Chicken Stew with Olives	Linguine with Pesto
Pizza Dough Spread	Tagliatelle with Cream, Peas, and Ham Spread

An Excerpt from Silver Spoon for Children

Making Italian food is a fantastic way to begin to learn to cook, as most people love eating it! We have selected forty recipes from The Silver Spoon, a classic cookbook that can be found in almost every home in Italy, and adapted them to make them easier for you to follow. These are traditional Italian recipes that have been handed down through the generations, so with this book you can imagine you are in a kitchen in Italy, learning how to cook the Italian way...

So make some time to have fun in the kitchen preparing these delicious Italian dishes. You can then enjoy sharing your meal with family and friends--just like the Italians!

Excerpted from The Silver Spoon for Children, published by Phaidon Press (2009, $19.95), www.phaidon.com.

For pricing information and more click here.

“Italy’s favorite cookbook now has a kids’ version and we’re psyched it’s coming to the U.S.”
--Parents magazine

The foodie craze has trickled down to the swingset set. Millions of kids are obsessed with the Food Network and other food-related programs, and as a result, they are developing appetites for trying new foods, learning about food, and getting into the kitchen at a young age to cook. Now you can give your mini Mario Batalis one of the most beloved Italian cookbooks created just for them. Adapted from The Silver Spoon, Italy’s best-selling cookbook for over fifty years, The Silver Spoon for Children, features authentic Italian favorites ideal for budding cooks to try out.

Broken into “Lunches and Snacks,” “Pasta and Pizza,” “Main Courses,” and “Desserts and Baking,” this specially-adapted edition presents more than 40 quick, wholesome and easy-to-make Italian recipes that children aged 8 and above will love to cook and eat. The recipes have been chosen for their simple instructions, fresh and healthy ingredients and delicious flavor, and are guaranteed to appeal to the fussiest of children. A specialist in the field of children's food and nutrition has selected the recipes to ensure they are well balanced, safe and perfect for children to use.

Recipes like bruschetta, Margherita pizza, and linguini with pesto have simple step-by-step instructions, and are illustrated with charming drawings and photographs, creating an animated, entertaining and accessible introduction to cooking for children. Each recipe is presented with a short introduction about the origins of the dish with fascinating facts about the ingredients and the Italian culinary culture. There is also information on seasons, ingredients basic techniques to foster a lifetime love of cooking. More...

Fruits of the Forest Ice Cream

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 3 1/4 cups frozen berries, such as blackberries, raspberries, redcurrants or blackcurrants (you will need a mixture of berries)
• 1/2 lemon
• scant 1 cup superfine sugar

1. Pour the cream into a big bowl and using a hand whisk or electric whisk, whisk it until it holds in soft peaks--when you lift the whisk out of the cream, it should look like the picture of snowy mountains on the opposite page! If you whisk the cream for too long, it will become too firm and stiff.

2. Put the frozen berries into a food processor. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, add the sugar, and whiz until the berries are mashed up. Ask an adult to help with the food processor...

3. Spoon the mashed fruit into the whipped cream and carefully fold everything together. Spoon into a freezeproof container (a clean used ice cream container or plastic tub is ideal) cover with a tight-fitting lid, and freeze for 3 hours or until frozen.

Copyright © 2009 by Phaidon Press Inc. Reprinted from The Silver Spoon for Children with permission from Phaidon Press Inc.

Linguine with Pesto

• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese or 1 ounce each of Parmesan and pecorino
• 1/2 clove garlic
• pinch of salt
• about 1/3 cup pine nuts
• about 25 fresh basil leaves
• scant 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 14 ounces dried linguine pasta
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Finely grate the cheese... and put to one side. Put the garlic and a small pinch of salt (this will make it easier to squash the garlic) into a mortar or food processor, and mash the garlic until it is soft and crushed.

2. Add the pine nuts and bash until they are broken into small pieces. If you’re using a food processor it will only take seconds to whiz the nuts until they are broken into very small pieces, but if you’re using a pestle and mortar you might need to take it in turns with friends or family to help you bash everything, to stop your arm from aching!

3. Add the basil leaves and mash some more. If you’re using a pestle and mortar, bash the leaves until they are broken into small pieces. Try to do this quite quickly, to keep the bright green color--the longer you bash, the darker the leaves will go. If you’re using a food processor, blend quickly in short bursts.

4. Spoon the mixture into a bowl, add the cheese and mix. Then gradually add the oil, until you have a sauce that just drops off your spoon. Hey presto, you’ve made pesto!

5. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and cook the linguine... You will need to ask an adult to help you drain the linguine and tip it back into the empty pan. Add the pesto and carefully stir to coat the pasta with the pesto. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and eat!

Copyright © 2009 by Phaidon Press Inc. Reprinted from The Silver Spoon for Children with permission from Phaidon Press Inc.

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