Stellar Sammies

Stellar Sammies are outta this world!  That was my intention when planning September's Teen Cooking Club.  I missed last month's installment of "Animal Appetizers" for August.  The picture are M.I.A. at the moment, but I hope to share that event.  We made treats for stray and foster dogs of Tanner's P.A.W.S.  It was one of the most rewarding Teen Cooking Clubs ever held at SSC Library.--I promise to find the evidence and recipes.

Back to September's Stellar Sammies.  Sammies are sandwiches in the foodie community.  Anything between two pieces of bread can be a sammie with the right imagination.  I was originally letting my preconceived notion of a "sandwich" (two pieces of bread with something in the center) define my expectations.  Luckily, Pinterest steered me in a stellar direction.

"We need more cheese!"

First up for team 1 was Chicken Cordon Bleu Bundles.  These sammies were so simple and fun to make; I think the crew liked them best in their bellies!

"Rolls are sanwiches?!"

 The second teams' recipe was Cucumber Sandwiches.

"Mmm...this cheese spread is delish!"

The sliced bread in the recipe was replaced with a baguette, which we sliced in coins to match the shape of the cucumber slices.  I'm surprised how fast these gems disappeared.  I mean, they are vegetables!

The third recipe was Meatball Poppers.  I replaced the meat with vegetarian meatballs in this version to introduce another food option.  Some kids run the other way when I say something is "meatless" as though it is a disease.  I actually prefer these little nuggets.  They are easier to work with out of the bag, rather than mixing meat and making meatballs from scratch.  I'm sure the kids would agree that skipping that step was a fantastic idea!

Uncanning the crescent rolls.

Pretty tasty, minus all those caraway seeds.

The groups worked very well together, as usual.  There seemed to be a little bit of hazy-daze going on with the group, but I remembered that it was the effects of the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.  They were like zombies of a too-long-summer.  One thing is for certain, they are never too far when I "ring the dinner bell."

NOM, NOM, NOM!

Check back next month when we make Creepy Creatures in preparation for Halloween.

We will have a ghoulish good time!

Edible Books

Edible Books was the cooking club theme for June.  It was actually set for April, but several events canceled or postponed cooking club between February and June!  I have a lot of catching up to do. 

An array of books to choose

I provided book scans donated by a patron who had used them for a baby shower.  These were a lot easier to offer the kids versus the bulk and weight of actual books.  After the event, I was even more pleased to recycle these icing-coated-images rather than clean books forever.  

Getting the attendees to focus and plan a "book" look was a little tough, considering they just wanted to eat all the treats.  I did get a few very fine examples:

Blue Chicken

Rainbow Fish

Emerald

Clumsy Crab

A Cat Called Penguin

The trouble was getting the kids to see past the sweets and use them as building tools for their creations.  Eventually, I gave up steering their direction and let them create sugar castles fit for a belly ache.

Donuts, marshmallow, graham crackers with icing "glue"

"Heart Failure"

GROSS!!!

YUCK!

This loosely reference a farm book

I have seen amazing edible books designed for contests, but this mission fell a little flat.  Perhaps if the students bought these supplies, there would have been more reverence for their usage.  This is just another lesson in working with teens and tweens.