Books for kid cooks

 Say what you will about the Food Network (and I can say plenty), the cable channel has gotten many children interested in cooking. I just hope that some kids are able to look beyond the glitz and hype to discover the pleasures of cooking and eating real food. Food and cooking can provide a way for children to explore seasonal rhythms and local ingredients; they can also provide children windows on cultures and customs around the world. Cooking is an ideal parent-child activity even if Mom and Dad aren’t experts themselves. It gives kids a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to create something their family and friends can enjoy. It’s also lots of fun.        

For those of you with a budding chef on your holiday gift list, here are three books that were special favorites of my (now grown) kids and mine, as well as a newer one geared towards teenagers. The amount of adult involvement depends on the individual recipe as well as the child’s age and skill level, although none is intended for very young children. The excellent recipes in all of them use real food – no mixes or highly processed ingredients. And though the recipes are geared towards children, most appeal equally to adults; good enough that several remain in my kids’ and my recipe repertoire.
   

The Batali Brothers Cookbook (Leo Batali and Benno Batali with additional recipes from Mario Batali, Ecco, 112 pages, 2013, $14.99) started out as a surprise 50th birthday present to the phenomenally talented celebrity chef Mario Batali from his two teenage sons, Benno, 16, and Leo, 14. It was a homemade project: the boys came up with the recipes, their mom, Susi Cahn, took the photos and a cousin turned the separate pieces into an actual book. Mario Batali says in the book’s preface:

“When I first opened my surprise gift I was, and still am overcome by the magnificent joy of becoming a dad. The Batali Brothers Cookbook is a labor of love, and also of responsibility, totally about our family fascination with hospitality and the pleasure of giving.”

The book is divided into two parts. The first contains the original recipes and pictures from Leo and Benno’s birthday surprise book for their dad. Included are some of the boys’ personal favorites, such as Brown Sugar Pancakes, Sloppy Sloppy Joes, Triple P Salad (Peas, Potatoes, and Pesto), a grill-roasted chicken brined in pickle juice and garlic and Daddy’s Birthday Cake (aka Franny’s Sunshine Cake). The second half has family-preparation-friendly recipes from Mario Batali himself; things such as Carrots with Cumin and Honey, Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches and Spaghetti with Green Tomato Pesto.

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Fanny at Chez Panisse: A Child’s Restaurant Adventures (Alice L. Waters, Morrow Cookbooks, 144 pages, 1997, $18.95). Fanny has 46 recipes, as well as wonderful illustrations and a charming narrative about a girl’s experiences growing up in her mother’s restaurant. Author Waters, one of the most influential figures on the American food scene, almost single-handedly started a revolution that led to the resurgence of interest in cooking seasonally with the use of local ingredients. A former Montessori teacher, Waters started the restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., in the 60s as a gathering place for friends, but it quickly became much more. Chez Panisse, which serves a different set menu every evening, is a place of pilgrimage for serious foodies, and its list of alumni is a virtual who’s-who of American chefs. For all that, the restaurant, with its beautifully rustic décor and open kitchen, is far from stuffy. Fanny at Chez Panisse reflects that warmth as well as Waters’ commitment to teaching children. She has established a foundation, the Edible Schoolyard, that lets children plant and maintain organic produce gardens and then learn to cook what they’ve grown as part of the regular school curriculum.

The recipes are simple and delicious, from roast chicken to Spaghetti with Garlic, Parsley and Olive Oil. (“ . . . . what we make for dinner when we come home late and hungry and need something quick!”) Shortly after I brought Fanny at Chez Panisse home from one of my pilgrimages, my daughter, Ashley, then in grade school, wanted to try its biscuit recipe. I discouraged her: I’d had a perfectly good biscuit recipe for years and thought that she should use it instead. She insisted on Fanny’s recipe and I gave in. I was glad I did. Fanny’s recipe was not only amazingly easy (much simpler than mine), it was absolutely foolproof. It’s become our household’s standard biscuit/scone recipe.

Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures (Rick Bayless and Lanie Bayless, Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 232 pages, 2004, $29.95) is the result of another chef/child collaboration. Rick Bayless’ restaurants, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, set a new standard for authentic regional Mexican cooking in the United States. (He won the 1995 James Beard award for Best Chef in the United States – the only one ever given for Mexican cuisine). He has had multiple cooking show series’ on PBS as well as several successful cookbooks and a line of condiments that’s available in local groceries. Like Fanny, Lanie grew up in her parents’ restaurant (I can remember Rick carrying baby Lanie in his arms as he visited tables at Frontera) and she has frequently appeared alongside her dad on his cooking shows.
Lanie, now in her 20s, was a teenager when she and her father collaborated on their Excellent Adventure cookbook. It is indeed an excellent way for young people to explore ethnic foods. Through recipes and stories, each chapter explores a different cuisine and culture that the Baylesses have visited, ranging from Mexico, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Morocco to classics from Rick’s family’s barbecue restaurant in Oklahoma.

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Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes (Roald Dahl and Felicity Dahl, Puffin, 64 pages, 1997, $8.99) is fun for both kids and adults. If your child cook is a fan of Dahl’s books or the films made from them (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda) this is a great choice. The recipes are illustrated by the author in his characteristic style. Roald Dahl’s wife, Felicity, oversaw the recipes, which are all derived from the books. From Lickable Wallpaper and Candy-Coated Pencils Good for Sucking in Class (my kids made these one year as Christmas presents for friends) to Mr. Twit’s Beard Food and Scrambled Dregs (a riff on egg-drop soup), just reading the recipe titles can make you chuckle. There’s even a recipe for a submarine sandwich that looks like a crocodile. It’s not all silliness, though. Everything we’ve tried has been delicious. Bruce Bogstrotter’s Chocolate Cake, a decadent creation, is my first choice for a dark, dense chocolate cake and a frequent household choice for birthdays. The Dahls have published a second volume, Roald Dahl’s Even More Revolting Recipes.   

Contact Julianne Glatz at  [email protected].