Turn your favorite adult meal into an affordable gourmet meal for your little one.

  

I took last week off from posting, to celebrate my birthday. Yes, I turned 31 on Wednesday Jan 5, 2011. Man, how did that happen? 31?! Well in any case I did get to have a fabulous “foodie” dinner. I went to Restaurant Iris, which is hard to get into and is right up there with anything you can get in Chicago, NYC or Boston. I am extremely proud of this place and for a chance to eat there for my birthday was very special. It is far and beyond the bbq joints here in Memphis. 

Well, this got me thinking… How can I translate this amazing and very “grown up” meal in to something that a small toddler or child could enjoy? Here was the menu that night: Cheers!

• Brussels sprouts cooked in butter and Sherry
• Crosstini’s with bone marrow and tomatoes
• Lobster knuckle on baked bread
• Red snapper
• Crème brulee with chicory

Obviously this menu can be a little extreme for your little one. I have done some experimenting this week to see what I could do to make it more “toddler friendly” while keeping the integrity of the menu. So here it goes!

Brussels Sprouts:

• One package of frozen Brussels sprouts
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• Salt to taste
• In skillet bring oil to a high heat and put in sprouts. Let sprouts caramelize in pan; slowly move them around to brown on all sides for about 15 to 20 minutes.
• When they have cooled, slice into quarters and serve to your toddler.

Lobster:

• Okay lobster! This is some serious prep work and it is expensive. Save yourself the time, money and hassle of killing the expensive crustacean and buy lobster knuckle, already shelled.
• Cook the lobster in a small amount of butter
• Salt to taste
• Cube and serve to your little one
• (Note) If your child is a little afraid or intimidated by the lobster, you can do lobster balls. (See previous entry on salmon balls. Same recipe.)

Red Snapper:

Red snapper can be over-cooked fairly easily. So, when preparing, you are going to have to commit to watching the fish.

·         Place snapper filet's in over at 400F for 15 minutes

·         Drizzle with olive oil and lemon. (Olive oil is good for brain development)

·         Let cool and serve with some yogurt. Once again, if your little one is a little scared of the cooked fish, you can flake the snapper into the plain yogurt with a little salt and pepper.

Crème Brulee:

Crème brulee can be difficult and can take a while. It involves a blow torch and really if your set up is off, you end up with soup. Try this alternative.

• Half pint of heavy whipping crème
• One cup sugar
• One tsp of pure vanilla extract
• One vanilla bean, split open and placed into crème
• Whip in mixer until stiff
• Serve with mint leaf

While this is not a brulee, it is a great vanilla desert option. Millie LOVES this one!

***These recipes are for older toddlers. I would recommend trying these for young ones over 15 months old.