Dinner Plans

The problem with dinner is that it just keeps happening—on busy nights and lazy ones, when cooking for one or a table full of friends, whether you’re ready or not.

In Dinner Plans, Kendra Vaculin offers one hundred recipes to fit whatever kind of night you’re having, all of which will earn a spot in your rotation. Most turn short ingredient lists and simple techniques into food that’s casually delightful and greater than the sum of its parts, perfect for a low-key night when dinner can’t take more than twenty minutes. Some are bigger and party-ready, easily made ahead of time but undeniably fun, so cooking for a crowd on Saturday (high-key!) feels as breezy as Tuesday’s solo dinner on the couch.

Flip through these pages and you’ll find you have dinner plans not just for tonight, but tomorrow and the next night, too. Each chapter is packed with food that will make you want to cook:

(Mostly) One Pot — Last Minute Mac and Cheese; Chicken and Rice Soup with Salsa Verde; Broccoli Potato Chowder?

Sheet Pan Dinners — Meatloaf Au Poivre; Chili Cheese Sweet Potatoes; Crispy Salmon with Soy-Cured Egg Yolks

Straight from a Skillet — Frittata Carbonara; Orange Coriander Chicken; Eggplants in Purgatory

Centerpieces — Summer Lasagna; French Onion Pot Roast; Butternut Squash and Broccoli Rabe Cobbler

Sweet — Lime Buttermilk Pie; Emergency Brown Butter Blondies a.k.a. The Late Night Cookie; Brown Sugar Black Tea Panna Cotta