Save the Day Cookbook

Veteran cookbook author Byrn (Cake Mix Doctor series) broadens her scope here to include can’t-miss classics that are fairly easy to prepare. Drawing from her own vault of recipes as well as from friends and followers, Byrn offers up 125 reliable if unremarkable everyday dishes. Assuming readers have their larders stocked with staples, such as canned beans and tomatoes, and spices and basic proteins, such as ground turkey and nuts, Byrn provides clear instructions for dishes like stuffed mushrooms, classic Greek salad, spaghetti carbonara, and sour cream coffee cake from scratch. Home cooks will find plenty of suggestions for appetizers (artichoke dip, spiced peanuts) and mains (lasagna, a low-country shrimp boil)—most of which are accompanied by make-ahead tips as well as suggestions for jazzing the recipes up with additional ingredients. (Nov.)