NOTE: Alex wrote this post

I love beef jerky. So much I wish I could make my own. Lucky for me, mom has a food dehydrator. Ever since I heard this, I’ve been searching the web for just the right recipe. With my taste, I prefer high salt and a whole lot of garlic (I would eat it raw if possible). I also like mild spicy things like teriyaki & also a touch of sweetness, like in brown sugar. I’ve found a recipe that has all that, yet room for improvement, as every dish on the planet does. Here’s the link, though I must give credit to Cooks.com for providing us with great recipes-Beef Jerky.

P.S. From the Mom…we’re going to be testing this recipe (with a few tweaks, as Alex indicates) in an upcoming episode of 2 Kids Cooking. We’ll update you with our feedback.

On Saturday, November 7, Food Network had a cooking with kids day. I saw Paula Deen and the Barefoot Contessa. Paula was pretty good, Ina Garten, on the other hand was, let’s go with ‘interesting’. Now, I do like Ina Garten, she’s a great cook. I love when she has her parties and her recipes are delicious; BUT, arugula on pizza for kids? And, spicy olive oil…for kids?

Here’s the thing, 90% of adults really don’t want any form of lettuce on their pizza, and I can assure you that neither Alex nor Soph are usually begging for anything leafy on their pizza. In fact when I asked them, these are the faces I got:

My advice to Ina for future episodes with kids: share your ideas with them and maybe ask them what they like…? Just a thought.

I know that if you want something ‘new’ and ‘interesting’ in the recipe department some kids just aren’t gonna like it–even with our basic recipes one of the kids usually won’t eat it, BUT, one of them will, that’s the key. Plus, I know what foods they like, so when we make, say, pizza, I know that the topping options should probably vary beyond arugula and spicy olive oil. She did have cheese, so she gets point for that, but there should always be the ’safe’ option when kids are involved (mozzarella in this case, maybe cheddar for variety).

Anyway, Food Network, if you want, Alex, Soph and Mom are willing to guest star anytime (sans the lettuce pizza )