The Family Kitchen: Easy and Delicious Recipes for Parents and Kids to Make and Enjoy Together

Ponzek, mother of three, owner of the Connecticut specialty food chain Aux Délices and a former chef at New York's Montrachet, aims to extend the time families spend together for meals by assembling the family before they even get to the table. She invites kids into the kitchen to help, teaching them kitchen skills, encouraging them to discover new flavors and bonding with them. Each breakfast, lunch and dinner recipe lists tasks that kids (even little ones) can enjoy doing. The excellent introduction helps children become familiar with kitchen safety and cooking techniques, while the 125 recipes will teach them to cook with seasonal produce and adult flavors. There's Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto for lunch, Grilled Spicy Red Snapper Tacos for dinner and Double Hot Chocolate with Homemade Marshmallows for a snow day snack. Selections in each chapter (which include "Picnics," "Lazy Winter Weekends" and "Kids' Parties") range from simple to more complicated, but all contain lessons for willing kids. Although there are plenty of kid-friendly favorites like Patchwork Apple Pie (with scraps of dough flattened by little hands forming the topping), Ponzek's experience as a chef and mother assures that each dish is homey yet sophisticated. Photos. (Apr.)