Emeril's There's a Chef in My Family
There's more than one chef in this family now!
I was very excited to try the recipes in this cookbook because I absolutely LOVE Emeril. I always watch his show. What I didn't realize was how much my kids loved him!
When my 6-year-old son came into the kitchen and saw the book, he said "Woohoo! Emeril!" He really did say that. My 8 year old daughter almost had the same reaction, although somewhat toned down - she is 8 years old, after all! I let my daughter look through the book so that she could pick out the very first recipe we would attempt. Luckily, she picked "Oven Crispy Cheese Fries", which turned out to be a pretty easy recipe. Of course, she picked it because she saw the word 'fries'. This recipe turned out to be Emeril's version of poutine, which suited us just fine, because we love poutine. This was definitely a healthier version though, because the potatoes were baked instead of deep-fried. My daughter especially loved getting her hands dirty, mixing the potatoes with the egg whites (this is what makes the fries crispy). The whole time she kept saying, "Ewww, this is gross", while maintaining an ear-to-ear smile!
My son preferred handing us the cooking utensils when we needed them, thereby keeping his hands in pristine condition. But we all took part in eating our healthy poutine, and we all loved it - that doesn't happen too often in this household! My kids can't wait to try another recipe.
This book is great for getting the kids involved in cooking. And if you have picky eaters like I have, you can be sure they'll want to at least try their 'creations'. And they'll be so proud when you rave about how good it tastes! I think this book is a great addition to any kitchen.
