Jessica Seinfeld & Missy Lapine Are Taken Down a Notch

Raymond Sokolov of the Wall Street Journal's Eating Out column stabbed a few forks into the recipes Jessica and Missy published in their respective cookbooks and what he found wasn't pretty. Playing With Their Food questions the entire premise of hiding pureed vegetables in kids' food. He points out that many of the recipes are for breakfast and dessert and have sugar in them. Is it a good idea to serve a kid scrambled eggs or mac 'n cheese with pureed cauliflower in them? Having been classically trained, I cringe at the thought. I tried Missy's mac ' cheese with pureed chic peas in it and it was a sorry sight because the sauce neither looked nor behaved as it should have. The kids ate it anyway, but I'm making them real mac 'n cheese to show them what it should look and taste like. And there will be emerald green broccoli florets adorning it.

Sokolov argues that vegetables should be seen and discussed, not hidden. I kind of agree. On the other hand, I think sneaking an extra vegetable in every now and again isn't a bad idea, as long as it's not a culinary atrocity. One of my favorite moves is to puree roasted red peppers and add them to tomato sauce. Some of the most delicious sauces in the world are made with roasted red peppers. Think rouille, the classic spicy mayonnaise served with Bouillabaise, but it's great with any fish. Yep, I'll have to make it soon.

Kiddie Cookbook Battle

Sorry to hear that Missy Chase Lapine has sued Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld for copyright infringement and defamation. If you saw my previous post, you'd know it was over Jessica's kiddie cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, which strongly resembles Missy's kiddie cookbook, The Sneaky Chef. Missy's was released first, hence the cookbook battle. Well, at least they're getting a lot of publicity!

Let's Play Hide the Vegetable

So my dear friend Susanne who is a working mother of triple five-year-old boys confessed that she had signed up to buy fake food (aka Juice Plus) after a rep gave a dog and pony show at the kids' preschool. Naturally I did a controlled freak out and suggested she try playing hide the vegetable instead. She didn't know where to start so I recommended using one of the two cookbooks out on this topic - Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine. When I hung up I felt so sorry for her that I went on Amazon and ordered The Sneaky Chef along with a fruit and vegetable alpahabet book for the boys.

Well fast forward to January 8 and as of today they have eaten the chicken nuggets dipped in YES, vegetable puree, and chocolate chip pancakes laced with blueberries and spinach! Way to go Susanne. Keep up the great work.

So that inspired me to puree the carrots I put in my French lentils today and my four-year-old ate them with gusto for lunch and asked for seconds. This is the child who won't touch a plate or bowl if he sees a vegetable on it. I think these women are on to something.