Raised in the Kitchen: Making Memories from Scratch One Recipe at a Time

by Carrian Cheney

Publication Date: 4/27/21

Paperback & Hardcover

Retail Price: $21.99

Page Count: 224

Cookbook

Cover Photos: © Jessica Kettle Photography

Book Design: © Shadow Mountain

Art Direction: Richard Erickson

Design: Heather G. Ward

Synopsis

From the time her children were toddlers, family cooking blogger Carrian Cheney found creative ways to get her children interested in cooking, partly to teach them basic kitchen skills so they could be part of the solution when they were hungry and partly to instill in them a joy of creating and presenting delicious meals, as her own mother had taught her.

From food prep to clean-up, this unique cookbook guides the way through every step, including meal lists and easy-to-follow recipes, and features dollops of heartwarming family stories, insights, and kid-friendly food activities to keep young chefs focused on fun in the kitchen.

The book includes 75 recipes that begin with basics such as fried eggs, pizza dough, and baked potatoes. As new cooking skills are learned, the recipes progress to guaranteed kid favorites like chocolate chip pancakes, steak fajitas, and apple dumplings. Recipes are joined with tips to help home chefs master the art of cooking, from stocking a pantry to proper kitchen etiquette and safety to how to add flair to a table setting—even how to coax a picky eater by tempting their tastebuds.

Raised in the Kitchen is a cookbook for parents and kids about much more than learning to love to cook. It’s about bringing families together with cooking memories that will last a lifetime.

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Praise

“A practical cookbook that families everywhere can enjoy! This cookbook has an emphasis on bringing the family together in the kitchen, not only to eat the meal together but to create it together. A wonderful way to build lasting memories, practice helpful kitchen skills, and perfect lifelong favorite recipes. My family is so excited to work our way through its charming pages!” -Jaclyn Bell, from cookingclassy.com

“Written by a family for your family, Carrian’s cookbook is a wonderful resource that encourages parents and children to find joy in creating delicious meals and baked goods together. The consistently delicious kid-friendly recipes and handy success tips are added bonuses!” -Sally McKenney, author of Sally’s Baking Addiction

“I love this collection of family-friendly recipes and tips to create teachable moments with kids and get them excited about cooking. The recipes are fun and approachable, and kids will love to make and eat them. This will quickly become your family’s favorite cookbook!” -Natasha Kravchuk, host of Natasha’s Kitchen

“Carrian is the queen of family cooking and togetherness, and she hit it out of the park with this delightful and practical cookbook for anyone who wants to help their kids get involved in cooking and baking but doesn’t know where to start. Perfect for all ages and cooking abilities, this ‘handbook’ is filled with so many details, tips, and recipes!” -Mel, from MelsKitchenCafe.com

“Even cooks sans kids will gravitate to Cheney’s first, family-friendly production. It’s educational, yet easy to understand and to follow, and highly personalized. Cheney offers kitchen tips. There’s little to no fussiness about kitchen skills. Family traditions are created, celebrated, and shared, such as the great family bake-off, and the 70-plus recipes reprise favorites with a twist. It’s truly cooking to enjoy, whether solo or en masse.” -Booklist

“Practical and appetizing collection designed to get families in the kitchen together to build culinary skills and create memories. Recipes are assigned skill levels to help parents match dishes with a child’s capabilities, and Cheney includes a wealth of handy tips. Recipes allow for technique development as well. The stars of the collection are the desserts, which include a berry-laden frozen yogurt bark, decadent chocolate cake, mini Twix cheesecakes, and a luscious strawberry pie. Throughout, Cheney offers pointers on topics such as cooking meat, handling picky eaters, and baking bread. Fun, educational, and full of appealing options, this work is sure to inspire a new generation of cooks.” -Publishers Weekly

Review

This book combined gorgeous photos, delicious recipes, and a look into Carrian’s family and life.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with her philosophy on getting everyone into the kitchen to help prepare the meal and to learn how to cook themselves. It is never too early for a child to learn how to cook even basic dishes and make them more challenging as they get older.

The book has an in-depth table of contents to covers nearly everything you might need to teach someone to do in the kitchen.

Table of Contents:

• Pantry Staples
• Essential Tools
• How to create a shopping list
• How to set a table
• Tips on salt
• Breads
• Breakfast
• Side Dishes
• Knife Safety 101
• Main Dishes
• Cleaning tips
• Desserts

While I haven’t made any of the recipes, there were many that caught my eye and I liked how each recipe gave the difficulty level so you know where to start with your child and what they can work up to as they master the basic skills.

Along with the recipes, she shares stories about her family and I felt like we got to know them all a little bit better.

If you are looking for a cookbook to use with your young children, definitely give this one a look.

We give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Carrian Cheney blogs at “Oh, Sweet Basil” about her unique recipes and promotes her philosophy that spending time together in the kitchen is about more than eating a meal. She and her husband are parents to three children who learned very early that they all had roles in the kitchen and learning about food and meal prep was important to their family. While sometimes cooking with kids can be slower and certainly messier, the memories created and the skills learned will last a lifetime.

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