Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Dinner Recipes for Any Mood

In this enticing outing, Fahr (Boards & Spreads) shares dozens of breezy weeknight dinners. She divides the recipes into three sections based on the reader’s energy level and mood. “Lap dinners,” which require minimal prep and are ready in 15-20 minutes, include miso salmon with broccolini and chipotle cumin black bean soup. “Coffee table dinners,” which are slightly more time-consuming and require some rudimentary knife skills, kick things up a notch, with dishes such as Spanish-style olive oil–poached fish and one-pot lemony cumin chicken with rice and feta. When readers are feeling more enthusiastic, they can refer to the “at the dinner table” section, where they’ll find vinegary pork chops with parmesan white beans, sheet pan Mediterranean nachos, and other more involved fare. Fahr’s bubbly personality shines through in her fun introductions to each recipe (“For a long time, I was very anti-fruit-in-savory foods, but I was wrong,” she writes of the sheet pan citrus-ginger chicken with stone fruits), and her casually written instructions are easy to follow. (To make croutons, “tear or cut the bread into bite-size pieces, asking yourself, could I comfortably take a bite of this if it were on my plate?”) Home cooks of all levels will find many ideas to freshen up their routines. Agent: Kari Stuart, Creative Artists Agency. (Apr.)