Let the Kids Cook Melissa Clark gives gives kids the keys to the kitchen BY TARA Q. THOMAS
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cheesy skillet black beans Yessssssss please
CLARK WITH DAUGHTER DAHLIA AND HUSBAND DANIEL GERCKE
his was my 13-year-old texting me from her bedroom about “Kid in the Kitchen,” a new cookbook out from Melissa Clark. My kid has never texted me about a cookbook before. She’s barely ever even glanced at the shelf of kids’ cookbooks we have accrued since she was a toddler, even though she passes it on every trip to the kitchen. In fact, despite the fact that she lives in a house filled with cookbooks, she’s never had any interest in making lunch or dinner. In one afternoon, “Kid in the Kitchen” changed all that. At some level, this should come as no surprise: Melissa Clark has such a reputation for writing good recipes that The New York Times has tasked her with the job every week since 2007, in a column called A Good Appetite. She’s the face of the cooking section, too, putting out weekly videos, and did a podcast, Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark, with The Splendid Table in 2019. She’s also the go-to writer for chefs, helping restaurateurs such as Daniel Boulud, David Bouley and Claudia Fleming translate their recipes for the home kitchen. And while Clark had never written a book for kids before now, she has written 42 others since her first in 1993.
52 real food spring 2021
