Being cooped up with family 24/7 can be stressful and tiring during the best of times, but especially during this era of quarantine and social distancing. Everyday tasks, such as cooking, can start to feel like repetitive chores. To help break up the monotony, may I suggest injecting a little fun into your family’s meal times (and getting the kids to help you in the kitchen, too)?
I recently saw an interview with Tina Fey, in which she told Jimmy Fallon about the airplane-themed dinner that her daughters, ages 14 and 9, had recently hosted for the family. They lined the chairs up single file, each with a selection of magazines tucked into the back, dressed up like flight attendants, and gave their parents the standard airline safety speech before serving a dinner of macaroni and cheese and Spam on individual trays. The final thematic touch? A photograph of an airplane window displayed on a nearby television screen.
With this creative spirit in mind, I came up with three dinner themes, complete with kid-tested and kid-approved recipes from America’s Test Kitchen Kids. Use one of our ideas, or let your young chefs’ imaginations run wild and come up with their own themes, complete with menus, decorations, and costumes. Share your dinners with us using #atkkids on Instagram or by sending photos to kids@americastestkitchen.com—we would love to see them.
