St. Louis kids learn cooking as art

The kids at COCA's first Saturday cooking class last month were all boys.

COCA stands for Center of Contemporary Art. Usually, kids take lessons in such things as dance, music, theatre, photography and painting.

But, cooking skills are known as culinary arts.

Chef Mike Johnson of Cafe Mira led the first Saturday class. He said he was surprised the six students in the class were all boys.

But, he had three good recipes and he let them use some artistic touches while preparing the food.

After all, it's hard to miss when the recipes include smoked turkey wraps, homemade pizza and "no bake" brownies. (If you want to try these recipes at your home, just look at the sidebar below.)

The pizza making gave the boys the most opportunity to use their artistic ability.

Eleven-year-old Max Jewett made his pizza in the shape of a flag, complete with a cheese star on top. Thirteen-year-old Thomas Lawrence decorated his in the shape of a face, complete with spinach for the hair and mustache.

But, 11-year-old David Human might have captured the best theme. He called his creation, "Pizza Mountain." That meant he got to pile a whole bunch of pepperoni in the middle of his pizza.

Then, there was nine-year-old Garrett Finazzo who made a dessert pizza will strawberry jam, banana slices, blueberries and M&M candies.

Sixth grader Jewett said he's been cooking at home since he was six years old. "If my Mom's gone, I cook for the family," he said.

That includes his twin, Sam, and an older daughter, Polly, who is 13. About his sister, Max said, "She cooks a little but I'm better." His favorite home-cooked dish is tortellini, in which he puts a bit of basil and oregano.

Fifth grader Lawrence said he cooks pepperoni pizza at home. Asked about his future, he said, "I'd like to be a famous chef like they have on TV."

Eleven-year-old Jared Hampp also said he wants to be a chef when he grown up. In making his pizza in the cooking class, he used a sliced bagel as the base instead of a pizza shell.

The sixth grader said his favorite recipe at home is spaghetti.

Ten-year-old Alex Slavin said, "I really like to cook a lot. And I took this class because it will be good if I learned a little more about it."

The fourth grader said his favorite home recipes are lasagna and different types of pasta. He said his spaghetti sauces include bits of tomato and ground beef. "I cook with my Mom," he said.

Fourth grader Finazzo said his favorite dishes to cook at home are potato pancakes and a special potato sauce. The sauce includes cooked potatoes, butter, ketchup and mustard.

He said you can mix the sauce into potatoes while they are cooking or use it over the top of either mashed potatoes or potato pancakes.

Chef Johnson started the class with the Southwestern Style Turkey Wraps recipe. It was the easiest in terms of handling the food. He had pre-mixed the sauce that included creamed cheese, mayonnaise and a mild salsa. He also had fried up the bacon strips.

But, the kids got to put in the lime juice and also to pit and skin the avocado.

Then, it was up to them to put the ingredients on to the soft tortilla shells and wrap them tight enough to hold together. After they were wrapped, they cut the filled wrap into bite-sized pieces.

The kids then got to be more creative with their pizza making. This was capped off by putting the individual pizzas onto a cooking sheet so they could be baked about 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Although the brownies were billed as "no bake," there was some cooking involved. The kids put in the brownie mix, milk and margarine into a saucepan and stirred it over a medium heat until the mixture was boiling.

Then, they mixed in oatmeal while the mixture was cooling. The kids also mixed in crushed Butterfinger bars. Those had been broken into bits by hitting the bars with a big spoon while they were still in the wrappers.

For more information about COCA's cooking and other programs, you can log on to www.cocastl.org or call (314) 725-6555.

Southwestern-Style Turkey Wraps

Ingredients:

• 8-inch soft tortilla shells
• 1/2 cup creamed cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup mild salsa
• 1 lime (juiced)
• 1/2 lb. sliced smoked turkey
• 1 handful raw spinach, chopped
• 8 strips of cooked bacon
• 1 avocado

Directions:

Mix creamed cheese, mayonnaise, salsa and lime juice in a pan. Spread mixture on tortilla shells. Add turkey slices, bacon, avocado strips and spinach. Roll tight and slice.

Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:

• English muffins, bagels or pizza shells
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese slices
• black olives
• pepperoni slices
• red pepper

Directions:

Place pizza sauce on the bread products. Then use other ingredients to make various designs, such as flags, faces, etc. Bake in 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. (For dessert pizza, substitute strawberry jam, banana slices, blueberries and candies.)

"No Bake" Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Pillsbury Rich and Moist Brownie Mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup M&M's
• 2 Butterfinger bars, crumbled
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a saucepan, combine brownie mix, milk and margarine. Cook on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat, stir in rolled oats, peanut butter. Then, stir in candies. Drop tablespoons of the mixture on paper, cool, serve.