Food for thought

How many of you have heard of SkillsUSA?

I was asked to judge a culinary competition for SkillsUSA recently, so I thought I should do a little research on what I was getting myself into. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA instructors help each student excel. SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers and responsible American citizens.

Each year Arizona Western College hosts the SkillsUSA competition at the local level. The day of the competition there were buildings being erected, electrical things being wired, metal being welded and food being cooked. When I arrived at the culinary class, I was prepped on the food to be prepared and how we were to score each student.

The students and their instructors had no idea what they would be asked to cook. They were given a sheet with recipes and a time limit to prepare and present to the judges. The 14 students split up between five kitchen units and each began to prepare their meal. It was fun for me to wander around the kitchens, watching and asking the chefs about why they were competing, why they liked cooking and if they planned on taking it to the next level.

I stood there watching these students and I was brought back to my first official culinary training, though we did not call it culinary training back then. It was home economics. I went to high school in the ’60s and ’70s. Girls took home economics and learned to sew and make meals for the family they were expected to have. Boys took wood shop and auto mechanics, I guess so they could build furniture and fix their cars. I remember my junior year in student council, we took a petition to the school board requesting that girls be allowed to take shop, boys take home economics and that girls could wear pants. They did approve the requests and I am proud to say I built a cedar chest in wood shop wearing pants my senior year.

I believe if my high school had had something like SkillsUSA that I might have taken a deeper interest in attending culinary school and becoming a chef right out of high school, but in the ’70s women did not become chefs. Just look at Julia Child and how the instructors at Le Cordon Bleu did not take her seriously at first and it wasn’t until 1978 that her television show was broadcast. Julia was truly the stepping-stone for women to become professional chefs.

With all the budget cuts going on in education, SkillsUSA is in jeopardy of not being funded at the high school level. Without this funding, the vocational classes in our high schools will no longer be available to the students. According to Sheranne Dampier, culinary instructor at Kofa High School: “If we lose our Tech Career funding, we may lose SkillsUSA altogether and if that happens, then as a community, we will have to find ways to challenge our students so that they can still compete.“

I feel that any vocational training we can give our youth today is so positive for their self-esteem and for their future. I hope that our government realizes this need and keeps the funding in place.

But back to that competition.

The students were required to do a boneless pork chop in a roasted garlic sauce, carrot coins, risotto and a baked apple. They all did a fantastic job, some a little better than the others. We, as judges, got to sample 14 different interpretations of the recipes and now I will share mine with you.

Happy cooking and remember if asked: SkillsUSA Vocational training is a real must in our high schools.

Pork Chops with Sage and Garlic
4 boneless pork chops
10 fresh sage leaves
5 cloves garlic sliced thin
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Warm about 1/4 cup of olive oil in skillet over medium high heat, add the sage and let sizzle for 30 seconds until is begins to curl and crisp. Remove with slotted spoon. Add garlic to oil and sauté until golden. Remove to plate with sage to be used later.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Cook chops in sage- and garlic-infused oil on one side until the surface has browned and caramelized. Flip and cook on other side for a few minutes until done.

Return sage and garlic to pan along with the juice of a lemon. Using the lemon juice as your deglazer, scrap the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and swirl the sage and garlic to form a sauce.

Lemon Risotto from www.epicurious.com
6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
3-1/2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt 1-1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes.

Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1-1/2 cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes.

Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Roasted Carrots
3 pounds small carrots (including greens; carrots about 5 inches long), tops trimmed to 1 inch and carrots peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.

Toss carrots with oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and spread on foil-lined sheet pan. Roast 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 325°F and roast, stirring occasionally, until carrots are browned and tender, about 25 minutes more.

Baked Apples
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons of either raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries or dried figs or a combination of above
4 tablespoons roughly chopped nuts
4 large, firm baking apples, such as Cortlands, cored and peeled half way down from top
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts.

Place the apples in a baking pan or casserole dish and stuff their cavities with the fruit and nut mixture. Place a piece of butter on top of the stuffing.

Pour the apple cider and maple syrup into the bottom of the baking pan and bake the apples, basting every 5 to 7 minutes, until they are tender, around  25 to 35 minutes.

When the apples are tender, transfer them to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer the mixture until it becomes syrupy and reduces to a sauce, about 10 minutes. Serve over the apples.

I love a little vanilla bean ice cream with them!

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Karla Billdt works as a personal chef and owns Karla's Kreations.