 5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. Today, we may have learned that Anthony Bourdain's three-year-old daughter can sit in a French brasserie, slurp down some oysters and generally enjoy herself. But before that, we found out parents told lotsa food fibs to entice picky palates to eat certain foods. If your pint-sized eater falls into the latter, fussier category, Marc Murphy (with two children of his own) might be the chef to turn to. Murphy is chef and owner of three New York City restaurants — Landmarc [TriBeCa], Landmarc [Time Warner Center] and Ditch Plains. He also frequently appears as a judge on Food Network's "Chopped." 5 Favorite Dishes to Make with Kids: Marc Murphy 2. "Ditch dogs," or hot dogs smothered with macaroni and cheese (recipe follows) 3. Watermelon, mint and feta salad 4. Shrimp toast (recipe follows) 5. Green eggs and ham Lamb Chops with Moroccan Couscous and Chermoula For the couscous In a bowl, toss the couscous with half of the oil. Heat the other half in a sauce pot and add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook until soft. Add the tomato juice, spices and the chickpeas. Bring to a simmer. Pour over the couscous and mix well. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. For the chermoula 1 teaspoon paprika Mix all and set aside. For the lamb Marinate the chops in the garlic, oil, rosemary & cumin. Heat a grill on high for 10 minutes. Season the chops with salt and pepper and grill for 5 minutes on each side. Serve on top of the warm couscous and drizzle chermoula over the chops. Shrimp Toast 2 pounds shrimp (peeled and deveined) Combine the shrimp, scallions, garlic, ginger, Sriracha, cilantro, cornstarch, egg white and sesame oil in a food processor. Purée until smooth. Spread the shrimp mixture on the slices of white bread and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and place the toasts shrimp side down for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn over and toast the bottom of the bread until golden brown. Cut into bite size pieces and serve. Ditch Dogs 6 hot dogs (Chef Murphy recommends Sabrett) For the macaroni and cheese Make béchamel: In a medium sauce pan, heat the milk and heavy cream. In another pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour to the butter and stir until incorporated - cook for about 5 to 6 minutes making sure that it doesn’t brown. Add the warm milk and heavy cream and whisk until incorporated. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the cheeses and whisk while the béchamel is still on the stove, but do not boil after you add the cheese. Cook until cheeses are melted, then remove from the heat and purée until smooth. Cool to room temperature and mix with the pasta. To assemble: Grill hot dog for 5 to 7 minutes. Heat macaroni and cheese in a sauce pan with the 1/4 cup heavy cream. Season to taste. Place the hot dogs on the buns and top each with macaroni and cheese. Got a favorite dish to make with the kids? Share what's cooking in the comments. Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down. |
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Denhunter: You might be the greatest troll of all time, and I bow before you!
Now tell about how you confit babby's you big huggable troll you!
(Oh noes – too expensive – then how you you need to confit in velveeta because that is all a working parent can afford)
The main point is to let kids help out. They may not consider eating salad, etc if you put it in front of them, but if they help prepare it, they will. It doesn't have to be kiddy-gourmet (or junk), just let them be a part of things.
ok – all you people crack me up. Yes this article was a bit ridiculous and yes I was a bit excited to maybe read about some goodfoods to cook with my 2 1/12 year old that i have not though of before but was gravely disappointed. May I will cu tup some watermelon or plant some mint next year. Yes it is fun to cook with the kids. No most kids don;t eat weird cheeses and lamb...etc... and most can't afford that anyhow even if they feed their kids good food all the time. I skimp on other stuff just to buy the dirty dozen as organic and lamnb chops certianly arent on the budget. and yes some of you sound snotty. So I will stick to having my son help me pick the vegies from the garden. cut up some and enjoy them and stir the dough for homemade cookies and bread.....
What planet is this guy from? Even if I had my kids help me in the kitchen with this menu, they still wouldn't touch this food with a ten foot pole. Pleeaasseeee!
Very odd choices for children. My son wouldn't eat any of em. Tonight we had garlic and lemon pork loin, corn on the cob, salad – simple and YUM. We live in a rural area where there are few restaurants and even fewer fast food places (thank goodness). Every night is an adventure :)
Now I get it. He means your kids who are home from college for the summer. Great idea. Until my kids reach that age, we'll stick with affordable, simple, healthy meals that won't send my kids running scared from the house. I want to see someone explain to a six year old that they are eating a baby sheep.
Ha- the one (and only) time I've had lamb, the 3-year old at the table asked why it wasn't white and fluffy. Cute, but that was it for me and lamb.
