[shroomgirl]

I took my 14 year old niece shopping and to dinner tonight. She is one in 5 children and they do not eat out.....and the kids have never been to a Fine Restaurant. Their mom cooks because it's a necessity.....soooooo.....
I took her to my friend's bistro and shared a seafood bisque and duckliver/pork/pistachio pate.....she thought the coarse mustard was the duck liver! She ate and loved them....Bryan let her caramlize a brulee with a torch (too cool) then we were off looking for Italian....the new hot spot in town was packed so we went to The Crossing and ordered a Foie Gras (seared with grapes/greens and sauce) chicken with polenta and roots, and a lemon ginger brulee.....Rachel ate the Foie and loved it....I tell you this kid rarely gets hunks of meat much less anything with blood in it....medium well is how her family cooks meats.....and she actually ate it. The chicken was as always crisp skinned and juicy fleshed! "Best I've ever eaten"
Stuffed to the brim this child wolfed down the brulee. She adored the bread at both places and noticed the slight sour tinge with one of them.....a foodie in the making!!!! Both places the chefs made time to come talk to her. What a super dining night!
Next time I'm taking her to a great Vietnamese place.
Friday night is her 9 year old brother's turn....he likes Soup or Salad buffet because then he can pick what he likes....dessert and potato bar.....hmmmm where do I take this kid?????

[Flash]

"Too cool" shroom, you said it. I have a couple of niece's myself. They are spoiled rotten and eat out on a regular basis (not to say that my sis doesn't cook, she's a regular Martha Stewart). They go to sushi once in a while and love it! My sis thinks that they aren't all that clear that it's RAW fish they're eating--and she's not tellin'em. One of the things I got them for an X-mas gift is a book called It's Disgusting And We Ate It! It's a cute little book that teaches about food facts and history from around the world (they will learn the real truth of sushi now, heh heh). My intent is to make them more aware of other cultures' victuals. I just hope it doesn't back fire, and I get a call from my sis one day telling me they've tried to roast the cat! YIKES!



flash

[shroomgirl]

It's the oddest thing....my son George was the pickiest eater....swiss cheese, peanut butter sandwiches and pizza were his sustanance for numerous years.....I took all three of my guys to a Thai restaurant where they normally ordered sate, rice, maybe eggrolls....he ordered green curry and loved it.....I sit here shaking my head stilll in amazement and that was several years ago.
This 9 year old I'm going out with tonight has a food war going with my brother.....Seth is not into vegetables and tries to junk out on the sly. I made apple crisp for him the other day and he said he wanted to learn how to make it....YES!!! so a trip to the local ethnic grocery is in order.....opening the food door through cooking is such a rewarding experience....
Well......dinner will not be Soup or Salad, nor any chain.....but nothing too overtly different. I've got meetings all day but this is one problem that will follow me through the day.

[lynne]

SO cool! Shroom - enjoy broadening their horizons!

My Aunt is a wonderful cook - but home cooking.

The only "mexican" and I use the term loosely - exposure they have there is Taco Bell! and a ChiChi's kind of place 2 towns over!

They had never had Chinese until I did 6 courses a few years ago!

Each of my cousins (I'm the eldest grandchild...) has gotten a trip to Texas when they graduated highschool -- it's been cool to take them around and expose them to new things. Of course my last cousin started off w/ Sushi -- had interior Mexican, Greek, Thai, Vietnamese, etc -- the last day she was here we were discussing where to meet Dad for lunch and she turned around and said, don't you ever eat American? Of course - she was talking about Polish and Italian which is what she gets at home!


Shroom- how about Vietnamese or Thai where they have so many wonderful soups and salads?

[momoreg]

Understandably so. You're a woman with an important mission. Without you, these kids will never even have an opportunity to enjoy good food. And clearly, you've already added something important to your niece's perception of food.

Somehow, I think your enthusiasm will rub off on your nephew, and while he may not have pate or foie gras, you'll open his eyes and mind, and he too will go home different than when he left. Good luck choosing a place. I hope you post the results.

PS- It's an excuse for you to enjoy a good meal, too!

[Anneke]

Shroom, I think it's wonderful what you're doing. It will change these kids life forever. I was turned on to the culinary world because of a couple of incredible dinners with La Chaine des Rotisseurs when I was a young child. That's where I learned that diner COULD have more than 3 courses. It certainly changed my life!

[chrose]

My parents were members of a "Gourmet" club for years. Sort of like a home Chaine, so everytime dinner was hosted my parents I feasted! My parents introduced me to a world of good food. We had "normal" family dinners and so it is with my family now. My now 10 year old son is turning into a conoisseur of srts. Every XMAS we have a special dinner (see post in late nite cafe) he enjoys Truffles Chocolate and real ones too. Vegetables, exotic ones too. Sushi, he adores Duck L'Orange and any other Duck preparation. He even likes cheeses and fois gras. Tournedos Rossini it is!
He still likes his Mac and Cheese and plain kid food, but he appreciates a candlelit dinner! Gawd, I love my kid!!!!!

[Isa]

I wanted to broaden my nephew's horizon, show him there is food beyond McDonald and bbq chicken. We went to a Japanese restaurant and ordered many appetisers thinking he would sample many dishes. No sashimi or sushi with raw fish. He didn't care for it, not even the Japanese version of chicken bbq: yakitori.


Now the nephew is 18, away at college, living in a dorm. He eats frozen meal for lunch and dinner unless his aunt sends him care packages.

[Mezzaluna]

I like Lynne's advice, Shroom: give him new twists on foods he already prefers (soups and salads). Or someplace with adverturous pizzas (goat cheese and so forth) or other staples kids like. It's worth a try.

[shroomgirl]

I reread the posts to find out what was going on with Soup and Salad....it is a local $5.99 all you can eat Salad Bar, Potato Bar, Ice cream dessert station.....that my mom takes my nephew to, he likes it because he gets to choose what he eats. I dislike it because it's gross....("I'm not a food snob")
I ended up having a radio interview that got started late....so I was an hour late to get Seth... his mom had planned a family outing and he opted out of Christmas shopping and dinner....aw well, there will come a time.. I figured out where we would go though. Annie Gunn's has smoked meats, as well as "plain" good food...mac or potatoes and cheese...it's not intimadating food, but it is top notch. Reservations for the weekends are 3-4 week wait.
I think the key to this child is going through Target or Walmart and buying equipment, hitting the grocery and exploring what is available....then playing in the kitchen.