Posted by Bakersfield Californian, CA on September 26, 2009 at 17:08:39:
Tamra Parra is hopeless in the kitchen herself, but she knew she had a budding Emeril Lagasse on her hands when her son Dylan was just a preschooler.
The signs?
The first picture he ever drew was of mashed potatoes and gravy.
He referred to his favorite color not as brown, but chocolate.
He couldn't stay out of the knife drawer.
"My mom was trying to make pancakes when I was 6 or 7, and my mom's not exactly the best pancake maker," remembers Dylan, 12. "So I wanted to help make a pancake for my dad, and my mom let me make one and it turned out golden brown."
The culinary prowess is paying off for the Norris Middle School seventh-grader today. He will be competing with 29 other children -- including Brianna Nusbaum, 9, also of Bakersfield -- in a cooking contest sponsored by Save Mart Supermarkets at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. Food Network star Sandra Lee will host the cook-off. The grand prize winner will receive a trip for four to a ski resort and appear on the KVPT-TV program "Hey Kids, Let's Cook!"
Dylan entered his chicken teriyaki recipe (secret weapon: orange juice). To practice, he's made the dish four and a half times ("I've chopped onions for other dishes" -- which counts as the half). His strategy: "I'm going to try not to make a mess."
Dylan has celebrity chef Lagasse to thank for his passion, which he hopes to parlay into a career one day.
"I remember I was flipping through channels at Grandpa's house and I saw Emeril flaming meat and I thought, 'Oh, I want to do that,'" said Dylan, who regularly helps make meals for his Bible study group of 60 people.
Parra says her son puts a lot of pressure on himself and is quite the taskmaster.
"I remember him yelling at me at Thanksgiving, 'You're taking all the texture out of the mashed potatoes!'"
Solution: Dylan does most of the holiday cooking now.
The results of that commitment to excellence fill the bellies of the Parra family several nights a week: Besides mom and Dylan, there's dad Joe, sister Missy and brothers Trevor and Gavin. In true sibling fashion, the kids would rather eat cold Top Ramen than compliment their brother, mom says, but they clean their plates just the same.
His parents don't spend much time in the kitchen, so Dylan owes his flair with food to his grandparents and to the sage advice of a family counselor to whom the Parras turned for advice over that knife fixation.
"When he was 5 we went to parenting classes because we couldn't get him out of the knife drawer," recalls Parra. "The person with the classes said, 'Why don't you just try to teach him how to use the knife?'"
IN THE KITCHEN WITH DYLAN
The toughest cuisine: "French is the hardest. Because, in a Mexican dish, you can make a few errors and still get by. But if you mess up any part of a French dish, it usually doesn't turn out right."
Most common mistake: "Probably overthinking. If you're trying too hard, a lot of times it ends up really, really bad because the measurements get poured in wrong."
Most famous dish: "Probably the chicken teriyaki, or I make a peach Dutch cobbler with flaky brown sugar."
Make it your own: Dylan's famous carrot cake is made using someone else's recipe, which he adapted. "I can usually tell from the ingredients if something is going to work out."
Brownie trick: "My mom likes brownies a lot, so, you know how they're never moist enough? ... I added a little grape jelly. It doesn't hurt the flavor but it makes it more moist."
Favorite food: Sushi. Dylan and his mom never miss a chance to eat the Japanese delicacy on their date nights.
Best part of cooking: "Watching them eat and seeing the expression on their face."
Dylan Parra's Teriyaki Chicken (serves 4 people)
4 Sunnyside Farms boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 red onion
2 red bell peppers
2 cups Sunny Select white rice
1/2 cup Sunnyside Farms orange juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 20 oz. can Dole pineapple slices
1/2 cup C&H brown sugar
1/4 cup Sunny Select vegetable oil
2 stalks chopped celery
1 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Sunny Select ground pepper
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 can Sunny Select water chestnuts
Add 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of water in medium sauce pan bring to a boil. Turn pot to low, then put lid on, and set time for 15 minutes.
First cut the chicken into strips. Place chicken breasts in gallon-size plastic bag with Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, juice from can of pineapple, half of the cut pineapple, garlic powder, soy sauce, black pepper, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, let then sit while chopping other ingredients.
Half onion, then chop it. Third bell pepper, then julienne it, chop celery, and slice pineapple rings.
In medium-sized fry pan heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil on high. When oil is hot, put chicken breasts with marinade in the pan and turn heat to medium. Cook chicken until its well done. To thicken sauce, stir in 1 tablespoon corn starch into pan.
In other fry pan put 2 tablespoons vegetable oil on high. Put in onion, bell pepper, celery, drained water chestnuts and pineapple.
Place cooked rice on plate. On top of rice place cooked chicken, place vegetables on top and garnish with sesame seeds.
Brianna Nusbaum's Elvis' Banana-Peanut Butter Pizza Dream Pie
Preparation time: 20 minutes; cook time: 15-18 minutes
Ready to eat: 45 minutes; servings: 12
1-9 oz. package Krusteaz Brownie Mix
1-8 oz. package Sunnyside Farms Cream Cheese
1/3 cup of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 cup of C&H sugar
3 fresh whole bananas
1/2 cup of Sunnyside Farms orange juice
1/4 cup of chopped, roasted peanuts
2-1 oz. squares of semi-sweet chocolate
2 teaspoons of Sunnyside Farms butter
Prepare Brownie Mix according to directions and spread in a greased pizza pan (12 inche diameter). Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Remove when done and place on a wire rack until its completely cooled.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and slowly add the peanut butter and sugar until its smooth. Spread this smooth mixture over the brownie crust. In another bowl, slice the bananas well and then arrange them around the top of the pizza (just like pepperonis). Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts (you can also add/replace the peanuts with raisins).
In a small mixing bowl, place the chocolate and butter. Melt it for about 1 minute on high. Take a spoon and, in a side to side motion, drizzle the chocolate and butter mixture over the bananas and peanuts.
Put the entire pizza pie in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens. Then it's ready to serve.
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