All About Dinner: Expert Advice for Everyday Meals

The latest from James Beard Award–winner Stevens (All About Roasting) helps home cooks resist the urge to order in with a raft of relatively easy-to-prepare meals. After an introduction that lists “15 habits of highly effective cooks” (including not skimping on salt and using an oven thermometer), Stevens breaks down the chapters in traditional sections (salads, fish, vegetables). While there’s little revolutionary, dishes such as salmon fillets marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and sesame oil, and broccoli raab sautéed with garlic and hot pepper will have perennial appeal. Stevens is a teacher at heart and that background shows through her thorough instructions: if one roasts cauliflower for a spicy soup on a parchment-lined pan, “pick up the paper like a sling and slide all the vegetables into the pot.” Many recipes provide instructions for making in advance, and helpful sidebars highlight, for example, the types of feta cheese (Greek has “a bold flavor” while Bulgarian tends to be “creamy and mild”) and explain the differences between “air-chilled” and “wet-chilled” chicken. A brief chapter on sweets includes shortbread and a carrot layer cake. Steven’s options are solid and have great potential to work their way into rotation for time-pressed home cooks. (Nov.)