My kids like making pizza. My wife whips up some dough from scratch in the morning or even the night before. She uses half whole wheat flour. I make the sauce, cut the veggies, brown the meat. We let them press out the dough and basically eveything else too. It tastes great. The kids dig veggies when there's a little meat on top. I'll use turkey sausage sometimes and if I cook it before they see the package, they don't know the difference (we also cook beef chili, meat loaf, Cincinnati Chili..with half ground turkey in recipes).
Don't even try explaining boiling the meat for Cincinnati Chili to this crowd...and God help you if you try to do it without a mix you buy at Kroger's...the Greeks made it complicated on purpose.
Now heres come the 'I grew my chocolate beans that were roasted for Cincinnati chili!' crowd.
I agree that for the average family, Marc's recipes probably aren't realistic for everyday cooking (once in a while maybe? something to aspire to I guess) on a number of levels. I love the idea of constructive responses. Hope this isn't too similar to Acudiva's...white bean chicken chili...it's one of our favorites, not too expensive, very healthy, freezes & thaws well for fast meals later. It's rather pedestrian, sorry Marc! Kids can empty the cans or stir the chili.
White Bean Chicken Chili
1 lb chicken breast, diced
1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, diced
** combine above 4 ingredients and saute in a large pot til chicken is cooked through
** then add:
3 or 4 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 can each (4 total), all well-rinsed: garbonzo beans (chickpeas), great northern beans, navy beans, cannelini beans
2 large cans diced tomatoes, rinsed
2 cans corn, rinsed
4 oz can tomato paste
cumin to taste - start with a teaspoon
salt and pepper to taste
Best if you can also add: juice from 1 lime and 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
** simmer minimum 20 minutes. i prefer 1 hour+
I like this one – with the lime and cilantro...will definitely try it thanks!
Denhunter,
If you spent less time blogging, you could have whipped up a batch of cookies. I just finished making coconut macaroons for my kids for tomorrow. I was googling new recipes when I stumbled on your ridiculous lashing out at the world at your lack of time to prepare food with your kids. As I have been taking out batch after batch of cookies, it has become clear to me why you have no time. You are still blogging. Nightie night sir.
good point soup nazi! i've been following this blog AND served up some salmon, kale, chard and zucchini. so you can do it all and still serve up good food for your kids.
You make your own soda! You bake your own cookies! You mine your own salt! Grow tree for your own oxygen!!! What's next? Lining up those carbon molecules for the yummiest organic spare ribs??
Look, Macaroon, I can work, type and argue with idjuts all at the same time. We ate hours ago. I have made more money while you were bootlegging a tollhouse recipe than you will imagine. So in the words of the most delicious free range peasant under glass that you and the Partridge family whipped up during the 'This Old House' commericials.....bite me.
ah. the truth comes out. denhunter is the elitist since he makes more money than all of us. and while we were making dinner no less. he doesn't have time to cook because he's living the american dream and making piles of dough and consume everything in his path. he's angry at everyone and everything because something is still missing. wonder why? and he sure seems to know a lot about tuscan this, and cheese that, for someone who hates food so much.
Denhunter, I think you are great! I agree with everything you've posted here. As a single father, I know the importance of making good, healthy and cheap food for kids.
criminey...gotta make lunches for marching band tomorrow...hmmm...do I bake the Tuscan Single Farm Grain, or just whip up some baguettes for the samwiches...? Hope there is plenty of Ahi in the fridge...
My daughter just brought in some hot pumpkin bread into the computer room. She said she was bored. It was a box from Aldi for .99 cents. Oh, the shame....
We make our own soda.
Look, enjoy your children. They will live 60 years if you feed them poorly, maybe 80 if you don't. The point is that you talk about something after the McNuggets, the quiche, the tongue-washed cherries are gone...you will both live longer and happier. Making a bogus twenty seven ingredient recipe with most teens will get you killed. If not yours, that's great. Mine are heading for Facebook, the Strat or a Latin assignment when these long food prep things get rolling. Good food is cheap. It doesn't have to been foreign cheese laden truffles, crafted for hours.
It's the time, stupid...try to make Coca-Cola with them and you'll keep their attention....
To all the skeptics, the main reason why kids reject foods in my experience is because they don't know what they are. "That's weird" and "Ew, that looks funny" are the two most common reasons I've encountered why kids either refuse to try things or "try" them but declare they don't like them without actually giving them a chance. If you let the kids help cook the foods themselves, the the food isn't unknown or "weird" anymore, because they made it. You'd be amazed how fast they'll suddenly like things they claimed to hate when they're no longer "weird" .
Denhunter you are too funny!!! you have a habit of attempting to turn comments that sound non-pop culture-ish into something unattainable or even undesirable. anyway....
you would be surprised. but honestly i do not give a flyin flip if you think it can be done or not. enjoy your GMO laden, pesticide-wearing, partially hydrogenated drivel. I will enjoy my fresh picked tomatoes, thank you.
Denhunter you need your own blog. LMAO!
maybe even a comedy channel.
Thanks...and I will pick up that vagina the next time I am at Whole Foods...my kids are the best!
oops. I see you have a penis, not a vagina... my bad...
I really hope that you do NOT see...we have never kissed...and the kids are sensitive about my dating people they don't know....
Wow, Denhunter, you are a crazy hostile woman...I feel very sorry for you. I hope you find happiness in your life and your kids grow up to be happy and healthy.
I live out WEST, where it is easier to find buffalo meat..sure, turkey would be great to include, or go completely veggie. AND, best of all, freeze the leftovers and eat another day.
What is this thing you call a 'leftover'? You have teens and there is food left? Are you a little person?
My kids mostly eat very well and at least try new foods I cook for them...I think my daughter would be less picky if she helped me cook more often. At the end of the article they reommend posting recipes and most folks are just complaining about the food choices he makes...how about something more constructive, like CO-Voter? Here is my recipe for chili:
1 lb buffalo meat – brown in large pot
1 onion and 1 garlic – chop fine and add to browned meat
grated carrots (2), zucchini (1) yellow squash (1) add to mixture in pot. The grated veggies are an excellent addition and the kids barely notice them!
2 cans of beans – any kind like pinto, black beans.
1 27oz can of tomatoes, slightly crushed with back of spoon.
1/2 small packet of taco seasoning, or any mexican seasoning.
That's it...simmer for about 15-20 minutes.Serve with shredded cheese, salsa, and cornbread.
This is my kids FAVORITE and they nearly always ask for more. Try it!
Wow! Sounds terrific!!! But my guy ran out of buffalo. Can I try porpoise instead? They are washing up all over the place down here. Or a seafood burgoo of sorts...oiled pelican, rotting gull, maybe a strangled tern...
In truth, your's is true parent/kid recipe. No truffles, no moose milk cheese...we get turkey easier.
Thanks for the recipe. I will try it
Too all these grumblers out there!! – If you would offer your kids good food to start with (infant,toddler) they would eat a good portion of it, and let's see if that was their only option, and they know their grumbling will not work with you and you won't break out the mac n cheese every time they complain....then they would get hungry enough to eat some good food on their plate. Maybe they learn the complaining from the parents ...huh?
@ Denhunter – my oldest is on track for AP courses at the nationally rated high school that she will attend as a ninth-grader in the fall. The other two will have to contend with their talented and gifted elementary and middle schools until they are old enough for high school. In the mean time between homework and other activities (including time at the playground) they help me choose fresh non-GMO corn and chemical pesticide free bell peppers, chiles and cilantro. Then we make salsa.
Does Joanie Mitchell come by for bedtime chorus, or is there just a poetry reading? Glad homeschooling is working out...
On track??? What does that mean? And the ALL are nationally rated...it depends on WHERE you are in the 'ratings' that I guess you mean is important. Is it the Cordon Bleu Academy I see on TV?
Ignore him. You are awesome. Keep up the good work.
These comments are amazing. Im a single mother of three who works two jobs. I own a share at a CSA (if you dont know what a CSA is then please feel free to google it.) My three and I love to go to the farm, get our share and pick any other veggies/fruits that we can. Yesterday we made fresh tomato sauce with grated squash, basil, and garlic. tossed it with penne and some fresh grated parm. Served up with fresh squeezed lemonade (no soda usually in my house) I really dont care if many of you rather drive to Wendy's, McDonalds or what ever and eat that fake food. Yes, Wendys has a better menu, but still cant compare to FRESH cooked food from home. I take time to get fresh REAL food for my family and WE OFTEN gather the food at the farm together then cook together. The cool look on my son's face at three yrs old when he picked his first strawberry was priceless. Then having him assist making strawberry sauce to pour over pancakes was memorable. If you are fortunate to live near a CSA look into it, buy from your local farmers market when you can. Cook a meal from time to time with fresh and new-to-you ingredients.
I am still laughing at the comment about kids and mint. Haha.... my children can tell you about different herbs from sight and smell. Not because we are elitists (when did eating REAL FOOD become elitist anyway?) but because I exposed them to much more than McDonalds french fries. I do not buy into this fast food bs. yeah we eat it on occasion, but after eating real food regularly, my children dont even want that other stuff as much.
I love this post & are so glad there are more mamas like this out there!
You are awesome! We too are in a CSA – they ROCK! And people can find the time to cook if they plan...it takes LONGER to grab the kids and drive to a stupid fast food place than it would to just make a quick spaghetti meal at home...and I'm a single mom working fulll time...it's not that hard, just takes some forthought.
oh, wait....you DO give them fast food, after all that preaching how wonderful you were? Shame on you... most parents would like to spend idyllic hours roaming strawberry patches and herb gardens with incredibly disciplined children calling out the names of the De Provence blended herbs, like you claim you do every day, but the reality is, if you have a job, and you have kids, and they have schools with different schedules, band, karate, music lessons, science projects, math assignments, extra credit projects and, heaven help us, a religious involvement (like a church) you have NO time for the Whole Food nonsense you are spouting. It sounds like you made pasta, and are calling it 'mana'. There are trade offs in child rearing. Either you and they get themselves and their clothes clean, do the work that is necessary to complete school, and have some similance of a social life (how do I explain teenagers and Call of Duty to you?) or they can wander around the dirt in homespun and gleen buckwheat and bean sprouts, and grow up sneaking chocolate and Quarterpounders behind your back...
These recipes, Betty Crocker, and the Cleavers just aren't real...
It's a good thing you are living in 2010. You would never have survived 60 years ago when you still had to prepare food from scratch and raise a family. When you think about it, not much time has passed since the introduction of convenience products with indefinite shelf life. For better and for worse, food has become more complicated with chemical additives. Food industrialists profit but it is at the expense of our health. You have fallen susceptible to the notion that all this has been done with consumer's convenience in mind, but of course industry would never have created convenience products if there was no margin for profit: enormous profit.
nicely said, soup nazi.
I completely agree with you!!! I am laughing at some of these uppity people! I have 13 & 15 year old sons who are involved in Boy Scouts, sports, student council and guitar lessons. Who the heck has time to tiptoe through the herb gtarden that is so hilarious to me! YES! I do cook dinner 90% of the time, but we will do take out as well......
All these people bragging how learned their 5 star chef kids are.........seriously get over yourselves.....
And to "Soup Nazi"....we aren't living 60 YEARS AGO so who cares? That was a really stupid comment you made!
nice work! keep your kids eating real food. nothing elitist about it. the irony is that denhunters grandparents were likely eating more like us than like him.
You go cookinmama! While I'm not a single mother, I do work and I ENJOY cooking my husband and 2 year old as many meals in a day as I can. Sometimes adventurous, sometimes quick and easy. But always from the choice that I deeply care what goes in my family's body. In turn, my 2 year old (who has his picky phases) loves helping me cook and has been know to eat Brussels sprouts, kale, sushi, Filipino food, whole avocados, and just about anything I put in front of him. The kid can name almost every type of fruit & veggie and the herbs in our little garden. I don't think Chef Marc is telling us to whip up crazy, 23 ingredient meals every night, he's just showing us what is possible and that our kids can expand their palates if we help them do it. It sometimes takes over 15 times of offering a child food before they will one day pick it up and try it. So keep doing what you're doing!
And ignore Denhunter, that bitter man is going to end up with a bunch of overachieving fat kids who think Wendy's is real food who might possible resent their father.
Wow. 5 teenage chefs! And FIVE STAR no less! I am impressed! Do they fight over who gets to butterfly the lamb, or is it a vote thing? Unfortunately, my kids are too busy getting 5's on AP exams to learn to whip up a Creme Brule....
Denhunter:
No soup for you! Kids who get 5s on their AP exams should be able to multitask in the kitchen. Cooking is chemistry. You set yourself up for this one sir.
Our 3 1/2 year old cooks with us all the time and if she cooks it, there's almost nothing she won't try. She loves spinach, quinoa, kale, all kinds of noodles and potatoes (though she avoids the spicy foods), but the idea is to involve her. Have your kids make pizza and instead of sauce and cheese, try sliced pear and parmesan. They'll love it. She eats what we eat and has never known anything different. People don't give children enough credit.
I have 5 fit, healthy and hungry kids from age 15 to age 9. Marc Murphy is so right on. They love to cook and smell and interact with different ingredients. Their limited palate is only limited by what I put in front of them. The sky is the limit with kids. Two of my children began their lives as extremely picky eaters, but after offering different foods regularly, they eventually became very interested in what the rest of us were eating. Persistence and willingness to keep offering different food choices pays off with kids. We have only one request...that the kids just take one bite and try it. If they don't like it, they leave it on their plate or share it with someone else.
As a result, we can take them to any restaurant anywhere, but why bother when all seven of us are in the kitchen preparing a 5 star dinner as good as any top restaurant. And with many hands at work, a gourmet meal is prepared in no time at all! We save time and money and have great family moments in the kitchen. Last Sunday night's dinner was awesome.
The only arguing is over who has to help empty the dishwasher, because we all would rather be helping with the cooking.
Great post–your children are lucky that you're raising to appreciate food.
Naw, just a guy who has raised three kids, hates fast food, posers with big bank accounts and ex-hubbies who cover the chow and the therapy...and who can buy meat for a grill!????(Wait, I did find beef at Sedano's for 1.99 a pound the other day, if you bought the whole piece! I picked up ten lbs after trimming! AND they had chicken quarters for .29 a pound!!! They were out of Belgian Truffles and blood orange marmalade. Guess take the kids to Checkers...).
Will my kid's Ditch Dogs be a failure if they don't dice and grate at room temperature? I don't want my kids to be dissappointed when they put in so much effort all for naught.
Yes. Yes, they will. AND you have clearly condemned them to a life of therapy. Next time, make them raise that free range chicken in the back yard, and milk the Boar goats that they humanely slaughter for that yummy curry. What's wrong with you? Homework was made for doing by wax candle after midnight!!!
I have to agree that not all children are adventerous with their food. Many children, particularly between about 2-6 are VERY picky and very selective as to what goes into their mouths. Many, MANY of my mom friends and I have discussed how our kids will go through a spaghetti streak, or a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich boycot. Not to mention if anyone actually checked out a lunch menu at a school..its all bland, boring foods. The kind of foods kids actually LIKE to eat. Most people hate things like brocolli, brussel sprouts, sausage and other foods until they are adults. I know more adults that would try this food and like it than children. Most of the kids I know would ask for chicken nuggets, or eggs without "green stuff" instead.
Point blank. This article made little sense. It showed very little involvement for children....and the title is dishes to make with kids? I can't see where much of this involves kids to any extreme, other than helping with cheese, or picking mint.
DENHUNTER! DUDE, you are cracking me up! Would love to throw some meat on the grill and drink a beer with you.
OR if your a girl...a glass of wine.
Do any of you folks even KNOW of a parent who feeds their kids Big Macs? I thought that was college food.
no but i KNOW a parent who brings his kids to wendy's. would you mind telling us, in all your angry wisdom, what the difference is?
CNN, you do realize how pointless this article is. 99% of parents would rather go to McDonald's than do any of this.
denhunter- relax. your anger is misplaced. the purpose of the articles and many of these comments is to suggest ways to have more fun. give it a try. or don't. but it's not worth getting so freaked out about it. you have an enormous chip on your shoulder...
See, you confuse scorn at the pompous with anger!!! I am not angry in the least! It's more like paraphrasing Beetlejuice...'I have read these recipes for kids 900 times and it keeps getting funnier every time!!'
And making pasta is a phenomenal waste of time if you are single raising kids. Come on, whole wheat is a dollar! It's nutritious. It's fast. It gives you time to do laundry before you collapse.
I don't know if making pasta is any more of a waste of time than playing with play doh. Some of us find cooking a fun activity not a chore. It is fun. Much more so than going to Wendy's. And I prefer a good IPA to wine any day of the week.
Until I read this article, I didn't know these were "five favorite dishes to cook with kids." Bit of a stretch, CNN.
Hey, the 3 of us saw your blog – tonight we made the ditch dogs but with vegetarian ingredients – Mac N Cheese out of the box topped on TofuPup hot dog and bun. IT WAS SOOOO GOOOD!!! How do I attach a pic?
Now THAT's eating!!! My kids made dinner tonight: Whole wheat spaghetti from WinnDixie, turkey browned with garlic and a can of low salt store bought sauce and deeelicious grated parm in a jar...the salad came from a bag...the nonfat milk was 2 gallons for 5 bucks...
As a cardiologist, I am offended by the Ditch Dogs. How can we expect to keep our kids from being obese when we feed them unhealthy trash like this. Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese? 1/2 quart heavy cream? I'll see his kids in the cath lab in a few years.
A head of broccoli doesn't cost more than a big mac. Who eats a big mac? The point is that NONE of the food (with the exception of watermelon ruined by mint and goat cheese, which of course we ALL have laying around) discussed here is healthy, it's is LOADED with fat. It's time consuming to prepare. It's incredibly expensive. And the article does nothing but provide a forum for the hyperwealthy to talk about how us po folk eat bad food, when they could be eating smarmy goop called 'haute cuisine'.
Try the baked potato at Wendy's instead. Add some of the low fat sour cream they give you. Match it up calorically and healthwise to the quart of heavy creme and cheese...non parents...they are the funniest.
I have never set foot in a spa, am currently having to live with family because my husband's job was downsized, and I still don't ever want my children to think that Wendy's equals healthy and nutritious. Even if there are healthier items there to be had, the pleasure of preparing one's own food is something that can be taught. When my kids were younger and it made more financial sense to stay home with them, we REALLY had to cut corners. Good thing I know how to make my own pasta (not hard), bread (also not hard), sauces, etc. and we don't buy too much processed crap. That is where your money goes. I find it far more expensive to feed my 3 kids at a fast food restaurant than to feed them at home.
And mint?? Its free in the backyard if you have one. That stuff grows likes a weed.
I agree with you that most of these are things kids would not eat. But look at them as idea starters. What can you grow in your garden? If your kids grow it they will atleast try it. However fast food is never healthier than what can be prepared at home. And its never cheaper. To get a well rounded meal you just have to shop variety. Fast food is a treat, not a go to for a nutritious meal.
you must not be reading some of the posts. "far from rich" "on a budget" and still making real food. feeding your kids vegetables and meat and fish and grains, etc. and the preparation of those foods is not a chemistry set nor does it need to be expensive. it's called eating. and it's what we used to do before all these companies started making things that they've passed on as food at prices that are completely ridiculous. did you ever wonder (probably not) why a head of broccoli is more expensive than a big mac? and please stop equating eating well with some spa using, nanny hiring or whatever spoiled-rich analogy you can muster. honestly, think about it, that's not what is being discussed here.
Wow such boooorrrring people......So stuck in your negative I can't attitude...Where is your sense of adventure...
It's an 'I won't' attitude, that people with kids display when posers try to convince us to send them all to wine tastings and cheese play-days.
denhunter, there you go making stuff up again and drawing absurd parallels with money, wealth and eating real food. you can eat well without being rich and snobby, i know plenty of farmers with dirty finger nails that drink wine with their food. where do you come up with cheese-play days anyway? do you attend them? because i sure don't. i think wendy's is closing soon, better go get your kids dinner while i chop some parsley (oooh expensive) and prepare my ingredients for dinner with my wife and child.
I really, SERIOUSLY, and most whole heartedly doubt that you have ever met a farmer who didn't live in a Manhattan highrise and call the window box 'the South Forty' because it contained a tomato plant. I know farmers, and you sir, and your yuppie mushroom pickers and shiraz suckers, are no farmers...
you sure assume a lot and in the process make yourself out to be an idiot. really, do you think about what you say? do you have any sense of analysis? first of all, i don't live in a high rise, and i don't live in manhattan, actually i don't even live in your country! so wow, good on you for assuming the classic responses and equating anything outside your realm of thought to be elitist. just to clarify, i can't be much of an elitist since i didn't even go to college so that pretty much strikes me from that crowd. i live in a rented home, have never hired a nanny and raising our child with no extra help. i can give you plenty of other reasons why i'm not in your elitist conspiracy but i won't waste more of my time. real farmers? yes, i know a few, one of them happens to be my brother, who feeds his family with the food they grow. and i work at my friend's farm every harvest season to help him with his crops, so in october my fingers will be dirty too. i've just finished a meal salmon (caught by my friend off our waters, he's got dirty fingernails too) with chard and kale straight from the garden and had fresh mint in our water which my 2 1/2 year old picked herself while eating it. and i bet you our meal cost less than your wendy's meal and looked more like your grandparents dinner than anything you feed your kids. and even if it cost a bit more, when your kids are older and needing medication to help them with their various health problems, we'll be in the garden picking our food in our very non-elitist rented home, eating dinner and talking about our day.
Hmm. I don't seem to see this the same way CNN does. Guess I don't fit in with "all manner of opinionated people from around the globe." Bummer.
I love how he's sensitive to childrens increased propensity for shell fish and nut allergies.
...and salt. Macaroni and cheese AND hot dogs. Whew, might as well just get them a salt lick.
My 23 month old granddaughter likes to help me cook. I was looking for ideas when I clicked on this link.
I can't really use any of this because it involves lots of cutting with a knife and cooking on the stove or oven. I needed things she can help stir, and then they go into an oven and come out done. Not needing additional handling.
So these ideas are not good for my granddaughter.
Kudos to Marc! Just because a kid is a kid doesn't mean they want Mac and Cheese all the time... It also doesn't mean that you need a Michelin star either to get kids to expand their palette. My approach is to reintroduce the family time meal with flavorful and easy to prepare meals that the kids and adults can both enjoy. No one wants to be a short order cook and time is at a premium. Check out some easy to prepare dishes, funny stories, and activities for the kids at everydayfamilyfood.com.
Make each meal a memory and enjoy!
thanks for the link! looks like great stuff that my kid will enjoy.
Make each meal a memory? As a single parent, I am trying to forget most of them. Look, it's not the overly indulgent shrimp and cheeses that you clog up the kids with, it's the time you stay and talk with them at the table during and after dinner. 365 x three x ten years and you have too many memories.
'Expand their palate'....please...how pretentious!! Why not feed them cat? Rodent? Fishheads with a pungent sauce? Cow Blood? Now, THAT's expanding their palate. Child raising should not be your big chemistry set experiment. Are you people all spoiled rich folk with nanny who placate your guilt by throwing expensive, time consuming food at your offspring, before running off to the spa then club???
So sorry your life is so miserable.... I am a single mother of 5.. yes a litter.. I relish every memory that I can... Not much money but I am can't take it with me when I die so....
Super. How did little Whispering Spirit enjoy the Cow Brain Jello with Truffle sauce and braised cat fingers? You aren't a single mom with 5 kids who WORKS (single moms AREN'T mothers with heavy support coming in from an ex and NO JOB living in 7bd 5 bath splitlevel!) and then makes a 24 ingredient lamb dinner for the brood. They don't exist. Go back to the Chardonnay bottle, honey...it's time for your Lexapro.
Denhunter, perhaps the Rx for Lexapro may need to come your way, hmmm? The drudgery of life getting you down? Stop and smell the filet mignon from time to time and cut back on the caffeine.
Are you kidding? Who can afford to make lamb as a leisurely activity with their children? Sorry CNN...I have never been one of those people to criticize your writers before but wtf?! How about interviewing a normal person who does not make the rest of the world feel inadequate about what they can cook for their children. More people can relate to making Kraft mac n cheese or rice krispy treats than the foods on this rediculous list. I'm sure you satisfied 1% of your readers with this article.
Please. The guy is gay. He has no children, except 'nephews' and his husband's kids on weekends. My kids would scream bloody murder that I was trying to poison them if I gagged them with mint...unless it was covered with chocolate and in a cookie. Guyere???? 'Dad, this cheese is ROTTEN!!' And nobody who thinks a moment about their kids health dumps two cheeses and a quart of heavy cream into Mac and Cheese.
An hour after trying to build any of these concoctions, I would be taking the kids to Wendy's for chili and a salad, then coming home to clean the kitchen mess.
wow. gay because he makes real food instead of "taking the kids to wendy's"? plenty of kids eat gruyere and there's nothing wrong with heavy cream and cheese when the rest of the time they're eating food and not crap. wendy's is not food. sad that your kids would gag on mint and think that you'd be poisoning them but then waltz into wendy's.
Apparently, you have no idea about fast food menus, and don't have kids, or you would know what every REAL parent with kids and no time knows about Wendy's. You would pour whole cream and cheese down your kids gullet, over a Wendy's chili and salad? You need to get out of the mansion or uptown loft more. Do you have Starbucks delivered? Tell the truth, now...
Lot's of kids eat Gruyere???? Really? On what planet do you live? Toomuchf'ingmoneyia? I have never met one who would recognize it as food. Most kids don't hang out in tony cheese shops, with a sprig of mint in their teeth. And NO PARENT cooks mac and cheese with 13 ingredients, unless they are whipping up a batch of speed in the next pot...
Ummm, "plenty of kids eat gruyere"?! I DARE you to go to an average school yard and find 10 kids under 10 that even know what gruyere is... Get off your high horse and while you're at it get real. Honestly, people, shrimp paste on toast? My kids will stick with preserves and marmy.
and by the way nomad, my kid is very much from this planet :) and at 2 1/2 eats everything. not because we forced her but because that is what is on the table when we sit down every night to our meals and every morning to our breakfasts. whether it's soft poached eggs with chilli oil, nori and quinoa or mutton chops, oysters, salmon, spinach, kale, or just a plain bowl of pasta with parmagiano, parsley and butter or blueberry pancakes. please note: we are far from rich! let's all eat real food and stop giving the pharmaceuticals reasons to invent new drugs to solve all the problems, both psychological and physical, that come from eating bad food.
