The emails are the same every year: “Help! I’m supposed to bring a dessert to a holiday party but I have no idea what to make and I’m a terrible baker. (I store dress shoes in my oven.) Do you have any ideas on what I can bring? There will be serious food people there so I can’t do the store-bought thing.”   –Your Oven-Challenged Friend

Do you want an easy-to-prepare dessert that everyone loves? Do you need a gluten-free dish? If you’re hosting, would you like a fun activity at your party that both kids and adults will enjoy? Never fear! I have the perfect solution – that’s both delicious (and nutritious).

Chocolate-dipped strawberries are always a hit – and you can make them the day before and simply store them in a large tupperware and place wax paper in between each layer. If you are hosting a party and overwhelmed at the idea of cooking for a lot of guests, you can still offer a sophisticated table of food by simply getting creative.

Borrow a couple of fondue pots (or follow my directions below and use the stove), melt some cheese in one and chocolate in the other. For the cheese fondue dippers, keep it simple and offer cubed sourdough bread and vegetables like blanched cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. I recommend purchasing some high-quality cheese for your fondue.

Berries aren’t exactly seasonal right now but the beauty of a Fondue Party is that you can dip pretty much anything into chocolate. For the chocolate fondue, you can offer kiwi or bananas slices, pineapple chunks, pear or apple slices, and of course, strawberries. It’s an excellent way to get some fruit into kids during this sugary time of year. However, the kids (and adults for that matter) might also enjoy graham crackers and pretzels too.

Place some more cheese, olives, and grapes on the table surrounding the fondue pots and everyone will comment on what a spectacular host/hostess you are – when you hardly did a thing in the kitchen!

This recipe is from my cookbook – enjoy and HAPPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Dipping food into melted chocolate is always an exciting activity! When making this recipe with kids, make sure that you keep the chocolate cool enough for their little fingers to touch but not so cold that it hardens.

30 medium-sized strawberries
6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
1 tablespoon corn syrup

KIDS 2 and up: Wash and dry the strawberries. Make sure that the berries are completely dry or the
chocolate will not adhere to them. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

ADULTS: In the top of a double boiler that you’ve set over simmering water, stir the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove the chocolate from the heat but leave the water simmering in case the chocolate starts to harden and you need to re-heat it. If you’re worried about small kids touching a still-warm pan, you can transfer the chocolate to a cool dish.

KIDS 2 and up: Hold each strawberry by its stem and dip it ¾ of the way into the chocolate. Swirl it and shake off excess chocolate. Place the chocolate-dipped strawberry on the baking sheet lined with waxed paper and repeat with the rest of the strawberries. They can harden in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Cooking Tips:
-It’s best if the strawberries are at room temperature rather than cold.
-If you don’t have a double boiler (which is necessary since the chocolate will burn if put directly over heat), simply place a metal bowl on top of a saucepan or put a small saucepan inside another larger saucepan. Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until it is melted.
-“Simmering” means a few small bubbles are barely breaking the surface.
-This recipe can be prepared up to 1-2 days before serving – just store the strawberries in the
refrigerator and remove 30 minutes before serving.

Kid Tips:
-If your kids want to create designs, melt some white chocolate, dip a spoon in, and swirl designs onto the chocolate-dipped strawberries. Or, they can dip the chocolate-dipped strawberries in sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes (plus 1 hour for hardening)
Yields: 30 strawberries
Recipe from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids by Julie Negrin © 2010

Just thinking about eating melted cheese makes my stomach hurt so I don’t have my own recipe for it – however, this Cheese Fondue recipe on the Food Network looks like a winner. Check it out and have fun!

Cook Like a Pro for the Holidays

I love cooking for parties – but it’s taken a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do it without becoming a stress case. I also picked up a lot of great tips from the wonderful chef instructors I worked with in New York. The key is to be as organized as possible:

Choose the right recipes for entertaining. When searching for holiday recipes, look for dishes that can made ahead of time and easily reheated. Soups, grain and pasta salads, and many appetizers like hummus, bean dips, tzatziki, and tapenade taste better the day after they are made.

Talk to your host/hostess. If you are a guest at someone’s house, always ask your host what you should bring so there aren’t 15 pies for dessert (true story: I made 2 homemade pies – Pecan Pie and Apple Pie and when I arrived there were literally another dozen pies brought by guests). And make sure that your dish transports well and won’t be difficult to reheat if the oven is occupied. Better yet, bring something that can be served at room temperature.

