Luckily, I don’t need any gimmicks to get my kids in the kitchen. As soon as I head over to the counter top, my 21 month old, Ridley, grunts and points at the stool so I can bring it over for her. My four year old, Windsor, grabs her stool and we’re all hip-to-hip (or Ridley on my hip) helping to stir and add pinches of salt to whatever’s being tossed around.

This week we played with the Kid’s Global Adventure Cooking Kit for Italian food. The kit, geared to encourage kids to cook and learn about cuisines from all over the world, comes with an explainer on food from whatever country is featured, pantry ingredients, instructions, a “passport” and a little gift (this one was a silicone spoon rest).

With skinless, boneless thighs in the fridge, we put together a meal (sauteed chard and roasted sweet potatoes) around chicken Milanese.

You’ve never seen a happier baby than one holding a mallet, pounding and pounding on meat. Both girls had a blast with that kitchen weapon.

We then set up the trio of bowls—flour, egg and the provided bread crumbs—and moved with messy hands assembly-style dredging and dunking and dredging again until the cutlet sizzled in a cast-iron pan.

The girls actually ate dinner that night. We’ll be repeating this fried affair, with latkes of course, for Chanukah this weekend.

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