COOKING & FOOD

Everyday Dinners: Real-Life Recipes To Set Your Family Up for a Week of Success

by Jessica Merchant
Rodale. May 2021. 272p. ISBN 9780593137499. $29.99. COOKING
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Merchant (The Pretty Dish; founder of the blog How Sweet Eats) shares her meal prep secrets in this accessible title. Like other trending methods of managing family dinners (freeze-ahead meals, batch cooking), Merchant’s strategy relies on prepping for meals in advance. The primary difference here is that Merchant uses small increments of prep time—ten minutes here and there throughout the weekday or on weekends—to complete minor tasks such as mixing dressings and sauces, prepping vegetables, or marinating meat. These recipe building blocks are then assembled and cooked as close as possible to dinner time, to ensure maximum freshness and flavor. About half of the recipes are vegetarian, including a roster of hearty salads and some creative pastas.
VERDICT Merchant offers some inventive, appealing suggestions for making dinner with minimal time and effort. Her method of meal prepping in short bursts will appeal to beginner home cooks looking for a structured dinnertime strategy, but anyone responsible for serving family dinners will find inspiration here.
Reviewed by Kelsy Peterson, Brighton Grammar Sch., Melbourne, Australia , Jun 01, 2021
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