Plan ahead. If you commit to making or bringing a certain dish, make sure you have a great recipe already on hand and the ingredients are easy to find. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had frantic friends emailing me for recipes at the last minute – it’s much more fun to cook when you’ve already taken care of the homework.

Shop and cook on different days. I rarely shop and cook on the same day – the only ingredients I’ll pick up at the last minute are items like fresh herbs, fish, or berries. I like to get all of my shopping out of the way as early as possible. I’ll buy pantry items a week ahead of time and gradually finish the rest of my shopping as my “Cooking Day” approaches. This strategy also means you’ll save money because you will have time to look around for the best prices. During Thanksgiving week, I try to avoid going to the grocery store after Monday.

Keep it simple. Even the most accomplished cooks get frazzled on the holidays. So, whether you’re a gourmet chef or novice cook, pick recipes that you are familiar with and that are easy to prepare. There are plenty of delicious dishes that rely on flavorful fall ingredients rather than complicated cooking techniques. Pick something that you’ll have a good time preparing – your guests will taste your enjoyment.

Find a sous chef. There are days where I really enjoy cooking alone and other times, I prefer company. It’s a great excuse to get together with a friend and be productive at the same time.

And for those of you who have guests who don’t eat poultry, check out Kim O’Donnel’s new cookbook, The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook!

His name is Timmy. He is 5 years old and he doesn’t like to try new foods. I’m guessing that’s why his parents put him in my after-school cooking class at PS 75 (in New York City). It’s Wednesday afternoon and I announce to my small students that we are making Pumpkin Pie Pasta.

This is my fourth week with them, and thankfully, they are starting to trust me. Timmy, however, is  still pretty resistant to eating anything unfamiliar. This is common for this age group – except that also he tells me and the class over and over again that he isn’t going to eat whatever we are making. Or, on this particular afternoon, he starts begging me for plain pasta. I tell him we are making Pumpkin Pasta, not plain pasta. He doesn’t relent. I persevere. We are in a stand-off. Who will be more stubborn? I will, of course. That’s my job.

After they prepare the pumpkin puree, I dump the cooked pasta directly into the pumpkin bowl so that there is no plain pasta left. I sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. They start eating and there is silence. This is a group of 5-6 year olds. They are never silent. And yet, this week, everyone of them sits quietly while they eat their pasta – even Timmy.

A lot of parents of my students ask me how I get kids to eat new foods. Here are some tricks of the trade I’ve picked up over the years:

Keep it low-key. I recommend offering something new once or twice and then walking away. No begging, negotiating, or bribery. I will often put the new food on the edge of their plate so that they are exposed to it. I ask them to try one bite and if they don’t like it they don’t have to eat the rest. Then I walk away.

Take advantage of peer pressure. Introduce new foods when they are around adventurous eaters. This works well when they start elementary school because they want to fit in with their friends.

Be firm and clear – and stick to your guns. This is really important but can be hard to implement. Create meal time rules and stand by them – even if your kids are older now. One friend of mine, whose children are 9 and 6, recently stopped cooking multiple meals but allows each child to pick dinner once per week. Whatever you do, be consistent.

Have high expectations and don’t pander. The food industry has done an excellent job of convincing us that kids will only eat their expensive, highly processed kiddie food. If that were the case, our species would have died out long before Lunchables were invented! The children of chefs are perfect examples of not pandering. Chefs expect their children to eat sophisticated foods and the kids respond to that expectation.

Model good eating habits. Be exuberant about your love for a healthy dish. And if you’re a picky adult eater, then make it a project to try new dishes with your kids – a team effort.  Remember that they will eventually eat like you. It might be when they are 7, 12, or even 18 but eventually, they will mimic you.

Use reverse psychology. If they don’t want to eat something, I will often say, “Awesome, that means more for me!” and pop it into my mouth and go on and on about how good it is. You know how your kids only want to play with a toy when a visiting friend shows interest in it? Kind of like that.

Treat them like a chef. Obviously, I suggest cooking with kids – but I also advise having conversations about food, discussing which vegetables look interesting at the market, and asking them if a dish needs to be tweaked. I take them very seriously and they respond in kind. When I ask them if a dish needs more garlic, salt, pepper, etc., they nod and think about it and then declare which ingredient they want more of. They are brilliant chefs. They don’t doubt their creativity. I love it.

I have to give you this famous Pumpkin Pie Pasta recipe now, right? We also made the Crunchy Roasted Pepitas in class which were a huge hit too.

P U M P K I N  P I E  P A S T A
Try adding some protein like chicken or white beans for a more balanced meal.

