Cook­book

Kids Cook­ing Made Easy: Favorite Triple-Test­ed Recipes

Leah Schapi­ra and Vic­to­ria Dwek
  • Review
By – October 31, 2014

This is the third book in the authors’ Made- Easy series, which includes Passover Made Easy, and Starters and Sides Made Easy. Like the oth­ers, it is well-orga­nized, with gor­geous col­or pic­tures and clear, step by step instruc­tions. The kid-friend­ly recipes include such fun things as cau­li­flower pop­pers (the veg­etable ver­sion of chick­en nuggets!), smooth­ies and shakes, and spe­cial ways to make cus­tomized per­son­al pan pizzas. 

Accom­pa­ny­ing the ingre­di­ents and instruc­tions on the pages is one of the best things about this cook­book: the Cook­ing School tips. These explain the tech­niques used in each recipe, such as sautéing and simmer­ing as well as the equip­ment used. Anoth­er tip is the con­ve­nience of using parch­ment paper to line bak­ing sheets. Cook­ing basics, such as mea­sure­ments, abbre­vi­a­tions, and con­ver­sions are explained, as well as how to set the table. Enter­tain­ing dia­logue between the authors describes how they got the kids to tell them what food and drinks they want­ed to learn to make, and how they helped as tasters and testers. These Kosher recipes are divid­ed into: dairy, meat, chick­en, fish, sides, snacks and desserts. At the back are eas­i­er recipes which the authors say to start with if you’re new to the kitchen. Through­out the book, they point out which recipes require the help of an adult. An excel­lent index makes each recipe easy to find. 

Full of kid-appeal as well as con­tain­ing help­ful aids for the begin­ning cook, this cook­book is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed for ages 10 and up, as well as younger kids who will also want to cook with some extra help!

Andrea David­son is the librar­i­an of The Tem­ple-Tifer­eth Israel in Beach­wood, Ohio. She holds an M.L.S. from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Michi­gan and is a for­mer mem­ber of the Syd­ney Tay­lor Book Awards Com­mit­tee. She enjoys try­ing out the books she reviews on the kids at the Tem­ple and on her grandchildren.

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