Ditto. If all one ever feeds his or her kids is standard kid fare (nuggets, mac n cheese, McDs) then they never will learn to eat and enjoy more sophisticated food. My 2, 4 and 6 year old all enjoy edamame, seaweed salad, couscous, feta, gruyere, shrimp, salmon, shepherd's pie, etc. Avocado was the first food for them as babies. And I am on a budget. My kids also know the joys of bean and rice with a side of cornbread. (Very cheap and nutritious.) Heavy cream isn't the enemy...high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and sweeteners and hydrogenated crap most certainly are though. And that is what makes up the standard American diet. S.A.D. indeed.
nice. happy to see others out there on a budget feeding their families simple and real food. doesn't have to be expensive or fancy. more like delicious and nutritious.
Yes, and Gudernoobs made by WooHoo Foods which are high in omega-3s for a fun 100% all natural snack too.
Wholeheartedly agree. It's nice to see a busy chef take time to help us think out of the box when it comes to feeding our families. My parents, barely middle class years ago, fed me and my siblings lamb. just with S&P and we devoured it. I tried to give it to my two boys. No go! But we did not cook it together. I'm inspired to give them a turn at the stove with much supervision and the guidance that food is fun and tastes even better when you cook it yourself. Thanks for the wisdom. Chicken nuggets need to be a thing of the past!
great recepies, but my kids won't eat that!
OMG! This guy has no clue – his inclusion on Chopped must be that he is someone's relative or boyfriend, because he clearly has no culinary judgement whatsoever. Not only do these dishes sound pretty awful for adults – they are RIDICULOUS for kids.
why do so many people think this is ridiculous? try feeding your kids real food. it's fun and it's healthy. and a lot easier and cheaper than you think. obviously this guy is going to make things like this, he's a chef! get rid of anything in your home that does not grow out of the ground or can't be raised and you'll find yourselves with the extra money you need to buy things like lamb (on occasion) and good vegetables and fruit. and get rid of your television! eats up the time you spend with your kids and they won't get influenced by all the "food" peddlars on tv selling your kids poison as food.
My friend: I'm afraid you missed the mark. The ideas sound good and many kids (like mine) would love to eat'em all, but I think you can propose something a little less sophisticated. Kids love playing with textures and colors and there are plenty of options for that. Thank you!
LOL! Do the children of Chefs typically have such an eclectic palate? I can't see my kids eating anything other than the hotdog...mac n' cheese on the side.
I think these sound like great ideas. It is always good to try new things when children are little. I work full time and and currently in a single parent situation and I still always have time for my child to try and learn new things. If you don't at least make an effort to sophisticate their tastes now, it will get harder as time goes on.
I completely agree. It's always good let them smell and try new flavors when they are young!
Yep – I am a single dad too and we cook almost 75% of our meals. Yes it takes a little bit extra effort but you can't beat the price or satisfaction of a fresh meal without all the junk. Great thing is my 5 year old knows where all the spices are and takes pride in helping.
I agree, I did not have an adventurous diet as a kid but my Mother always told me to try everything once. I am glad I did because at the age of 10 I realized I loved cavier, not something we had often in fact it may only happen once a year but I always looked forward to it and was willing to try anything new at least once.
This is a ridiculous story. I have a hard enough time getting my kid to eat regular toast, let alone SHRIMP toast.
My grandkids eat everything because they get to help cook. It's amazing what they will try. OK I would cut down on the heavy cream, but the spices and herbs are great for kids to appreciate new flavors. This may not be your everyday food for them if you are economizing but it gives good examples for applying.
Must be nice to have the time and money to serve your kids lamb chops, shrimp on toast, and home made mac' n cheese.
Yeah......right
hmm... i wonder whose kids he are trying to feed!
Kids from other planets.
He sure are!
Right...this guy is NUTS! There is no way in hell my boy would eat that, and he eats almost everything. Even I wouldn't eat that, that all sounds gross! Chick Peas! Gross – Love shrimp, but on toast, with cilantro and sesame seeds? – Barf, mac & cheese on a hotdog. Man was this guy on acid when he came up with these ideas? or perhaps you are right, he is trying to feed alian children. CRACK POT -
I agree with most here. This was an odd assortment of food choices. Most children (at least American kids) don't like spicy food. Mint is usually not a favorite unless it is with chocolate. Even homemade mac and cheese isn't as desirable as boxed mac and cheese (and I make the homemade kind often but the kids would prefer the boxed one if they had a choice.)
Amen!!!! seriously, lets try BROWNIES, COOKIES, ... totally agree with making food with ur kids, but these foods are not typical kid foods!!!! For all those parents that agree with this guy and have your kids eating Lamb chops with Moroccan couscous on a consistent basis, pat yourself on the back, you just won the ovarian lottery, for all those normal parents out there – disregard these idiotic recommendations of foods!