PBJ? Not in this lunchbox

If you think you have a problem packing your kids’ lunchbox, try standing in Larry Nicola’s shoes. Nicola, chef at Nic’s Restaurant and Martini Lounge in Beverly Hills, has a daughter who’s as discriminating as a demanding customer.

“I could never eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can’t just have a plain turkey sandwich,” said 13 year-old Makaela. She prefers having Dad pack a pear, blue cheese and tangerine salad on baby lettuce or put together a chicken mole sandwich.

Having your lunchbox prepared by chef-dad has its rewards in the schoolyard. “People are always asking me if they can try my lunch,” she said.

Chefs understand better than anyone that crunchy, crispy, salty, flavorful stuff goes over big with kids -- just as it does with grown-up customers. And, as in their restaurants, presentation is everything.

Chefs even know the secret to getting their kids to eat fresh fruits and vegetables: dips, spreads and dressings. If you listen to enough chefs talk about kids’ lunches, you’ll begin to believe that these have more amazing transformative powers than the Incredible Hulk. Yogurt, hummus and tangy, spicy dips are the chef parent’s heroes.

But don’t think these chefs are pouring any old bottled dressing into their kids’ salads: They know that only a dressing with zing will do the trick. Melisse chef Josiah Citrin noticed that his son, Augustin, 6, shared his taste for tart and sour flavors. So Citrin started making a vinaigrette using a flavorful Banyuls vinegar for Augustin’s vegetables or salads.

Border Grill chef Mary Sue Milliken whips up a tangy lime-pepper mayonnaise. “My kids will down platters of ice-cold celery sticks, bell peppers, cucumber spears, carrots, jicama, steamed green beans or broccoli -- just about anything -- if they’re given a small bowl of lime-pepper mayonnaise,” she said. “I put it in their lunches to be sure the veggies don’t end up in the trash.”

Hans Rockenwagner ventures toward the exotic with a spicy romesco dip made from toasted almonds, roasted red peppers and ancho chiles that his 11-year-old son, Hansi, fearlessly slathers on his sandwiches or packs as a vegetable dip.

Gustavo Flores, chef at the Grill on the Alley, whips two tablespoons each of peanut butter and butter with three tablespoons of maple syrup for a lightly sweet dip for fresh, crisp apples, a perennial lunchbox favorite.

Vegetables sometimes sneak into a meal on a soup spoon. La Cachette’s Jean Francois Meteigner makes his kids one of his restaurant’s top standbys, a pureed butternut squash or zucchini soup that they can tote to school in an insulated container. It’s also cream-free, so his 3-year-old, dairy-averse daughter, Chloe, can eat it too.

Leftovers in tote

Many chefs choose the strategy of sending their kids to school with fabulous leftovers. “I pack a lunch that I would eat,” Milliken said. One of her boys’ favorites is grilled chicken drummettes. She makes double and triple quantities the night before for dinner with the intention of packing the extras in lunchboxes. The drummettes need only a splash of lime juice to enliven the flavor, but when we tested the recipe, we found that it was also terrific with Milliken’s lime-pepper mayonnaise.

What lunchbox would be complete without a cookie? Joachim and Christine Splichal of the Patina Group send their 7-year-old twins to school with orange sable cookies. OK, so there’s not that much vitamin C in them, but they are fun to make. The kids can help, and you can freeze some of the dough, keeping it on hand for fresh-baked treats.

But what’s most important in the lunchbox-packing game? Presentation, presentation, presentation.

Citrin trims turkey sandwiches into crust-less diamonds for his daughter Olivia, 3; he uses the restaurant’s slicer to get salami paper-thin, and therefore, acceptable. Jar chef Suzanne Tracht’s kids loved mini fruit or gelatin molds made in shot glass-sized containers Tracht’s husband picked up at Smart ‘n’ Final.

That’s almost as unusual as one of Milliken’s favorite finds. She shops in ethnic markets for clever containers to tuck into lunchboxes. One of her favorites: tiny, fish-shaped squeeze bottles that she buys at Japanese grocers. They may not be the latest movie-marketing tie-in toy, but they have their own kind of cool factor. That’s something fast-food marketers figured out long ago. Food is better if it’s fun.

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Orange sable cookies

Total time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling

Servings: 12 (2 cookies per serving)

Note: Adapted from “Feeding Baby: Simple, Healthy Recipes for Babies and Their Families,” by Joachim Splichal and Christine Splichal

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4cup powdered sugar

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup finely minced orange zest

1 cup raw sugar

1. Sift together the flour, powdered sugar and salt.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and beat on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Be careful not to overbeat.

3. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick and 5 inches long. Pour the raw sugar onto a sheet pan and roll the logs in it to coat evenly. Wrap each log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. (The logs may be frozen for up to 2 weeks. If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight to use.)

4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough into three-eighth-inch slices and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges turn light golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Each serving: 304 calories; 2 grams protein; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 16 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 41 mg. cholesterol; 20 mg. sodium.

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Butternut squash and corn soup

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 12 (kid-size)

Note: From Jean Francois Meteigner at La Cachette

2 pounds butternut squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 medium leek, sliced and washed twice

4 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed

2 branches rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into half-inch dice.

2. Heat the olive oil in a 6-quart stock pot. Saute the onion and leek over medium heat about 5 minutes, until just soft. Add the butternut squash and corn and saute for an additional 10 minutes. Add the rosemary and salt. Cover the vegetables with chicken or vegetable broth and cook uncovered for 30 minutes over low heat.

3. Strain and set aside half the stock; remove the rosemary branches. Puree the vegetables with an immersion or regular blender. Strain the puree through a large mesh strainer to remove the corn skin. Add half a cup of reserved stock (or more, if you prefer a thinner soup) back into the puree mixture. Store overnight in the refrigerator and reheat before filling an insulated container.

Each serving: 97 calories; 4 grams protein; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 461 mg. sodium.

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Drummettes with lime-pepper mayonnaise

Total Time: 30 minutes plus drying time

Servings: 4 to 5

Note: From Mary Sue Milliken. Prepare and season the wings in the morning, place in the refrigerator, and by dinner time they’ll be ready to grill. The air drying helps crisp the skin. The lime-pepper mayonnaise is also delicious as a dip for cut-up raw vegetables.

Lime-pepper mayonnaise

1/3cup good-quality mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 tablespoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Mix all ingredients well. Adjust seasonings.

Air-dried chicken drummettes

2 pounds chicken wing drummettes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 lemon, cut into quarters

1. Wash and dry the drummettes and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with oregano and rub it into the skin. Place the drummettes on a rack in the refrigerator to air dry, with a paper towel underneath to absorb the drippings. Allow to dry for about 8 hours.

2. Prepare a barbecue grill or preheat the oven broiler. Grill or broil the drummettes over medium-high heat for 15 to 18 minutes, turning frequently until wings are an even golden-brown (do not let them char).

3. Squeeze the lemon quarters over the drummettes. Refrigerate the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Serve with the lime-pepper mayonnaise for dipping.

Each of five servings: 311 calories; 19 grams protein; 1 gram carbohydrate; 0 fiber; 25 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 67 mg. cholesterol; 722 mg. sodium.