Cookin’ teen style

Sutter Union High School student Mark Phillips has been waiting for today with great anticipation. He turns 151⁄2, the age you can get a learner’s permit to drive.

One problem: July Fourth is a holiday, so he will have to wait until Thursday to stand in line at the DMV. At least he won’t go hungry while waiting, since he’s been cooking since he was 10.

Most 10-year-old boys don’t think about becoming a professional chef. If he hadn’t been grounded, for something we don’t really need to bring up, he probably wouldn’t have decided to “mess around in the kitchen.”

His first creation: The famous grilled cheese sandwich.

“Once I made the first two, and didn’t burn them, I decided I would make more for my family,” said Mark. That would be parents Cliff and Kathy Phillips of Sutter, older brother Steven and two sisters, Kaylee and Timarie.

“All my family said they tasted really good, so I guess I just liked cooking because it made everyone happy,” Mark said. “I just started trying to make other things, and I got to the place where I really enjoyed cooking.”

Mark has plans to attend a culinary cooking institute once he graduates from Sutter High.

“After I finish my training, I want to travel the world and learn how to make all kinds of different cultural foods,” he said. “When I return, I plan to open my own restaurant and have a menu that reflects what I learned on my travels.”

One thing I noticed immediately about Mark’s cooking style was how organized he was and how well he knew his recipe for “Tequila Pineapple Shrimp with Lime Zest Rice.” (Advisory notice for easily shocked parents: The alcohol in the tequila cooks off.)

This young man’s passion for cooking is unique for his age, and I believe one day he will make a great chef.

Mark is looking for a part-time job at a local eatery so he can begin to get the experience he needs.

The shrimp kabobs were to die for, yet I think even if Mark had simply served his specialty - grilled cheese sandwiches - it would have hit the spot. If he represents the next generation of chefs, our children and their children’s children are sure to enjoy some fine dining.

• Mark Phillips’ “Tequila Pineapple Shrimp with Lime Zest Rice Kabobs”

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, large size

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 jalapeños

2 cloves of roasted garlic, finely chopped

1 cup pineapple juice

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1⁄4 cup tequila

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoons chives, chopped

1 lime for zest and juice

1 bell pepper, large chunks

1 pineapple, cut into large chunks

Putting it together

1. In a medium size bowl, place shrimp, olive oil, one jalapeño - you may want to remove the jalaeño seeds if you don’t want the kabobs to have so much heat - one clove of the roasted garlic, lime zest and the juice. Season it with salt and pepper for taste. Put it in the fridge for at least one hour.

2. While waiting, get a small saucepan and add the following ingredients: the other jalapeño and garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, pineapple juice, sugar, tequila and the shallot.

Bring to a boil on medium high, add the butter while bringing it to a boil. Cook until it is a syrupy, about seven to eight minutes.

3. Turn barbecue grill on high, oil or grease the grill. Skewer shrimp, alternating with large chunks of bell pepper and pineapple chunks.

Grill shrimp kabobs, and continue to turn them until they are about halfway cooked.

As you grill the kabobs, brush the tequila syrup on the kabobs until the shrimp is done.

Serve over “Lime Zest Rice” (See recipe below).

• Cook’s Notes: If you want the shrimp kabobs to be more spicy, take the seeds that you took off of the first jalapeño and sprinkle them over the kabobs while they are grilling.

• Lime zest rice

1 teaspoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup cooked rice

1 juice of 1⁄2 lime

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Putting it together

Add the unsalted butter, coarse salt, lime juice and cilantro to the rice and serve with shrimp skewers.

Lights, camera, action

Today Your Neighbors’ Favorite Recipe goes where no chef has gone before. Online video. Go to appealdemocrat.com website and click on “Food.” Then click on Neighbors’ Favorite and you can watch a short video featuring Mark Phillips making his “Tequila Pineapple Shrimp with Zesty Lime Rice.” It is a brave new world out there, for cooks and journalists alike, and the Appeal-Democrat Food section is making the journey.

Don’t forget - a free, full-color recipe card of Mark Phillips’ “Tequila Pineapple Shrimp with Zesty Lime Rice” will be available Thursday in the lobbies of the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville and Yuba City. The offices are closed today for the July Fourth holiday.

If you have a favorite recipe you would be willing to share, give me a call at 749-4720 or e-mail me at mreed@appealdemocrat.com. I would love to come to your home and meet you.

Until then, hope to see you in your neighbors’ kitchen.