No matter how we try to plan, it seems like dinner is a struggle every week. Almost every evening there is the “What do you want for dinner?” discussion, and it usually ends with something we’ve had over and over and over or takeout. I want to do better, but then life fills up with problems and drama, soccer games, meetings, spring colds, inflation, and a hundred other excuses not to make something new for dinner.
That’s what Ali Slagle thinks about. She thinks about dinner. As a recipe developer for media outlets like The New York Times, Washington Post, and Food 52, Slagle thinks about dinner for a living. She thinks about the ingredients she has in her pantry and fridge. She thinks about how much time she has. And she puts it together in a way that creates lots of flavor with little fuss, or as she puts it, “Dinner Tetris.” And when she explains it all to us, she organizes the information in a way that is unique, thoughtful, and offers lots of creativity and experimentation (or none, if you’d rather not).
The book is broken up into chapters based on main ingredients. For example, there is an entire chapter on chicken. There is one on sea creatures. There is one on pasta. There is one on eggs. And if you’re looking for plant-based options, there is also a chapter on beans and one on grains and one on vegetables, and those recipes offer up as much comfort or heartiness as what you’ll find in the chapter on beef, pork, and lamb.
But if’s how she breaks down those chapters that make I Dream of Dinner so different. Looking at eggs, she breaks the chapter down into three sections. The first group of recipes are under Beat, meaning you’re beating the eggs for those—Creamed Leeks and Eggs, Green Eggs and Ham Quesadilla, or the Stovetop Frittata Any Way, among others. The second group of recipes is based on Soft Boil eggs, like her Godmother’s Egg Salad or Egg and Charred Pepper Stew. The third group is Fry Hot, so the Egg Sliders, Garlic Bread Egg in a Hole with Mushrooms, or Croque Monday all incorporate a fried egg with lacy edges and a soft and runny yolk.
As you read on you’ll see that your grain recipes are divided into Fluff, Simmer Like Pasta, or Make Mush. The pasta chapter is divided into Butter (Verb), Olive Oil (Also a Verb), Tomato, Vegetables Plus Pasta, and Chill. With beef, pork, and lamb you can Fast Track with Sausage; Brown, Bother, Repeat; or Simmer Softly. Slagle has spent so much time thinking about dinner that she is on a different plane from the rest of us, and she wants to lift us up there too.
And if you still struggle to see things her way, she’s made it easier with a couple pages in the back labeled Recipes by Cravings, Mood, and Realities. This is Dinner for real life. Here, the recipes are divided up by how we’d need them. There is Dinner in Ten Minutes, Max Two Dirty Dishes, To Set It and Forget It, To Also Make Lunch, To Clear the Veg Drawer, To Also Stock the Freezer, Dinner on a Sick Day, and the one that has to be my favorite, Gooey, Creamy Cheese. Clearly, she understands the dinner struggle and is here to help with smart seasoning, substitution ideas, an understanding of how to develop flavor, and a lot of flexibility.
I am not saying that I Dream of Dinner with fix all your dinner struggles. But for me, I can’t wait to try those Oven Quesadillas (cheddar, black beans, oregano, and tortillas are the only ingredients!) the next time I have a day off work and want cheesy quesadillas for lunch. I’m going to have to share that All-Corner-Pieces Baked Pasta with my Italian chef (my boyfriend) for the next time he makes a baked pasta (that photo makes my mouth water), and I’m thinking my freezer needs some of the My Forever Chicken and Rice Soup for my future office lunches. In other words, I am inspired by Slagle and her meal ideas, and I honestly believe you will be too.
I’ve received a free copy of I Dream of Dinner from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review, with many thanks.