1 pound of bow ties
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½-1 cup canned pumpkin puree
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
ground black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
½ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the pasta and basil. Heat the butter a little if necessary. Set aside.

Cook paste until al dente. Drain pasta well and immediately add to sauce bowl. Sprinkle with basil and toss. Serve at once with extra parmesan.

Recipe by Jacquie Grinberg, adapted from Joie Warner’s No-Cook Pasta Sauces
For information on how to cook with kids, check out my new book, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, available via my website.

It’s that time of year – when chocolate and candy start to appear everywhere. We are headed into two solid months of decadent goods, which can make it difficult for even the most determined health nut to stay on track (yes, that includes me). The best way to combat the urge to nibble on every goodie we encounter is to find delicious alternatives. So much of the American Food Philosophy is about deprivation. I’m all about eating and enjoying – I just try to find foods that make our taste buds AND our bodies happy. I found a couple of recipes, salty and sweet, that you can prepare for your Halloween parties or, if you’re staying in, for yourself and your family to munch on while you greet trick-or-treaters.

I also researched and prepared a list of trick-or-treat products that you can pass out on Sunday. You can find the list on my recent blog post, “Healthy Treats For Your Little Ghouls And Goblins,” on the SavvyAuntie.com website. You can satisfy the urge to spoil the kids in your life while also feeling good about what you’re giving to growing bodies.

R E C I P E S – a little salty, a little sweet:

Crunchy Roasted Pepitas
I had these at a party recently and they were delicious – almost ADDICTIVE. They will satisfied the urge to munch and distract you from less healthy offerings. You can usually find pepitas near the nuts in the grocery store – yet they are safe for kids with nut allergies.

1 cup large raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne (optional)

ADULTS ONLY: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.

KIDS 2 and UP: Toss the seeds with the olive oil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and large enough to hold them in a single layer. Spread in an even layer.

ADULTS ONLY: Roast the seeds in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately toss the seeds with the coriander, salt, dill, pepper, and cayenne, if using. Let cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a small serving dish or two and serve. (If you’re working ahead, refresh the pepitas for a minute or two in the oven before serving).

Recipe by Leslie Revsin (with a little adapting) from the Fine Cooking website

Mrs. West’s Pumpkin Cookies
My friend Jackie Topol was given this recipe by her kindergarten teacher and has been making them every year since – clearly a winning recipe! She sometimes refers to them as “scookies” because they are similar to a scone – somewhere between a cake texture and a cookie. Although there is sugar and butter in this recipe, rest assured, it’s best if we eat treats that contain “real” foods that the body recognizes and avoid processed ingredients as much as possible.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and/or pumpkin spice (or a mixture of both)
Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

ADULTS ONLY: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

KIDS 2 and UP: Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Drop small spoonfuls, one by one, onto greased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper).

ADULTS ONLY: Bake for for 15 minutes.

I have this image of Mr. Potato Head playing with the other foods on the playground and suddenly, school officials come over. Mr. Potato Head stands paralyzed, wondering what he did wrong, when the officials firmly put their arms around him and walk him off the school grounds.

The latest out of DC: “The Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recommended that the U.S. Department of Agriculture stop participants of the federal Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, from buying potatoes with federal dollars. The institute also called for the USDA-backed school lunch program to limit use of potatoes.”

This is a perfect example of how far off-track our relationship to food has become in this country. We have this massive crisis (obesity), water bursting through dikes from every direction and we focus on one small area – which may or may not be an actual problem. We’ve been doing this for years – with fat, sugars, and most recently, salt. Maybe we need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Is it the potato (or fat, or salt) that is the problem – or something else?

After carefully evaluating the obesity epidemic for more than fifteen years, I have developed a few theories about what caused this flood in the first place. One of them is the enormous amount of additives and preservatives (a.k.a. chemicals) in our diets. A Princeton University study showed that high frutcose may cause more weight gain than table sugar, even when calorie intake is the same. Several years ago, studies showed that people drinking diet soda were MORE likely to gain weight. I do realize that any writer can find a few studies to prove a theory – but it can not be denied that our waistlines have been expanding alongside our use of chemicals in our food system.

Of course, there is more to it than chemicals – an epidemic of this size is going to have multiple causes. However, I think it’s safe to say that the potato is not a major player. I suppose I can see why people would see it as one. Potatoes are often converted into deep-fried products. However, there is a big difference between products made with processed ingredients and cooking a whole potato from scratch. Much of the food, including potatoes, served in school lunches are made with additives similar to what is served in fast food restaurants. I took the above photo of a food label for Breaded Chicken Patties in an elementary school kitchen. The list of ingredients in McDonald’s french fries doesn’t look much different (it’s incredible how many preservatives are used in their menu – check it out at this link).

