Brunch with Marcus Samuelsson & Kraft – Big Fork Little Fork

I was recently invited to preview a new iPad app from Kraft and Marcus Samuelsson.  Thrown in a gorgeous loft in SoHo, we were treated to a live demo by Chef Marcus himself. 

He showed us how to prep chicken tacos for a weeknight meal, using shortcuts and Kraft products.  Well, I’ll be honest, if I’m making hard shell tacos at home, I’m definitely using store bought ones… I don’t know there’s any other way.  (I don’t otherwise use corn tortillas at home, except to make chips – I’m not a fan of the ‘raw’ taste of corn tortillas and vastly prefer flour tortillas.)  It was pretty simple, but what I found most interesting was that he put the avocado into the pan (after turning off the heat) with the meat, as opposed to having the toppings separate.  I guess that makes it quicker and easier to stuff the shells, but were I to have kids, I’d definitely want to do a kid-friendly albeit messy taco night where they get to top their own!  🙂 

After the demonstration, we were set loose on the buffet table nearby, set with recipes that Chef Marcus had developed with Kraft. 

Granola for topping yogurt – I love that they kept these separate for you to mix on the spot, so you could adjust your own ratios, and so that it wouldn’t get soggy before you ate it, one of my pet peeves of yogurt parfaits.  On the right is oatmeal, topped with shredded coconut… which meant I avoided that side of the table entirely, except to take this blurry pic. 

I didn’t avoid this end of the table, however! 

Chicken taco, eggs topped with smoked salmon, and red grits.  Unfortunately, I didn’t look through the recipe to see what was in the eggs that made it Kraft… but they were pretty tasty. 

The chicken taco was also tasty, though cold and the shell had softened a little bit from sitting on the platter for a little while.  Other than that, though, I really enjoyed the flavor combination with avocado, corn, and salsa (from a jar) making their presence known but not overwhelming, and despite using white meat, the chicken was pretty tender.  

Someone came around and offered us mini cupcakes, so I took a red velvet one.  I put the whole thing in my mouth and discovered it was very, very lemony… not in a bad way, but surprising for a red velvet. 

In any case, the point of the event was to play with Kraft’s new app, Big Fork Little Fork (I already asked why it wasn’t Big Spoon Little Spoon!).  An app exclusively for iPad that takes advantage of all the best things about iPad (now that I’ve played with the iPad a bit, from friends/family having them and at this event): an on-the-go cookbook with videos to show you the harder parts of any given recipe, alongside tips, notes, and just a really aesthetically pleasing app for parents who cook with their kids.  It’s completely child-friendly, and even has the option to split recipes into “Picky Eaters” vs. “Adventurous Eaters” or “After School Snacks” along with your normal breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I really enjoyed the app, and thought how a family member of mine with children who has asked to no longer be mentioned on my site might like it.  Martha Stewart had what amounted to a cookbook stand that she used for her iPad when she demonstrated her Cookie app (which is also awesome, by the way); if you put one of those in your kitchen, you could easily cook with your kids with the gorgeous graphics from Big Fork Little Fork.  The touchscreen makes it easy to flip through recipes, ingredients (and the app will even help you form grocery lists for specific recipes); but the iPad has, I believe, a screen you can just wipe clean, which makes it even more suited for this sort of app. 

Can you tell I’m a little sad I don’t have an iPad (or a child to cook with, ha!) to use this app on???  I really enjoyed working with the app and feel that it’s suited for people with kids, and people who either don’t have a lot of time in the kitchen and/or also aren’t that familiar in the kitchen.  There are a ton of great recipes culled straight from Kraft’s website, with beautifully shot photographs of the finished dishes, tips, hints, video and nutritional info.  It’s honestly a very well done application that I feel comfortable recommending for those who fall into the above category. 

Chef Marcus’ involvement was actually only in part of the development of this app; Big Fork Little Fork offers an add-on option for $4.99 – the initial application is completely free – that has all of his recipes (including the dishes I showed you above; I checked!) that he worked on with Kraft.  He has a wide array of international cuisine influences, as his food is much the same, but he also has a number of dishes that even the pickiest eaters would love to try.  And again, the video, beautiful photographs, tips, hints, they all make this very much worth the cost. 

Happy app-shopping! 

As a special treat, Kraft has kindly agreed to let me post the following recipe for the red grits, which were good in a different way.  Sometimes I find grits too heavy, but these were lightened up dramatically by the tomatoes.  Yum! Happy cooking!!!

Prep Time: 5 min. | Total Time: 20 min. | Makes: 4 servings, about 2/3 cup each. 
What You Need
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/8 tsp. smoked paprika
½ cup old-fashioned grits
1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup KRAFT Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
 
Make It
COOK first 3 ingredients in medium saucepan on medium-low heat 1 min. Add grits; cook and
stir 2 min. Add tomatoes; cook and stir 2 min. 
STIR in juice and stock; simmer 10 min. 
TOP with cheese and basil.