Kid Friendly for a Friendly Kid-2/3/10


In February of 2008, Bon Appetit changed the name of their Quick Menu column to be more attractive to the modern family. Just one month after redesigning the cover of the magazine to look more modern, the Family Style column was aimed at the busy cook who wanted to give their family a healthy gourmet meal. The photos in this section show kids, pretty young kids, enjoying some really yummy food that bears little resemblance to chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly. I think Eyrleigh would be a great model for one of these photos. Look at this kid loving up her dinner!

This month's Family Style menu is kid friendly Indian food. Using a mild level of spice and an all-time favorite side of rice, Eyrleigh was more than convinced that this menu was made for her. The main dish, Easy Chicken Masala, was as advertised. Last night I spent 5 minutes putting together the overnight marinade. Today all I did was spread the chicken out on a baking sheet and bake it. The Caramelized Cumin-Roasted Carrots were equally simple. I put the oil, cumin seeds, and salt in a covered bowl with the cut carrots, shook it, and spread those out on another sheet. The Cool Cucmber Raita was also make-ahead of sorts but putting yogurt in a strainer hardly counts as work.
The chicken was moist and has wonderful flavor and the marinade made the skin crisp up beautifully. I rarely eat the skin on chicken but this was delicious. The carrots were sweet and lightly spiced, almost like an introduction to cumin for kids. They were wonderfully soft with just a little resistance when baked for 37 minutes. The riata was a little sour for Eyrleigh but I really loved it and dipped both the chicken and carrots in it.
This kid-friendly menu came with a suggested recipe for the left-overs. The Indian Chicken Wrap with Cucumber Riata used shredded chicken from the night before to make a wrap. I even had mango chutney that the recipe recommended as a dressing. I discovered that I'm not a huge fan of mango chutney but the wrap was a good use of the leftovers.
Easy Chicken Masala- B+
Caramelized Cumin-Roasted Carrots-B+
Cool Cucumber Riata-B

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