Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook (6 page)

I make Gabriella practice reading aloud in the kitchen—either she reads recipes or the ingredient boxes or sometimes she just brings a book to the counter, climbs up, and reads a chapter to the rest of us. For Gia, the kitchen is all about fractions and decimals. I have her add up the measuring cups and spoons—¾ cup + ¾ cup equals what?—and give her money problems, like how much change would she get back if I sent her to the store with $10 and she bought $4.98 worth of stuff. With Milania, we prep for kindergarten: we cut things in halves and quarters, talk about what’s bigger and smaller, and tell sequence and prediction stories: “Which goes in the pot first, the water or the pasta? What do you think would happen if I put the pasta in first?” Our favorite game, though, is “Will it float or sink?” She can spend an hour dunking things in a cup of water: macaroni, lemon seeds, pennies, my lip gloss! Even baby Audriana gets schooled in the kitchen. I count out things on her high chair tray in English, and then again in Italian.

I love, love, love to cook with my kids, but of course, they all have different jobs based on their ages. Gia, who is nine years old, is allowed to use the stove if I’m standing nearby and she’s not cooking anything that might splatter and burn her. Her favorite thing in the world to cook is scrambled eggs all by herself. She’s so proud when she can serve her daddy fluffy eggs on a Saturday morning.

We’re also big pancake fans. After I make them (I let Gia do the flipping), Gabriella loves to take metal cookie cutters and cut out shapes for Audriana and Milania. Although hearts and flowers are her favorite shapes, we also have these great alphabet cookie cutters to teach the girls their letters. When she’s done designing for her sisters, Gabriella piles the pancake scraps into a heap for Daddy, covers it with syrup, and calls it “Volcano Pancake.”

There’s no such thing as too many kid cooks in my kitchen (sisters-in-law, that’s another story . . .). If I didn’t allow my kids in the kitchen when I cooked, I’d never see them! Of course, when you’re cooking with kids, you definitely have to be prepared for the entire process to be a little slower and a lot messier. One of the ways to offset the extra time those extra pairs of hands can bring is to make two of whatever entrée is on the menu, and freeze the second batch. This works especially well with one-dish meals like lasagna.

Another huge bonus of cooking with your kids is that when they help make the meal, they’re more eager to actually eat it. Even the weird-looking healthy stuff.

I was so touched when I got letters from moms across the country who wrote that when they cooked the recipes in
Skinny Italian,
their previously picky eaters gobbled them up. There was one precious little girl named Abigail who was two years
old and would only eat chicken and olives—nothing but chicken and olives. I think if your kid will only eat two things, those are two pretty good things, especially considering the junk food alternatives, but her parents were desperate to introduce her to other flavors, textures, and food groups. My tagliatelle with peas and ham was a big hit with little Abigail, and they sent me pictures of her slurping down the noodles,
Lady and the Tramp
-style. (Hi Abby, baby doll!)

People always ask me if my girls are picky eaters, and the answer is a big fat “no.” They will eat anything. There is literally not a single food they don’t like. Even little Audriana likes pesto and spicy sauces and veggies. And I think it’s because they’ve grown up in the kitchen.

Cooking with your kids helps them develop sophisticated palates. Not only are they more likely to eat things they had a hand in preparing, they’re also learning to like healthier foods. Meals cooked from scratch have less hidden calories and added sugar than restaurant selections, fast food, or boxed dinners.

Super-sweet things like sugary snacks or foods made with high-fructose corn syrup can skew your child’s taste buds to the point where they won’t eat anything if it’s not sweet. That’s why pediatricians recommend that you introduce vegetables before fruits to babies, and limit the amount of juice they drink. And soda? Forget about it! One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. In 2001, researchers from Harvard and Children’s Hospital Boston completed a long-term study that showed a huge increase in childhood obesity for every extra serving per day of a sweetened beverage that kids drank. My kids drink milk and water by the bucketful.

Loving and then craving sweets is a vicious cycle you don’t want your kids to have any part of. And you can control it from the minute they can eat solid food. When you’re introducing new foods, don’t be afraid of herbs and spices. Get them used to crunchy and creamy, savory foods right away.

It’s never too late to start. Get your kids in the kitchen with you and cook up a feast, but be sure to include some of the things they might normally try and pick out: mushrooms, garlic, onions, parsley. If they’re really resistant, try mashing the new foods up at first and hiding them in the dish, until they’ve learned to love the flavor. If you involve them, make it fun, and show them how much you love it, too, they will embrace it, I promise.

If you just thought about a certain practically pornographic video series, then shame on you! This is a family cookbook! Unlike some of the other “Housewives,” I do not condone young girls stripping to bring in business to a car wash, old ladies in hot pants climbing up a pole to bring their sexy back, or videotaping yourself in any state of undress at any time. I’m old-school. I did not live with Joe until we got married. I do my own child-raising, cleaning, and of course, cooking. But my girls are dying to take over this cookbook, and I promised them at least one chapter, so here we go . . .

Hi, I’m Gia, and I’m nine years old. I like dancing, acting, modeling, and doing almost anything with my mom . . . except when she’s annoying me. Which thankfully isn’t that often. I’ve been to Italy three times and my favorite city is Milan because of all the fashion there, not because it’s part of my sister’s name. And puh-lease, stop asking me what my middle name is because I don’t have one. None of us do. It’s some weird Italian thing.

My mom said I have to tell you my favorite recipe. I have lots of them, but if I had to pick one, I guess it would be Grilled Sausage & Peppers. I like when we use red, green, and yellow bell peppers. Those are the peppers that aren’t hot, so your kids will probably like them, but I like the hot peppers, too.

P.S.
If you make two batches, you can put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and you’ll have delicious sandwiches the next day.—Gia

Gia’s Grilled Sausage & Peppers

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Some people serve this over rice or pasta, but we like it with Italian bread. And you can use hot sausage if you like that kind better.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, cut into ½-inch-wide strips

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch-wide strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch-wide strips

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch-wide strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 links sweet Italian sausage (about 1 ¼ pounds), each pierced with a fork

1.
Build a hot fire in an outdoor grill. (Or, position a rack about 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler.)

2.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, red, yellow, and green peppers, and the minced garlic. Cover and cook until the vegetables soften a little, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes to marry the flavors. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

3.
Meanwhile, lightly oil the grill grate. Place the sausages on the grill and cover. Grill, turning occasionally, until the sausages are browned and show no sign of pink when pierced in the center with the tip of a sharp knife, about 10 minutes. (Or broil the sausages for the same length of time.)

4.
Transfer the peppers to a platter, top with the sausages, and serve hot.

SKINNY VARIATION