Dinner Then Dessert: Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5, or 7 Ingredients

In this resourceful guide, Snyder, founder of the food website Dinner Then Dessert, suggests the secret to creating satisfying home-cooked meals is “layering in new and interesting flavor combinations.” She begins by taking an in-depth look at stocking a pantry, with helpful tips for less-experienced cooks (“red bell peppers are sweeter and more kid-friendly... green bell peppers have a bit of bitterness when raw,” she explains). The recipes that follow are prepared using three, five, or seven ingredients (excluding salt, pepper, butter, and oil). Some highlights include sausage and fennel pasta, Greek lemon chicken, and Caribbean chile shrimp. In addition to the mains, Snyder includes recipes for side dishes, such as garlic-cheddar mashed potatoes, honey-ginger carrots, and asparagus with lemon and ricotta. Throughout, she lists potential ingredient substitutions—for instance, she suggests using cinnamon or dried sage in place of the thyme for her apple cider pork recipe—and ends with a chapter of indulgent desserts that require the same small range of ingredients, with palatable choices like chocolate truffles and strawberry shortbread bars. This is a volume that home cooks of all levels will rely on time and again. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management. (Sept.)