I Dream of Dinner (So You Don't Have To)

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • 150 fast and flexible recipes to use what you have and make what you want, from New York Times contributor Ali Slagle

“Ali has pulled off the near-impossible with a collection of delicious, doable, recipes that don’t just tell you how to make a specific dish, but how to expand your way of thinking.”—Sohla El-Waylly, chef and all-around awesome person

ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Simply Recipes
ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Bon Appétit, The Boston Globe, Food & Wine, Salon, Saveur, Mother Jones, Delish, Epicurious

With minimal ingredients and maximum joy in mind, Ali Slagle's no-nonsense, completely delicious recipes are ideal for dinner tonight—and every single night. Like she does with her instantly beloved recipes in the New York Times, Ali combines readily available, inexpensive ingredients in clever, uncomplicated ways for meals that spark everyday magic. Maybe it’s Fish & Chips Tacos tonight, a bowl of Olive Oil-Braised Chickpeas tomorrow, and Farro Carbonara forever and ever. All come together with fewer than eight ingredients and forty-five minutes, using one or two pots and pans. Half the recipes are plant-based, too.
 
Organized by main ingredients like eggs, noodles, beans, and chicken, chapters include quick tricks for riffable cooking methods and flavor combinations so that dinner bends to your life, not the other way around (no meal-planning required!). Whether in need of comfort and calm, fire and fun—directions to cling to, or the inspiration to wing it—I Dream of Dinner (so You Don't Have To) is the only phone-a-friend you need. That’s because Ali, a home cook turned recipe developer, guides with a reassuring calm, puckish curiosity, and desire for everyone, everywhere, to make great food—and fast. (Phew!)

Ali Slagle is a recipe developer, stylist, and—most important of all—home cook. She’s a frequent contributor to the New York Times and Washington Post, where she’s published hundreds of weeknight-ready recipes. Previously, she cut her teeth on the editorial and creative teams at Food52 and Ten Speed Press. You’ll find her in Brooklyn, without a dishwasher, food processor, or stand mixer.