The Deconstructed Salad
The Strategy: Create a bona fide grown-up salad from ingredients that are individually appealing to kids. Each diner makes his own plate.
The Rationale: Control shifts from you to your child, minimizing potentially epic battles while protecting the illusion of a shared meal.
The Recipe: Classic Cobb Salad (with Chicken Fingers)
A chicken-finger fanatic will zero in on those gilded slices immediately—maybe even exclusively—but that's okay. What better way to get a kid excited about a salad than to serve the fingers alongside grilled chicken (for you), some fresh greens, chopped cooked bacon, sliced hard-boiled eggs, diced avocados, tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese? For a vinaigrette: Whisk together 2 tablespoons of red-wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh chives, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil.
Next Page: Same Dish, Different Accessories
