Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Actually, my daughter is the same age and she will eat olives until there just aren't any more. For some reason, kids love sour and in addition to olives, will eat pickles, capers and lemon wedges. I can't say wild nettles make their way on to her plate though, but kudos, Anthony Bourdain. In a day where most parents claim the only thing their child will eat are chicken nuggets and french fries, this is music to my ears. It's always been my belief and practice to let my kid eat what we eat or else how will she ever learn to love different flavors and textures? I never understand those who give their kids such limited selections. If chicken nuggets and hot dogs aren't options, it's amazing what they will eat!

aww, a Pittsburgher here and it's nice to see the love! Indeed, one cannot visit the 'burgh without getting a Primantis..and please, go to one of the originals, not the satellites out in the burbs. It's just not the same!

I like the convenience of the machine, just drop in ingredients and forget it. I think the bread is generally pretty good, especially if I don't have the time to invest in making handmade. However, I hate the loaft shape I get with mine. It's either gargantuan or oddly shaped. I prefer handmade, but sometimes the machine gets the job done just fine. Plus, I'd rather have the machine bread vs. store bought any day.

I heart Anthony Bourdain. While I watch my fair share of FN, I have to agree that Ina cooks some really great stuff, but there is something to make fun of every food show host. The Semi-ho stuff has got to go!

Anyway, I find myself setting the DVR for all possible episodes of No Reservations!

beets, pickled or roasted. now I love them!

My parents always raised us eating the same food that they prepared for themselves. If we didn't like it, then we didn't have to eat it (onions, squash, asparagus, mushrooms, etc.) I never became a snob about what I ate - I will eat fast food if it's my only choice and like any kid in college I ate a lot of top ramen! Later I did start to appreciate things like onions and mushrooms (although I still can't stand eggplant!).
I know plenty of people who were raised to eat just chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and "kid food"; their parents never exposed them to good food. And they are snobs about they eat - they stick to very limited menus and are afraid to branch out and try new things. So sad because they are missing out on some awesome flavors!

I have a very picky kid. I guess he got it hereditarily from both my husband and I. We were both very picky as children BUT not now! He sees everything on our table. About 5 years ago, I had had it. I stopped making my son a separate meal (pasta or mac n cheese - yes the blue box) and told him he had to try a bit of everything I made. If he didn't, he would starve. My husband thought I was being too touch but he wasn't the one making 2 different meals every night. He was miserable for many ages until he realized that it is just easier to eat it and not fight about it. Now he looks at his plate and says "you expect me to eat that?" and when I say "Yes, I do" - he says "OK" and he eats some. If he hates it, he leaves the rest. If he likes it, he asks for more. He is now 12. At that age, they start to realize what all their friends are eating and they decide to stop fighting. I was never the one to only give him chicken nuggets. If I did, they were homemade - from scratch.

These days I make my own chicken fingers, if I am going to make them. He has a grain and a veg with almost every meal. He still has a way to go -but he is so much better than he was.

I applaud Tony Bourdain in getting a tiny child to eat stuff like that. My 12 year old still won't eat capers or olives in anything. He will eat bulghur wheat and quinoa though. He'll also eat more veggies than just peas. So we're getting there.

I really think that most parents are just too lazy to put a good from-scratch meal on the table - they fear the looks and the attitude. Not only are they too lazy to change the way the kids eat, they eat the same way. They are all too picky. If they had grown up with parents who cooked everything - all the time - they would try everything. I know lots of parents who barely cook - and expect their kids to eat dinner at 4:30-5 pm every day and all they serve are convenience foods. I would rather die than serve my son that stuff. First off - you are breeding picky children and picky adults and secondly you are making your children fear food. If you show them that you don't like something, they will follow suit.

Sometimes, two close siblings will turn out to have widely different tastes in food.

My brother is three years older than me, and as a kid he would only eat roast chicken or beef mixed with rice-a-roni. I cannot remember that guy having vegetables in any way other than an iceberg lettuce salad drenched in Kraft dressing.

He is now one of the most unadventurous eaters in New York City, and would gladly swallow three pills a day rather than go to the fuss of actually preparing and eating food.

I, brought up in the same house by the same mother in the same kitchen, did then and will now eat anything that isn't an insect. "Foodieism" is my avocation, my hobby and my joy in life, and I love to cook.

Go figure!

Oh yeah, all the kids love risotto too. I think it's the perfect kid-friendly gourmet food =)

akk328, I love the suggestion about the tofu and 2 teeth. cute and true.