Full Text Review(s)
"The joy of food is in its diversity. In The 2nd International Cookbook for Kids, Chef Matthew Locricchio continues his exploration of the world’s great cuisines, guiding us on a hands-on journey filled with the exotic flavors of India, Greece, Thailand, and Brazil. He opens our eyes to the rich variety of these world-class cuisines and teaches us that there is one place where everyone comes together - the dinner table."

"Matthew Locricchio’s second book for children, "The 2nd International Cookbook for Kids" (Marshall Cavendish. $18.99) is a great way to introduce budding chefs to international foods, by which I don’t mean shrimp rolls and cannelloni. It’s a spiral-bound, colorful and cheerful book with recipes for soups, noodles, and desserts - all kids’ faves, along with some interesting main courses, by way of Thailand, Greece and Brazil.

You may not tempt your picky eater with lamb curry or fish and shrimp stew, but even the choosiest kids will find some of the other dishes irresistible. Especially when they help make them, which is why embarking on a cooking session to whip up chapati (Indian bread), coconut rice (from Thailand) or wonderful chicken and feta cheese pie, from Greece, is a great idea. All the recipes contain extremely detailed instructions and, thankfully, short ingredient lists. If you’re looking for a fun present for a beginning chef, this is a great one to check out."

"Even with our warm winter weather it is a great time for hearty soups, and I always have my eyes open for new recipes. I found a tasty Brazilian Chicken Soup in The Second International Cookbook for Kids (Marshall Cavendish, 2008) by Matthew Locricchio.

This book includes an array of Greek, Thai, Indian and Brazilian recipes that will add flavors to your child's repertoire. It has safety tips and cooking directions that the junior chef will find easy to understand.

There are soups, appetizers, salads, noodle dishes, veggies, entrees and desserts with recipes such as Lentil Soup, Miniature Meat Pies, Stir Fried Thai Noodles (Pad Thai), Curried Vegetables, Coconut Rice, Fresh Indian Cheese, Chicken and Feta Cheese Pie, Fish and Shrimp Stew, Grilled Chicken with Peanut Sauce, Brazilian Birthday Candies and Sweet Rice Pudding.

Daughter Sarah and I had fun picking out some Brazilian dishes to make including this soup called Canja de Galinha that is dinner in a pot.

The book tells us there are countless versions of this soup and it is regarded as a national dish. Brazilians fell in love with this soup almost 500 years ago, when the Portuguese introduced them to rice.

Assign jobs: What's a little different about this recipe is that you rub the chicken with a paste made from mashing garlic and salt. It's a fun job for kids. You brown the chicken, which adds wonderful flavor to this soup as do whole cloves, carrots and a bay leaf.

Once the broth is ready, I strain it, return it to the pot and bring it to a boil. I add rice and let it cook.

Meanwhile Sarah carefully removes the skin from the hot chicken, and together we pull the meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. We slice the carrots into coins and return them to the broth. This soup is delicious served garnished with fresh mint.

Fun sides: While the soup simmers for 1 1 / 2 hours we make garlic toast (obviously we love garlic). For another side, we cut up red bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes to serve with a Gorgonzola Blue Cheese Dip. For the dip, I mix 1 / 4 cup low-fat yogurt, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons crumbled Gorgonzola. A green salad would make an alternative side.

Be thrifty: During these tight times, this is a wonderful inexpensive dinner full of protein.

Lessons learned: Stress safety in the kitchen while handling raw poultry. Wash your hands and any other surfaces that contact the raw chicken. They need to be cleaned thoroughly before you use them to prepare raw vegetables."