Hands-on Kids' Cooking Classes for Fall from ITK Culinary

Are your kids interested in food and cooking? They can roll up their sleeves this fall and take part in a two-hour culinary journey with the kids' classes offered by ITK Culinary in Sausalito. The Culinary Dude, Scott Davis, leads the programs and combines his background in early childhood development with a culinary degree to guide students of all ages through preparation, cooking, setting the table, and clean-up.

Courses range from comfort foods, French, Italian, and Chinese to vegetarian and just about everything in between. Most classes last two hours and culminate in the group sharing their hand-made meal together. “The emphasis is on the process not the product” said Davis, who allows the kids ample space to put their own spin on dishes if they want. “We’ve had kids come through who were picky eaters and by the end of the class, they were enjoying food they’ve never had. Not because we told them try, but because they were proud of their accomplishment.”

The classes from ITK also include a monthly class where parents cook alongside their children, as well as a “Parents Night Out” where kids come and enjoy games, movies, and cooking a dish or two, while the parents enjoy four hours together. Other classes this fall include a Halloween cooking class, a kids' farmer's market tour and cooking class, a Thanksgiving cooking camp, and a holiday gingerbread workshop.

For back-to-school, ITK now offers an after-school enrichment program for Willow Creek and Bayside Elementary Schools in Sausalito, beginning Sept 12, 2011. Instructors have a background in culinary arts and many also have a background in teaching or accreditation in early childhood development.  The enrichment program focuses on making children enjoy themselves in the kitchen while being safe and neat. Programs will focus on motor skills, flavor exploration, and food preparation with each week covering a different topic. Participants will discuss seasonality of foods and each week the kids will prepare a snack to eat. Last but not least, kids will learn to clean up the mess afterwards!

ITK Culinary also offers birthday parties around various cooking themes. Parties are also two hours and your budding chef can create their own birthday meal to share with their friends.

For more information contact ITK Culinary at (415) 331-8766 or visit www.itkculinary.com for more details.

Here's a recipe from ITK Culinary's Doug Eng: A Vietnamese Bun salad with rice noodles and pork. Kids love to slurp the noodles, and can use whatever herbs and vegetables suit their palate. The pork can be replaced by chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, or tofu. The contrast in temperatures, flavors and textures are fun and very satisfying.

Vietnamese Bun Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

Noodle Salad:

• 2/3 pound dried (vermicelli-style) rice sticks
• 2 cups shredded red or green leaf lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/3 cucumber, seeded, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1/3 cup mint leaves, cut in thirds
• 1/3 cup Thai basil leaves, cut in thirds (if available)

Pork:

• 2 stalks lemongrass (tender white portion only)
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese shrimp sauce, or 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 2 shallots
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2/3 pound pork butt, untrimmed, cut across the grain into thin slices (about 2" wide by 4" long and 1/8" thick)
• 12 (8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes

Garnishes:

• 2 tablespoons fried shallots
• 4 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cups Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (see recipe)

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the rice sticks and stir gently to loosen them. Cook until the noodles are white and soft but still resilient, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set them aside for at least 30 minutes. The noodles should be dry and sticky before serving.
2. Gently toss together the lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and basil leaves. Divide the salad mixture among 4 large bowls. Top each with 1/4 of the rice noodles and set them aside.
3. Place the lemongrass, sesame seeds, shrimp sauce, fish sauce, caramel sauce, shallots, garlic and oil in food processor then blend till smooth. Add the pork and let it marinate 20 minutes. Thread the meat onto the skewers and set aside.
4. Preheat a grill or broiler to high heat. Oil the grill, then grill the pork slices until the meat is done and the edges are nicely charred, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. To serve, remove the pork from the skewers and arrange on each of the four noodle bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon fried shallots, 1 tablespoon peanuts and about 3 to 4 tablespoons sauce. Toss gently before eating.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

• 3 Thai  chilies or 1 serrano chili, or to taste (chopped)
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded carrots for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients together and stir till sugar is dissolved.