McDonald’s French Fries: Potatoes, canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, safflower oil, natural flavour (vegetable source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain colour), citric acid (preservative), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent) and cooked in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethypolysiloxane).

I have nothing against french fries – I just prefer to eat them without antifoaming agents and sodium acid pyrophosphate. As I mentioned in my popcorn post, making something from scratch may take a little longer but tastes infinitely better and will be much appreciated by our bodies. The following recipe has three ingredients: potatoes, oil, and salt – naturally.

Healthy Homemade French Fries
I bake the french fries in this recipe but you can also deep-fry them. It’s a lot easier and healthier to bake them and they still taste delicious. My teen students loved this recipe so much that they would eat them right off the pan. Make sure you cut the potatoes evenly so that they cook at the same rate (NOT like this photo that I bought at Istock.com). Thinner is better for this recipe so that they get crispy in the oven.

3 russet potatoes, washed and peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425º (or to 400º for convection, which is best for this recipe).

Kids 10 and up: Cut potatoes into 1/8 inch slices.

Kids 2 and up: Pat dry well to remove any extra moisture. Toss with olive oil and salt and spread out on a baking sheet lined rubbed with oil or lined with parchment paper (foil will not work with this recipe). Make sure pieces have a little room and are not piled on top of each other.

Adults only: Bake for 25-30 minutes until crispy.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
Recipe by Julie Negrin and John Scoff

It’s finally here. My new cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, is a three-dimensional reality in all its colorful, glossy glory.

Self-publishing has been quite an adventure (and still is!) but, it’s finally done and on sale. I’m thrilled to share my recipes with you – along with tips on how to safely incorporate kids into the cooking process, advice on how to purchase high-quality ingredients, and lots of other information for families who want to cook together. To get a sneak peak at the inside of the book and to find out how to purchase a copy, click here. If you want a personally inscribed copy, email me at julie@julienegrin.com.

Although this cookbook is written for kids, it’s also perfect for adults who are looking for easy recipes. If you’d like to get a “taste” of Easy Meals to Cook with kids, check out a recipe from the book, Baja Fish Tacos with White Sauce on my website. It’s so good, it will become a staple in your dinner repertoire.

If you’re new to cooking or haven’t cooked with children much, it’s never too late to start. There are so many great reasons to cook with kids – the most important, of course, is that it is an essential life skill. The more meals we make from scratch, the more likely we are eating a variety of natural, nutritious foods.

Here is some advice on getting started in the kitchen – this is an excerpt from my cookbook:

It’s important that your first cooking experience with children is a positive one, so pick a time when everyone is relaxed and well-fed – perhaps a Saturday brunch or a Sunday night dinner.

Start with something familiar. When introducing the concept of cooking to kids, it’s important to start with one of their favorite dishes so that they equate cooking with something they already enjoy. Once they get the hang of it and trust the process, you can graduate to more unusual dishes.

Find assistants. Invite Grandma over or keep your sitter for an extra hour. It’ll be more fun for everyone if there is someone else to help oversee the project and clean up.

Accept that it will get messy. Plan on some mess and you’ll feel less stressed. Kids are great cleaner-uppers so ask them to pitch in. Many kids, as young as 2 years old, love using a sponge and do a surprisingly good job of wiping up.

Give specific instructions. Kids think very literally, so be extremely clear with them. Years ago, I asked my students to peel carrots and turned around. When I looked again, just minutes later, they had peeled the entire carrot down. (From this experience, I realized it was a safe way for them to “grate” the carrot and continued using that method to prep carrots.)

Roll with the punches. If something goes wrong, just laugh. It’s a good opportunity to teach children how to shrug off mistakes and learn from their blunders. Best of all, that “mistake” could end up being a new recipe idea for family dinners!

Respect their wishes. If they aren’t interested in cooking, it’s okay. The non-cooks can still contribute to the meal in other ways such as: washing produce, cleaning off cans, setting the table, folding napkins, deciding which platters to use, garnishing the dishes, clearing the table, and tasting each dish to determine if it needs additional seasoning.

Praise their efforts. They adore making food for family members so give them lots of compliments when they complete a task well – genuine, well-deserved praise builds self-worth and confidence.

Excerpt from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids © 2010. All rights reserved.