Dorsey’s teenage girl has been cooking since elementary school | Food

When he turned 7, he was in the kitchen next to her learning how to make this chicken pot pie. After half a dozen lessons, he was baking them himself.

“When I was 8, I started baking whatever I could just to see how it would turn out,” said Martin, 15. “After I showed my parents a few times that I could cook, they started to trust me to I do on my own.”

Martin said that when he was about 9 and out of school in the summer, he would stay up until 11:30 or midnight and be bored. So he would go to the kitchen and prepare a full meal.

“Then I would wake up my parents to see if they wanted to try it,” he said. “I would say ‘please, please, please’ until they tried at least one bite of it.”

Martin is a sophomore at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, where he plays right fielder and middle fielder for the football team and is an outfielder and pitcher for the baseball team.

His mother, Christy, owns the Black Sheep Boutique in Tupelo, and his father, Grant, is the director of the Dorsey Attendance Center. He has four brothers – Noah, Brayden, Sam and Will.

Martin learned to make chocolate sauce from his maternal grandmother, Linda Shackelford Green of Tupelo, but most of his culinary skills came from his paternal grandmother, Kay Martin, who lived across the street.

“Nana taught me literally everything about cooking,” Martin said. “I learned about grilling from YouTube and watching MasterChef Canada. I soon became quite good at it.’

Martin started out grilling chicken and steaks, but now enjoys grilling fish and vegetables.

“You have to get the fish to the ideal temperature,” he said. “I like to fish for salmon, walleye, trigger and catfish. I’m a big deep-sea fisherman, so every time we go to the beach, I bring some here.”

For years, Martin avoided vegetables.

“I used to hate them,” he said. “Then I knew they were good for you. Now we are roasting mushrooms, onions, pumpkin, zucchini, peppers. I don’t think you can go wrong with a jalapeño pepper.”

Martin also likes to bake cupcakes, muffins and casseroles, and he makes his own pasta from flour and egg yolks.

“My friends think I like to cook is a chef,” he said. “Most of them can only cook things in the microwave. My mom says cooking is a good way to attract girls, but I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.”

DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Chef of the Week, PO Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call (662) 678-1581 or email them at ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.

4 pounds boneless roast or roast shoulder, trimmed of excess fat

8 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tablespoons of minced garlic

1 pound baby potatoes, white or Yukon gold

4 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons of granulated broth

1 cup reduced sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Heat oil in a large frying pan or skillet over high heat. Season the roast with a good amount of salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer the roast to a 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. The broth and flour are beaten into a slurry and poured into the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart and the vegetables are tender. Adjust seasonings.

Slice the meat, garnish with parsley and pour over the sauce.

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

2 tablespoons of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 (4-pound) whole chicken, chopped*

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 cups vegetable fat or oil

Combine paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix well with a fork.

Whisk the buttermilk, egg, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss and turn to coat. Transfer the contents of the bowl to a ziplock freezer bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight, turning the bag occasionally to redistribute the contents and coat the chicken evenly.

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and remaining spice mixture in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade from the ziplock bag and mix it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove one piece of chicken from the bag, letting excess buttermilk drain off, drop the chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat. Continue adding chicken pieces to the flour mixture one at a time until all are in the bowl. Toss the chicken until each piece is completely coated, pressing down with your hands so the flour adheres in a thick layer.

Heat the fat or oil to 350 degrees in a 12-inch deep, straight-sided cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the temperature, being careful not to let the fat overheat.

One piece at a time, transfer the coated chicken to a fine-mesh strainer and shake to remove excess flour. Transfer to a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Once all the chicken pieces are coated, place skin side down in the hot oil. The temperature should drop to 300 degrees; adjust heat to maintain temperature at 300 degrees during cooking. Sear chicken until deep golden brown on first side, about 6 minutes; do not move the chicken or start checking for doneness until it has been fried for at least 3 minutes or you may knock off the coating. Carefully flip the chicken pieces with tongs and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 4 minutes longer.

Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a wire rack and let sit for about 10 minutes.

*Note: You can also use 3 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and/or wings.

1 kilogram of cooked prawns, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

4 whole plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 whole jalapeño peppers, seeds and veins removed, minced

1 cup diced jicama or diced peeled apple

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the shrimp into half-inch pieces and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon, lime, and orange juices to combine. Pour 1/2 cup citrus juice over shrimp and toss to combine. Let the shrimp marinate in the juice for 15 minutes.

Add the tomato, jalapeño, jicama (or apple), cilantro, and red onion to the shrimp. Stir the ingredients to combine and let marinate for another 10 minutes. Stir in the avocado and remaining citrus juices.

Season ceviche with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips, if desired.

4 whole chicken breast halves

4 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 can of cream of chicken soup

Boil the chicken breast until tender. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, debone it and place the chicken pieces in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Pour melted margarine over the chicken.

Combine the flour and milk and pour over the chicken. Mix the chicken soup and stock and pour over everything. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened

1 pound ground soft breakfast sausage, cooked and drained

Combine softened cream cheese and cooked sausage and place in bottom of greased 9×13-inch casserole dish. Unroll the crescents and place on top, pinching the seams. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.