Smart Girl's Guide: Cooking : How to Make Food for Your Friends, Your Family and Yourself

Have you ever thought about how awesome cooking really is? It's actually pretty cool to take ingredients and combine them in a special way to make something totally different -- and delicious! Plus, sharing your tasty creations with family and friends makes it even more fun. Think of this book as your first step toward developing your culinary skills. You'll learn the basics like chopping, mixing, and blending; then you'll practice those skills with some classic recipes. Your family and friends will be amazed when you delight their taste buds! But that's not all. Cooking is also about presentation and making things look appetizing. You'll get tips and suggestions for pretty presentations, and learn how to plan a complete meal, too. So grab an apron, plop on a chef's hat, and get cooking!

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Darcie Johnston has developed many advice and activity books as both an author and an editor for American Girl. A Smart Girl's Guide: Cooking, Is This Normal?, Design by Me: Big & Tiny, and the puzzle book Brain Benders are among her author credits, and as an editor she produced the recipe book You're the Chef and award-winners A Smart Girl's Guide: Drama, Rumors & Secrets (NAPPA Gold) and Pretty in Paper (Oppenheim Gold Seal). Prior to American Girl, Darcie started up and led Magination Press, the children's imprint of the American Psychological Association, and she wrote about culture, health, history, science, and gardening for Time-Life Books. She received a degree in English Literature from the George Washington University and a master's in library studies with an emphasis in children's literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. [Darcie’s AG author credits: 1. A Smart Girl's Guide: Cooking (co-author with Patricia Daniels) 2. Is This Normal? MORE Girls' Questions ... 3. The Care & Keeping of Us: A Book for Girls and Their Moms to Share (journal, co-author with Emma Henke) 4. Brain Benders 5. Design by Me Big & Tiny 6. Sweet Dreams, Bitty Baby: A Bedtime Coloring Book 7. Dancing with Bitty Baby: A Sticker Storybook 8. Happy Birthday, Bitty Baby: A Punch-Out & Play Party Book ]