Since Halloween is supposed to be about scary things, I did one of the scariest on my list… I COOKED… WITH CHILDREN. MANY CHILDREN! I let my little people have their people over for a Halloween sleepover and for fun (theirs mostly) we tried recipes from the Shrek Cookbook recently released by D.K. Publishing.

So here’s my quickie review (I know it’s bizarre to see ME review a cookbook but hang in there).

Overall I liked The Shrek Cookbook. It contains pretty typical recipes like pancakes and hamburgers as well as your more imaginative (and disgusting) fare like swamp rat kebabs, beetle juice ripple, and frogspawn jelly.

Artwork from the movie graces every page making it a fun read for kids and more interesting for those of us who don’t own a Kiss The Cook apron. I also loved seeing recipes for healthy dishes (speedy couscous salad, renaissance wraps, Merlin’s granola crunch) included with the obligatory recipes for ogre shakes and non-poisoned apple pie.

The only downside I could see for some parents is the inclusion of a recipe for fuzzy navel cocktails. Of course it’s a virgin recipe but some peeps may still want to have that “cocktails are only for grown-ups” conversation once the kids receive this cookbook.

And now for the treat - You thought I forgot? Never!

D.K. Publishing has kindly gifted me with two copies of the Shrek Cookbook to give to you. Since this all came about from an experience of cooking with children, I thought it would be a hoot to have a contest around that theme.

So here’s the deal. I want your stories (misery loves company after all), specifically your favorite story of cooking with kids. And since I’m not about excluding my childfree friends, your favorite memory of cooking as a kid is also a valid entry.

You have two ways to win:

1. Click on the “comments” link at the bottom of this post and tell me your story. Make sure I have your correct email address.

2. Post your story on your blog with a trackback to this page. Then shoot me an email at crankmama/at/crankmama.com and I’ll go take a look.

I’ll pick my three favorite stories from the “comments” section and my three favorite stories from the trackbacks and post them here. The readers at CrankMama will choose one winner from each.

P.S. A really great story that is left as a comment and posted with a trackback just might be chosen twice!

You have one week (till November 7th) to post your stories. The voting begins on November 8th and runs thru November 14th.

I’ll announce the two winners on November 15th.

Good luck and Happy Halloween!