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In the vein of "you don't need a recipe to cook" comes "The New York Times Cooking No-Recipe Recipes" by Sam Silton.
In an unpretentious plain red cover, this book is ready to show home cooks some basics to get them thinking outside the box and cooking on their own.
Sifton, the founding editor of New York Times Cooking, collects more than 100 no-recipe recipes with each photographed that are meant to be made with ingredients on hand.
The "recipes" are divided into several sections, based on category, such as Breakfast, Anytime, Soup, Sandwich, Dinner, The Vegetable Aisle, The Staples Sisters: Rice and Pasta, On the Waterfront, Chicken and a Duck, A Number of Meats and Dessert Please.
The book explains what things you need in your pantry all the time, so you are stocked and ready to go depending on what your food mood is.
The "recipes" are basically the ingredients, but there are no measurements. So you might have a recipe for, say "Soft-Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Toast" and the ingredients are listed, such as butter, anchovies, garlic, etc. And the directions may be something like, "add a shake or two"or boil until tender and reduced by a third. So basically, every recipe my mother has given me, ever.
There is a lot of room for individual tastes and creativity in this book, as its really a launching pad to go where you want with each recipe. I would say this isn't for a beginner home cook, but more someone who is starting to feel stifled by recipes. If you can think on your feet and improvise, this is a book for you. If you want step-by-step instructions, or say, measurements, this is not the book for you.
"The New York Times No-Recipe Recipes" is published by Ten Speed Press. It is $28.
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Another approach to cooking up meals for your family is to make use of pre-made food that you freeze. Who knew your freezer was made for more than just frozen pizzas? Ashley Christensen and Kaitlyn Goalen show home cooks how to do it with their book, "It's Always Freezer Season."
Two time James Beard-award winning chef Christensen and writer Goalen show how a stocked pantry and a stocked freezer can come together to make mealtime a lot less complicated.
While walking the reader through the process, including what you can and cannot freeze as well as the best method to do so and then to thaw, the book provides photos and charts as well to keep you organized as you venture into this cooking manner.
The second part of the book is all about strategically cooking specific recipes to have on hand for future recipes, for example, making cornbread to freeze and then use in a panzanella, a dressing and a seafood dish. The book goes through grains, proteins, dairy and vegetables in this manner, providing several recipes that can use each dish cooked in the future.
The third part of the book contains all the recipes that are fully composed dishes that can be made ahead and frozen to be eaten later. The authors even suggest doubling the recipe to have one now, and another later. Those recipes are divided by categories, like breakfast and brunch, snacks and bites, soups and saucy things, casseroles and bakes, sweets and beverages.
Full recipes include such dishes as Pistachio Croissant French Toast with Orange Blossom Soft Cream, Basic Butternut Squash Soup, Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas and more.
If you have a big deep freeze and the desire to try something new to save time and money when it comes to dinnertime, try this approach. The book gives plenty of advice and a game plan to get you started.
"It's Always Freezer Season" is published by Ten Speed Press. It is $30.
Contact Amy Phelps at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com.