Bon Appétit!: Books to Introduce Your Children to Cooking

Remember when lettuce was sold in heads, not bags? And “Dinner’s Ready” was a sweet song from your mother’s mouth, not a digital-ding from the microwave? Eating together, as a family, should not be reserved for special occasions. Nightly family dinners should be expected, not abandoned. You may be surprised what you can learn about each other at the dinner table.

When children play an active role in creating a meal, getting them to the table may not require a team of workhorses. Here, Mark Janssen musters up a menu of possibilities to introduce your kids to cooking.

Cooking the Middle Eastern Way
By Alison Behnke and Vartkes Ehramjian
Lerner Publications, $25.26 (Hardcover)

This intelligent and well-designed cookbook is aimed primarily at aspiring chefs in grades seven through ten.  While the author takes pains to ensure that the recipes are simply written and easy to follow, this is not a cookbook for raw beginners.  Some culinary background is advisable or at least supervision by an experienced cook.  That said, there are some mouth-watering treasures here waiting to be teased out of the pages.  In keeping with the spirit of the times, special emphasis is given to low-fat and vegetarian dishes.  A brief historical section provides readers with a general sense of the region’s cultural diversity and its many cuisines.  Subsequent notes take into account basic kitchen safety practices, necessary equipment, special ingredients and metric conversions.  The recipes are broken down into appetizers, main dishes, desserts, and festival or holiday foods and each is linked to the country of origin.  Full-color photographs accompany and enhance the appeal of the recipes themselves.  This will make a good addition to the cookbook collection of your junior chef.

Roald Dahl’s Even More Revolting Recipes
By Roald Dahl, Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Viking, $17.99 (Hardcover)

If the Addams Family had a favorite cookbook, this would be it.  Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake have teamed up again to create the companion volume to his first culinary compendium, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes.  Aficionados will recognize some of the dishes from Mr. Dahl’s other works including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  While some of the recipes may sound fairly disgusting, none of them really is.  The titles alone are enough to fill young and mischievous cooks with glee as they look forward to presenting company with a plate of Soil with Engine Oil or some Boiled Slobbages.  Parents please note: while the dishes are calculated to appeal to younger appetites, the directions may get a bit overwhelming for junior chefs.  Adult supervision is the rule rather than the exception here, so get a firm grip on your sense of humor and wade on in.  Who knew lizard’s tails could be so tasty?

Pasta, Fried Rice, and Matzoh Balls: Immigrant Cooking in America
By Loretta Frances Eichord, Illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis
Millbrook Press, $25.26 (Hardcover)

The author traces ethnic contributions to the American palate in this festive mix of history, culinary lore, and recipes.  With the notable exceptions of English and  African American cuisines, which she addresses in an earlier book, Eichord manages to address nearly all of the most prominent gastronomic influences in American cookery since 1565, a feat of no mean proportions when weighed against the book’s modest size.