I love spending time with my grandchildren, and I particularly love cooking with them. Instilling an interest for good food at a young age is fun for the family and also helps kids be involved in their own future culinary choices. Many develop a passion for cooking that lasts a lifetime and is a love they can share with their own families. Some of my most cherished memories with them are licking spatulas after baking a cake or the pride on their faces when we present what we’ve made to the awaiting crowd.
Any time my grandkids come visit I think about what we will cook together. Mini Pear Cakes? Soufflé? Grilled salmon and roasted potatoes? Cookies? Luckily, my grandkids are good eaters and like to cook, so it’s always a pleasure to be in the kitchen with them. Besides, it’s more fun to make a mess with them than by myself!
My cookbook Ooh la la! French Inspirations for Entertaining and Travel (available here) has hundreds of recipes in it, and I’m suggesting a few here specifically for cooking with children:
- Orange and Raisin Cookies (p. 15)
- Chinese Five Spice Cashews (p. 50)
- Pistachio Loaf (p. 105)
- Lemon Tarragon Deviled Eggs (p. 119)
- Lemon Cake with Honey Glaze (p. 149)
- Garden Serpent Cake (p. 216)
- Spanish Tuna-Stuffed Peppers (p. 247)
- Gougères a.k.a. French Cheese Puffs (p. 289)
My cookbook Ooh la la! French Inspirations for Entertaining and Travel (available here) has hundreds of recipes in it, and I’m suggesting a few here specifically for cooking with children:
Enjoy cooking with your kids or grandkids, and bon appétit!
