Well Fed Network

Posted by Kristen Doyle on Kids Cuisine.

I love anything that encourages a child to help out in the kitchen. Cooking is such a great learning activity for kids, and the new Handstand Kids Italian Cookbook takes cooking with kids to a whole new level. The Handstand Series of books is aimed at teaching children how to cook, as well as helping to educate them about other cultures.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the packaging. Perfect for children, the cookbook arrived in a square, pizza delivery style box, complete with a cute little chefs hat.

Once I opened the cookbook, I was even more impressed. This book does so much more than teach children the fine art of Italian cooking. The first couple of pages are devoted to the Italian language. Provided are 50 plus translations of common English utensils and ingredients into Italian. Another huge plus is the charity and volunteer section, which gently nudges our children into knowing how important it is to make sure that children around the world are safe and have enough food to eat.

I decided to give this cookbook the true test. We had a few kids over to teach them some basic Italian and have them try their hand at the Oh My, Pizza Pie recipe. The kids had a great time trying to pronounce all of the Italian words and had even more fun building their very own pizzas.

All in all, this cookbook is such a great resource for kids in the kitchen. The recipes are straightforward, the illustrations are a lot of fun, and your kids will learn a lot without even realizing it.

The Handstand Kids Italian Cookbook is the first in the series by Yvette Garfield. I am anxious to see the next books in the series, as I am sure my kids will have as much fun with the future editions as they have had with this book.

Oh My, Pizza Pie!

Ingredients

• Ready made dough (I used Jiffy box mix)
• 1 26-ounce jar of marinara sauce
• 12 ounces of grated mozzarella cheese
• Optional toppings (mushrooms, spinach, pepperoni, tomatoes, eggplant, sausage, etc.)
• 1/2 cup of flour

Tools

• Baking Sheet
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Rolling Pin

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
2. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 30-60 minutes
3. Oil a large baking sheet and stretch the dough into a big circle with the edges a little thicker to hold it better.
4. Sprinkle the dough with flour and use a rolling pin to even out the dough. Continue to add flour as needed so that the dough does not stick to the rolling pin.
5. Spoon a layer of sauce onto the pizza, but leave the edges plain.
6. Sprinkle the mozzarella all over the pizza.
7. Add the toppings that you love!
8. Place the pizza in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.