It was the penultimate week of cooking classes, the week before our dinner party for family and friends. We needed to learn one more recipe and then vote on the favorite to prepare for the party. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and as much as they were excited about cooking, the enthusiasm spilled over into hard-to-control exuberance with students showing off their dance moves, flying around the kitchen, laughing and shouting.

It was a challenge to settle them down with some deep breaths and reminders how important it is to be calm and safe and careful in the kitchen, as we are working with hot pans and sharp knives.

We were making poached chicken, a preparation none of them were familiar with, and they were surprised and intrigued to learn we would be cooking it in parchment paper.

But first we had to get the rice cooking and the broccoli chopped. Those tasks were no problem for these kids with six weeks of lessons under their belts. They excelled at chopping the broccoli, as well as slicing the garlic and grating the lemon which we would use to flavor the roasted broccoli.

However, slicing the chicken into thirds was a bit daunting. The young chefs did not shy away from gripping the slippery chicken breasts and coaxing the knife to go through them. Next we lined bowls with parchment, added the sliced chicken breasts and herbs and broth, and tied them into parcels with twine. “They look like little presents!” said Sofia Gutierrez.

Onto a baking sheet went the parcels, and then into the oven along with the sheet of broccoli to roast. The rice and broccoli were extremely cooperative, and cooked beautifully. The chicken was a different story.

The kids were so excited to open their presents. “What did you get for Christmas?” asked Christopher Velez, as he was untying the twine on. his parcel. But when they unwrapped their gifts, the chicken was still terribly pink and undercooked.

“We need to cook it longer,” observed Elias Dugarte.

Back into the oven it went. Instead of adding the rice to the packets, the students ate the rice and broccoli and waited for the chicken.

We discussed that sometimes recipes don’t always work the way they are written, so one must always check for doneness, especially with poultry and meat.

During the delay, we edited the poems they wrote about cooking class, which they will read for their parents next week, and then voted on our meal for our “Grand Finale” celebration. And the winner was our Pasta and Sausage recipe with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert!

As for this week’s meal, I would say the favorite part was the rice. Most students had to leave before the chicken was fully cooked, so I was glad they got something in their bellies. But Elias was not unhappy with the results, as he brought most of the chicken home to his family for dinner!