts, the theme of the camp is "Desserts!" Each week we cover a different skill and make a treat that the kids can take home.


The first week we handed out binders for the recipes, went over kitchen rules (I think I broke all but one the first day), and made marshmallows. Teens and marshmallows. What was I thinking?


I walked them through making a sugar syrup, using a candy thermometer, using gelatin, whipping marshmallows, and then, through the magic of television (I made a batch the day before so I could pull out the finished product like they do on cooking shows), I cut a pan of cooled, dried marshmallows for the kids to cut and roll and powdered sugar.




Then, to insure that they were fully sugared up, we roasted marshmallows over the gas stove (note to self: shake the powdered sugar off before putting the marshmallow over the burner), and made s'mores.

First cooking class - I'm not sure how much they learned, but I give it an A+ for fun!

13 comments:

Jennifer Jo said...

What fun!

I can't wait to hear more....

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Such an amazing idea Lynn, so much fun!!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

A+ in fun ... what more do you want. Somebody's always learning something if they're having fun!

Adam said...

That sounds so great! :). Everyone must have had a blast, I mean how awesome is it that as a teenager you can make your own marshmallows :)?
I'm trying to soak up as much as I can from the bakers in my family. I spent some time with my Grandmother over Christmas (with plans to do it again) and with my Aunt over my vacation. It was so much fun. I have upcoming plans in a few weeks with another aunt, she's finally going to pinpoint why I'm so deficient with pie crusts :). I hope it's not just that I'm deficient :).

Chels/Catz in the Kitchen said...

How cool is this idea!!! Let me just say, when I grow up, I want to be like you and have a cooking camp for my daughters and their friends.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

My Kitchen in Half Cups - I agree. Fun definitely helps the learning.

Adam - When you get that pie crust nailed down, give me a call.

Chels - Oh, that's sweet! Thanks.

hobby baker Kelly said...

You are so my hero.

breadchick said...

That is a BRILLIANT idea! I can only think what my kitchen would look like if I had that many teenagers in it.

And as for being the worst babe? I don't think so!

Elle said...

What a great Mom! Bet you had as much fun as the teens did.

Barbara said...

Super idea, Lynn! Looks like everyone had fun!

Lauren said...

Hi Lynn. I recently made your Killer Crack Fudge, and wrote a blog post about it. I of course accredited the recipe to you! If you would like to see it here is the link - http://gottaloveatrier.blogspot.com/2011/07/fundraising-with-food.html

Thank you for a lovely recipe!

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We Are Not Martha said...

What a great idea! I have a feeling every kid wants to know how to make marshmallows :) Looks likes so much fun!

Sues