Can you recommend a good cookbook for 11 y/o?

[NanceXToo]

This coming year I thought I'd add on at least one day a week of starting to teach my daughter to cook independently.

 

We will get started in September and she'll be turning 11 in October.

 

I want something that's pretty simple and basic- but with a 11 y/o in mind, not the kind of "simple" that is geared toward a much younger kid.

 

Do you have any specific recommendations? My mother was never much of a cook and either am I lol- I cook pretty simply as it is, so I don't want things that are overly complicated or use a million ingredients half of which nobody ever heard of (by nobody, I mean nobody in my house haha)... but still simple, solid meals... know what I mean? Am I asking too much? :)

 

Thanks for any recommendations!

[JoyfulMama]

Better Homes & Garden's Jr Cookbook (I don't know if it's still printed, but I LOVE this one!)

 

Paula Deen's My First Cookbook.

[Mrs Mungo]

Williams Sonoma has several cookbooks for kids. They are simple recipes, but they are *real* recipes.

 

the kid's cookbook

 

Fun Food

 

Kids Baking

 

Sweet Treats

 

The Cookbook for Kids

Cooking Together

[tammyw]

We have a couple kids cookbooks, and they are just "okay" so I'll be watching this thread for new ideas!

[Carrie12345]

Alton Brown's cookbooks. He goes into the science of cooking/baking before presenting the recipes. My 12yo adores him.

[stripe]

Marion Cunningham's book for kids is pretty good and actually covers real food.

 

I like the Williams Sonoma series; I've got the baking one.

[Carol in Cal.]

You might think about the "More With Less" cookbook. It's very basic, in a way that is actually kind of old-fashioned--white sauces instead of cans of cream soup, that kind of thing. Making food from scratch in an economical way. I think it's Mennonite in origin, and I believe that there is now either an organic or fresh produce-oriented one that might also be helpful, but I have not seen it.

 

Then if you like to buy seasonal produce, add in the "Recipes from a Kitchen Garden" and "More Recipes from a Kitchen Garden" cookbooks by Renee Shepherd of Shepherd's Seeds. Those are reasonably priced books with fairly simple recipes, organized by main veggie ingredient. They are not too exotic, but use fresh ingredients, and are very helpful if you have a veggie garden or CSA.

 

The next one I'd focus on is "Beat This" which contains thoroughly refined, perfected recipes for a whole bunch of yummy things. That's for when she is a little more proficient. The recipes are described in the kind of detail that you usually only get from handwritten notes next to old favorites.

[gingersmom]

American girl has a cookbook that is really good .

[Daisy]

My daughter loves her Betty Crocker Cookbook (new edition, ISBN 0-7645-8374-3). It is very visual and will last a lot longer than a children's cookbook. Some of the features include,

 

All the major varieties of apples and their uses.

 

Pictures of the major varieties of cheese, veggies, cuts of meat and how to use them.

 

What do to when you've messed up? (for example your muffins are dry with rough-looking tops so the flour was overmeasured, oven was too hot, and muffins over cooked).

 

A glossary of grains, legumes, and spices.

 

Tips for buying and storing produce.

 

Over six pages worth of pictures of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables so you ca identify them at the grocery store.

 

Types of Asian and Italian pasta.

 

And 1,000+ basic normal recipes.

 

Actually I'm jealous and want the cookbook for myself. LOL.

 

I'm telling you, this book has everything.

[Beach Mom]

For that age I like a cookbook with lots of pictures of the steps. Something like the Good Housekeeping Step by Step cookbook shown here

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Housekeeping-Step-Cookbook-Photographs/dp/1588167607/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309535860&sr=1-1

 

When they were beginning cooks we liked Rachael Ray's Cooking Rocks!

 

By 10 I found the kids cookbooks were a little too immature and the food was too cutsey for my clan. YMMV.

 

Happy Cooking!

[DarlaS]

Alton Brown's cookbooks. He goes into the science of cooking/baking before presenting the recipes. My 12yo adores him.

 

:iagree:

 

I'd be inclined to stick with beginner rather than kid's cookbooks. I've yet to buy one that was actually well done (Of course, that may be because I've only bought two).

