Back Pocket Pasta: Inspired Dinners to Cook on the Fly

Here are more than 75 sophisticated, weeknight-friendly pasta dishes that come together in the same amount of time it takes to boil the water. 

As much a mindset as it is a cookbook, Back Pocket Pasta shows how a well-stocked kitchen and a few seasonal ingredients can be the driving force behind delicious, simply prepared meals. Pantry staples—a handful of items to help you up your dinner game—give you a head start come 6pm, so you can start cooking in your head on the way home from work. For instance, if you know that you have a tin of anchovies, a hunk of parmesan, and panko bread crumbs, you can pick up fresh kale to make Tuscan Kale "Caesar" Pasta. Or if you have capers, red pepper flakes, and a lemon, you can make Linguine with Quick Chili Oil. With genius flavor combinations, a gorgeous photograph for every recipe, and a smart guide to easy-drinking cocktails and wine, Back Pocket Pasta will inspire you to cook better meals faster.   

"Who knew just five ingredients could taste like magic?!" --Refinery29

Colu Henry is a writer, recipe-developer and frequent contributor to the New York Times and Food & Wine. She has worked in food for over fifteen years and has learned what resonates with home cooks by creating elegant yet approachable recipes without overthinking it. She is the author of Back Pocket Pasta and host of Colu Cooks on Patreon. Colu splits her time between Hudson, NY and Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband.