The holidays are an excellent time for your kids to become familiar with cooking. Whether young or old, spending time together in the kitchen is a bonding experience that your family will cherish for the rest of their lives. If you’re hosting for the holidays, grab the little ones and try out these family-friendly recipes, courtesy of Casey Easton of Food Lab.
Bruschetta
Classic and delicious, your kids can make the vinaigrette, de stem the herbs, and build the bruschetta
Bruschetta:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 loaf yummy bread, sliced
Parmesan
Marinade, combine all:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic
Tsp agave
10 basil leaves, shredded
2 cloves crushed garlic
Sea Salt
- Heat a sauté pan to medium high. Add a tbsp olive oil and put half of the tomatoes in and cook until they are blistered.
- Halve or quarter the other half of the cherry tomatoes. Place all of the tomatoes in marinade while you are toasting bread.
- Slice bread to 2-3 bite pieces. Lay on baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. Cook until its a little crisp. Top with tomatoes and all dressing, sprinkle with parm serve.
Orange and Fennel Salad
This is not only a delicious and light salad to combat the heaviness of the normal holiday food, its also a great way to let your kid in on the action, have them section the oranges and de-stem the herbs.
1 fennel bulb, sliced very thin
3 tangerines or oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup juice of orange
tsp cumin
Handful cilantro, stemmed
Handful mint, stemmed
Toss all ingredients together and serve chilled.
Warm Cheese Dip
It isn’t all the time we make cheese dip, but it is fun and tastes great. This recipe is so simple, and for kids its great to watch the transformation of food being cooked!
16 oz cheese, shredded, like medium cheddar
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup beer
Extras:
½ cup roasted red peppers
½ cup chopped green onion.
½ cup olives
Serve with soft pretzels or challah.
Warm beer up in a pan and whisk in cream cheese and then cheese. Drop in any extra vegetables if you like, or leave plain. Serve warm.