 

We've even had a book or two from the library intended for kids that just had far too much emphasis on "cuteness" rather than practicality.

[stripe]

That's why I like M Cunningham's -- teaches basics like eggs, bread dough, pasta, tomato sauce, simple veg, pancakes, and a roast chicken -- good starter techniques. Most kids' books are all sugar.

[hsbaby]

My kids all live the Rachel Ray Cooking Rocks book. To be honest, I use quite a few of the recipes myself:). Especially the Mediterranean pasta dish....so good!

[Mrs Mungo]

I agree that most kid cookbooks are cutesy, gimmicky, full or fake food or sugar. However, that has not been my experience with the Williams Sonoma cookbooks we own.

 

For example, the Pampered Chef cookbook for kids has stuff like "tic-tac-toe pizza," or "popcorn chicken salad."

 

The WS cookbook tells how to peel and chop various vegetables and fruit. It tells how to make an omelet. It gives recipes for things like chicken parmesan, blueberry muffins and chocolate mousse from scratch.

[stripe]

Yeah, I've made stuff from the WS baking book, and it's tasty and not a sugar bath. And tons of pics of kids doing the cooking.

[DarlaS]

I agree that most kid cookbooks are cutesy, gimmicky, full or fake food or sugar. However, that has not been my experience with the Williams Sonoma cookbooks we own.

 

For example, the Pampered Chef cookbook for kids has stuff like "tic-tac-toe pizza," or "popcorn chicken salad."

 

The WS cookbook tells how to peel and chop various vegetables and fruit. It tells how to make an omelet. It gives recipes for things like chicken parmesan, blueberry muffins and chocolate mousse from scratch.

 

I guess I need to give kid's cookbooks another shot. I have two of these in my cart now.

 

From what I can see, they look like what a kid's cookbook should be.

 

Thanks for the rec!

[mhgillil]

This is not strictly a kids' cookbook, but the author did write it with cooking with his son in mind: High Flavor, Low Labor by J.M. Hirsch (http://www.amazon.com/High-Flavor-Low-Labor-Reinventing/dp/034552229X). The recipes are all pretty simple, but incredibly delicious. It may be something that you would use together or after she's learned the basics.

[Carol in Cal.]

You might also consider studying "Food Rules" -- this is the distillation of the most easily applied, reasonably healthy, decently good for the planet, but not over the top guidelines in "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food" by the same author.

[NanceXToo]

Thanks for all the replies! I have looked into a bunch of these and I think I am going to try the Rachael Ray: Cooking Rocks! book first.

 

It had a couple of recommendations here, it's got mostly very good reviews on Amazon, and I like that it's divided by age categories so that I can have some to do with my son (who is 5 1/2) from the "4-6" category, and some to do with my daughter (who is 10) from the "7-11" category, and it has a "12 and up" section, too, so it should grow at least a bit with my daughter.

 

I think I will pick one day a week for each of them, where they can help choose and cook a meal this coming school year for Kindergarten and 6th grades. :)

[Dobela]

My daughter loves her Betty Crocker Cookbook (new edition, ISBN 0-7645-8374-3). It is very visual and will last a lot longer than a children's cookbook. Some of the features include,

 

All the major varieties of apples and their uses.

 

Pictures of the major varieties of cheese, veggies, cuts of meat and how to use them.

 

What do to when you've messed up? (for example your muffins are dry with rough-looking tops so the flour was overmeasured, oven was too hot, and muffins over cooked).

 

A glossary of grains, legumes, and spices.

 

Tips for buying and storing produce.

 

Over six pages worth of pictures of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables so you ca identify them at the grocery store.

 

Types of Asian and Italian pasta.

 

And 1,000+ basic normal recipes.

 

Actually I'm jealous and want the cookbook for myself. LOL.

 

I'm telling you, this book has everything.

:iagree: I learned to cook using a Betty Crocker Cookbook. You know, the one that is red and white?? Easy and basic recipes.

 

Have you considered checking out cookbooks from the library though? Our library has hundreds of cookbooks in both the adult section and the children's section. You could try them without a big investment and decide which ones you prefer.