raising a child who isn't afraid to cook, and " I might like it this time" (hint, she didn't...)

Recently we made a quiche. We tried a new refrigerated dough. Alas, when M unrolled the first one, it stuck together and broke apart. I figured she did it "wrong" so I unrolled the second one very carefully, and it too broke and cracked and fell apart.Then, I couldn't find the pie dish. So we improvised. We used a square Pyrex and pieced together a crust, which left us with extra dough. M asked if we could make a little blueberry pie. We had blueberries, so sure, why not? She rolled out her ball of dough, we put some blueberries in a little bowl, added brown sugar, a sprinkling of flour, and melted some butter that we brushed on the dough. Then we folded it in half, brushed on more sugar and cut an M slit in the top, pinched the sides and stuck it in the oven. It was fun to encounter these challenges together, torn dough, "wrong" baking dish, and problem solve. I said a lot of, "What do you think, should we try it this way?" M now has opinions on this stuff, which is fun.Because I wasn't sure how the pie would turn out, and I wanted the experience to be fun and positive, we served the finished pie with some ice-cream, and hey, it's warm pie, and ice-cream goes so well with it.So, the pie was disappointing, but we had tons of fun making it, she enjoyed the ice-cream, and I know that we talked about experimenting and how we could make it better next time (more sugar in the dough maybe...)Another thing that happened while making the quiche I thought I'd share for my readers still struggling with selective or pickye eaters. M has never liked quiche, which I make a few times a year.This time she was really into cracking the eggs, sprinkling the cheese, and while we were putting it together, she said, "I think I might like it this time." I got a little excited, but reigned myself back in. CAUTION: your response here needs to be neutral, even if you want to encourage and praise, or say, "I know you will, you helped me make it, it's so yummy!" So I said, "Oh? I guess we'll find out soon!" She also chose beet salad over tomato to go with the quiche, and we had some other choices I knew she could eat.Did she like it this time? Nope, but she tried two bites, and I know, with time, she probably will. I mention this because every article on picky eating tells parents to have their children help cook and prepare foods. Are they more likely to try it and like it? Sure, but it's no guarantee. And, while you are cooking, enjoy the process, try not to pressure and oversell the food.What have your experiences been? Do you experiment with your kids? Do they see you "fail" in the kitchen? Do they try things when they cook?