Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the Modern American Family

Stories of family dinners gone awry-from children crawling under the table and pretending to be kitties to finicky eaters who reject everything on the menu-pepper this down-to-earth handbook for weeknight family dinners. ""When I started this project, I kept hearing about men who regularly cook weeknight dinners on a regular basis, and fully expected to find them. I didn't,"" writes Calta, who focuses on her target audience: women, some single, some married, who have a family to feed, at least one job and too little time. Easy recipes include Stroganoff-ish Leftover Roast Beef, complete with canned mushrooms and ketchup, Almost-Instant Mashed Potatoes, and 13 slow-cooker recipes, ranging from bland (Turkey Legs) to flavorful (Mexican Pork and Hominy Stew) with tips for freezing, pre-cooking and leftovers. Snobbery-free and realistic, Calta gives tips for civilizing take-out-add homemade salsa to take-out burritos, for example-and speeding up simple dishes like macaroni and cheese while still cooking from scratch. Calta places recipes into two sections: meals for planners, those who slow-cook, freeze and plan ahead; and strategies for last-minute cooks, those who stir-fry, grill and saute. Tales of family dinners and tips for dinner conversation, healthy substitutes and recipe variations are scattered throughout the book. This disjointed organization can be confusing but, overall, this is a beginner-accessible cookbook that will encourage even the most time-crunched mother.