FROM THE PUBLISHER

MEGAN CARLE is 19 years old and in her first year at the University of Arizona as a food science major. She has been cooking since she was three years old, when she would saw away at vegetables with her pumpkin-cutting knife. She has lived and cooked in Germany, traveled in France, and is fluent in French and German.
JILL CARLE is 16 years old and a senior in high school. She has always been interested in cooking and has traveled extensively, although her tastes remain decidedly all-American.
JUDI CARLE has served as chef/author, project coordinator, and general editor on more than 20 cookbooks, including the best-selling Charlie Trotter series and, most recently, Shakespeare's Kitchen. The Carles all live in Phoenix, Arizona.

SYNOPSIS

Written by two teens who know what teens do and don't know about cooking, TEENS COOK is an instructional cookbook that teaches young adults how to make great meals-and be confident and independent in the kitchen. Authors Megan and Jill Carle are teenage sisters with nothing much in common when it comes to food-except that they both know how to cook really well. One buys ingredients she likes and figures out what to make when she gets home; the other follows every recipe to the letter. One is a vegetarian who's drawn to ethnic food; the other prefers all-American comfort food. Together, they're a dynamic duo who have created and mastered more than 75 recipes for breakfasts, snacks, sides, family meals, dinners for one, and desserts. In TEENS COOK, the Carle sisters also share their kitchen know-how on averting and fixing disasters, dealing with cookbook math (fractions and metrics-ugh!), deciphering culinary vocabulary (all those terms we kind of know, but not really), explaining chemistry (why and how stuff goes right and wrong in the kitchen), and avoiding accidents (can you say "grease fire"? oops!). For teens (and tweens) who are tired of eating what their parents decide to fix, TEENS COOK offers foolproof advice for whipping up some tasty home-cooked meals of their own.

FROM THE CRITICS

KLIATT - Shirley Reis

This is a truly wonderful book for any teen who wants to become a better cook. The authors began cooking when they were young and have learned to cook through trial and error. Their witty repartee accompanies each recipe. Some of their recipes are: Crepes with Strawberries and Cream, Roman Apple Coffee Cake, Corn Chowder, Tuna Melt, Fried Rice, Egg Salad Tortilla Wrap, Chicken Picatta with Rice Pilaf, Mexican Lasagna, Salmon and Vegetables en Papillote, Toffee Bars, and Banana Cream Pie. Beautiful color illustrations accompany each recipe. Most recipes also include interesting footnotes about how the recipe evolved along with explanations of the scientific chemistry of cooking and baking. This book truly reads like a novel and is a "must read" for anyone who wants to become more proficient in the kitchen. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2004, Ten Speed Press, 146p. illus. index., Ages 12 to 18.

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Sisters Megan and Jill Carle love to cook, both from recipes and experimenting with what's on hand. When they eat something they love in a restaurant, they try to re-create it at home. If they find a complicated recipe, they fearlessly "take shortcuts that would probably give a chef hives." The result of their culinary passion is this appealing mix of 85 diverse recipes ranging from comfort food to sushi. The six sections include traditional American cuisine, as well as recipes for German, Chinese, and Mexican dishes. Basic cooking instruction is incorporated into the recipes themselves as well as in the sidebars sprinkled liberally throughout. The gently wry introductions for each recipe offer keen glimpses into the siblings' personalities and relationship, adding to the intimacy and warmth of this cookbook. Megan, a vegetarian, offers advice on adapting many of the recipes to her diet. "Kitchen Disasters" offer amusing accounts of mistakes made by the Carles or their relatives, complete with explanations of exactly why things went awry. The clear instructions and striking, full-color photos will equip teen chefs to undertake their own adventures, but the reliance on butter, cream, mayonnaise, cheese, and other high-fat ingredients is a drawback for those seeking a healthy diet. Evelyn Raab's Clueless in the Kitchen (Firefly, 1998) is a far more extensive collection of recipes that also includes more basic information about equipment, shopping, and food preparation.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.