Texas sheet cake

It's summer and that means making time to hang out in the kitchen and work on a cooking project or two with my son.  Most recently, we made a Texas sheet cake together, and it was such fun!

I'm calling it "Texas sheet cake" rather loosely because although there doesn't seem to be a definitive explanation for the term, "Texas sheet cake", our version omits a lot of what makes it what it is.  Specifically, we didn't bake the cake in a sheet pan; rather, I divided the recipe in half and baked it in a 9-inch square brownie pan (hence, the cake isn't Texas-style "big", either).  We also omitted two things - ground cinnamon and pecans - that you often find in a classic Texas sheet cake.  I decided to forego them because my son isn't a big fan of those ingredients and frankly, I wanted to make sure he'd enjoy what we baked. 

Even with the modifications we made, I'm still keeping the "Texas sheet cake" moniker because ultimately, the way the cake is prepared is so unique. Even my 11-year old could tell that the method of making this cake - cooking wet ingredients over the stove and pouring the hot mixture over the dry components to combine - was unusual!  But that's what made it fun and part of the reason why I picked this for a baking project.  It provided a lot of hands-on cooking for the little guy and he did an admirable job!  For a boy who isn't too interested in cooking, quite frankly, he seems to be pretty comfortable in the kitchen.  Maybe these little cooking sessions, even if relatively infrequent, do more and have a bigger impact than I realized...

There was another reason I thought of making this cake with my main man (aside from the somewhat obvious consideration that this super sweet treat would go down well).  We recently took a road trip to Virginia.  After many hours on the road (traffic on I-95 is no joke and we also had to contend with a flat tire midway there), we stopped into a Cracker Barrel to eat and I ordered a slice of Coca Cola cake for us to try for dessert.  Not surprisingly, the little one was a big fan of that and I thought this cake would be very similar (it is) and a fun thing to make now right after the trip.

To make a long story shorter, my little guy gave our cooking collaboration two-thumbs up!  I tell you - this is a sweet cake, with a moist, fluffy texture.  The icing is poured on the top of the warm cake and it seeps slightly into the cake, making it all the more moist.  It goes down very easy and has a nostalgic flavor to it somehow.  

It's certainly true when people say that kids will enjoy things they helped to make (though maybe I should make something vegetarian with him next time to test that theory); I just think it's doubly true when what they made was cake - and Texas sheet cake, at that!  He gobbled up his fair share of this cake and his dad was certainly another very happy beneficiary of this kitchen session of ours.  For my part, the best thing was spending the time in the kitchen together, watching my son do so much now, and sharing an enthusiasm for something together.  That's even better than eating cake!

Pizza pinwheels

We've had more than 9 weeks of summer vacation.  By that, I mean that's how long my 10-year old has been out of school.  That sounds like a long time but it's gone by so fast.  We have just one week left to savor the ease of summer before heading back to school and all that it involves.  I've been thinking that the little one and I haven't been cooking in the kitchen together enough so I thought we'd make some lunch.  

Presenting some very easy pepperoni pizza pinwheels for lunch

These are pizza pinwheels, a fun and easy twist on pizza.  I saw them on The Kitchn and they looked and sounded like just the thing to whip up with my fella because he loves pizza so there's basically no better thing to cook with him!  They also reminded me of some very similar - and very delicious - pinwheels we used to get from a pizzeria in Brooklyn where we lived at the time.

Of course, these cheesy pinwheels are stuffed with pepperoni.  As much as I'd love to get creative with toppings on homemade pizza, my son will vote for pepperoni every single time so that's what we'll stick with.  Thinking about those pinwheels we used to get at Nino's Pizzeria in Brooklyn, I remembered theirs' were coated in sesame seeds (which somehow seemed to make them extra good) so I took that inspiration and rolled a few of our pinwheels in sesame seeds.  They add a little texture and I'm a big fan of it.  

These pizza pinwheels were incredibly easy to put together, thanks to plenty of shortcuts with store-bought ingredients.  We just got home from vacation (plenty of beach and pool time, as well as delicious Cuban food, in Miami Beach) and as usual, I find myself in a little bit of a cooking rampage when I get back on home turf.  That said, I am definitely looking for quick meals since there's always so much to do after being away even for a little while.

So we used store-bought pizza dough and fixings and we just had fun pressing, rolling, and assembling.  Since my son still has a rather short attention span in the kitchen, it's just the right amount of kitchen action for him.  My husband was our photographer, cheerleader, and eager taste-tester.  It was a fun time!

Kid in the kitchen (summer edition)

A few years ago, if you had told me that my son would be interested in helping out in the kitchen and cooking with me, I would have been skeptical.  He wasn't one of those kids who jumped at the chance to get his hands dirty in the kitchen.  But I have to say that things have changed quite a bit. 

Wanting to share one of my interests with him, I've been luring him into the kitchen, bit by bit, in the last couple of years.  And now, having him there, helping me crack some eggs or completing a whole recipe together, is not uncommon.  He might not have a big passion for cooking or baking but I think he's figured out that working/playing in the kitchen can be a lot of fun.  I like to think that he learns a little something in the process when we make something together, and I know he appreciates the sense of accomplishment and the tasty reward at the end!

Spaghetti Carbonara: one of the simple dishes my little guy and I made together this summer

So this summer, I made a goal.  I wanted to get the little guy in the kitchen for a few cooking "sessions".  Beyond one-off projects or just stepping in to help me whisk something or to spread a batter here and there, I wanted to teach him how to make a few simple dishes from beginning to end.  We get to spend time together (cooking and eating) and longer-term, I hope that by cooking more and more, he'll be able to make basic meals for himself down the line as an adult.

Well, the summer flew by fast.  It can be hard to carve out time for "cooking lessons" but we managed when I look back at it.  As I've posted before, we were in the kitchen making fun things like pudding pops and grilled chocolate sandwiches but we also collaborated on a few others, including some savory dishes.  The trick was finding easy and relatively quick dishes that the little one would enjoy because then there'd be motivation to keep going.  I think we did all right since he was a big fan of everything he cooked up.

So you know how moms do - we talk about our kids!  In that spirit, please bear with me as I share some of the cooking sessions I had with my little guy this summer...