So I’m on vacation, as you might expect, and reading things that I can’t review for a while. But I’m thinking about an offer I had over the Thanksgiving weekend. Friends whom I visit once or twice a year said me, “We had this great idea, but only if you think it’s a great idea.” Intriguing. Basically, they want me to teach their children (Isabel, aged 13, and Ezra, aged 9) to cook.

I am immediately all in. I learned to cook both from pestering my mother at a young age and from Girl Scouts. These friends believe that it will be easier for me to teacher their children, because they won’t roll their eyes at me. If they do, it won’t be the first time – it’s something I’m used to from working with middle schoolers.

My first instinct is to make a Pinterest board with recipe ideas. Next come the children’s cookbooks. I am most intrigued by Wendy Sweetser’s How to Cook in 10 Easy Lessons: Learn how to prepare food and cook like a pro. It seems to cover all of the essential skills needed to understand cooking from recipes, while giving a good overview of basic standards. It reminds me a little bit of the book I had as a child… 

Another option might be the 2015 Complete Children’s Cookbook by DK.  It is described as:

Delicious dishes kids will really want to make.

More than 150 fabulous recipes, divided into nine themed chapters (Breakfast, Soups and Salads, Light Bites, and more) will have you and your child in the kitchen and cooking in no time. From French toast to rainbow salad, vegetable lasagna to tomato soup, and ice cream to mini muffins, Complete Children’s Cookbook has a recipe for every occasion. And with beautiful full-color photography, simple instructions, and a focus on safety, each one makes an ideal cook-together project that will have children excited to try the new flavors in the dishes they helped make. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and feature a picture for every step, so children can see clearly just what to do as they build basic cooking skills, safe kitchen practices, and adventurous palates.

I can only hope it lives up to expectations.

But there are so many choices. What would you recommend?