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Kids In The Kitchen? You Can't Beat That With A Stick

Photo by JADEN HAIR

Andrew Hair is proof that kids like food on a stick - even Thai Curry Beef Skewers.

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By JADEN HAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 9, 2008

I love it when my kids help me in the kitchen and would totally love it even more if they also learned to do the dishes.

I let them help out whenever they want to, and we have one small stool in the kitchen that's perfect for just one little boy to stand on. Why not two? Well, because physically my two arms and two eyeballs can only keep track of one child within arms' reach of a smorgasbord of spices and seasonings.

Trust me when I tell you that behind my back, they've dumped a jar of chili powder into the fried rice and that evening magically turned into a Happy Meal night. Which, looking back, seems like awfully suspicious behavior that I'm sure their trouble-stirring Uncle Robbie taught them.

But they do love to tinker in the kitchen, especially when it involves food on a stick. You could put ANYTHING on a stick and my kids will think it's the best meal ever. How do you think I got them to like Brussels sprouts, chicken gizzards and duck tongues?

When Deb Puchalla, editor in chief of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, e-mailed and asked me to guest-write about cooking with my kids, of course I jumped at the chance. But Martha's audience is a bit tamer than my steamy world, so I ditched the duck tongue on a stick recipe and instead zoomed over to Everyday Food's online recipe database for inspiration.

Once Andrew heard we were putting his favorite fruit in the world, pineapple, on sticks, he went totally nutso and called dibs on skewering duty. One piece of pineapple for the stick, one piece of pineapple for me. One for the stick, five for me. It took two cans of pineapple to finish the job, but I guess he got his recommended vitamin C ration for the week. Does canned pineapple really count as fruit?

Nathan contributed to the grilled banana with dark chocolate dessert - one piece of chocolate for the banana, 10 pieces of chocolate for Mommy. Come see their photos at www.marthastewart.com/dinnertonight.

This was inspired by Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.

THAI CURRY BEEF SKEWERS

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, 2 tablespoons of the juice reserved

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon vegetable, canola or peanut oil

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

11/2 pounds top sirloin beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 red onion, quartered, layers separated

If grilling outdoors, prepare your grill for high, direct heat. If broiling in your kitchen, heat your broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Soak eight 12-inch wooden skewers in a pan of water.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of the reserved pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, oil and red curry paste. Reserve half of the sauce for serving (pour into a separate bowl).

Marinate the beef in the sauce for 15 minutes at room temperature or for a few hours in the refrigerator if cooking later. Drain the beef and discard the marinade.

Thread the beef, onion and pineapple onto skewers. Grill on your outdoor grill for 2 minutes each side until the beef is medium-rare.

Serve with jasmine rice or noodles.

Jaden Hair is a cooking instructor and author of the blog Jaden's Steamy Kitchen at www.steamykitchen.com.

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