Weeknight Fresh & Fast (Williams-Sonoma): Simple, Healthy Meals for Every Night of the Week [Hardcover]

Kristine Kidd (Author), Kate Spears (Photographer)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 2011 | Series: Williams-Sonoma

Simple, healthy meals for every night of the week.

Weeknight Fresh & Fast shows how to put a delicious, wholesome meal on the table every night of the week. Reflecting author Kristine Kidd’s practical and flavorful approach to cooking, it offers quick, easy, and healthy dinner ideas for any time of the year, with dozens of choices for poultry, meat, seafood, pasta, egg dishes, soups, stews and more.

Using fresh produce as the foundation, Kidd transforms fresh ingredients into delicious dishes: a lemony sauté of chicken cutlets, asparagus, and sugar snaps is perfect in the springtime; quickly grilled lamb chops with chunky peach salsa make the most of summer’s abundance; a comforting risotto with earthy vegetables and creamy blue cheese is a creative way to highlight fall’s bounty; juicy roasted salmon topped with tangy grapefruit and avocado relish makes the most of winter’s citrus. Many recipes are perfect for two people and can easily be scaled up to serve more.

Organized by season, chapters open with advice about the fresh ingredients and cooking methods best suited to the time of year. Also included are ideas for quick vegetable sides and fruit desserts as well as advice on stocking the pantry. Clever tips throughout offer enticing ways to round out meals, customize recipes to personal tastes, menu-planning strategies, and helpful ideas for turning leftovers into new suppers later in the week.

With this solution-packed title on the shelf, you’ll have a reliable road map for eating well every night, no matter what the day brings.

- Quick weeknight meal ideas for spring, summer, fall, winter

- More than 100 recipes for meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetarian dinners

- Ideas for rounding out the meal with quick sides and fruit-based desserts

- Tips offer time-saving strategies, ideas for using leftovers, and more

“This book reflects my personal cooking style and, I hope, will show you that preparing tasty, fresh, and quick meals can be fun if you follow three simple strategies: seek inspiration from the seasons; plan ahead; and keep a well-stocked pantry. Even if you are as busy as I am, try to take the time to cook and enjoy at least one meal every day, no matter what the day brings.” –Kristine Kidd

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

"This book reflects my personal cooking style and, I hope, will show you that preparing tasty, fresh, and quick meals can be fun if you follow three simple strategies: seek inspiration from the seasons; plan ahead; and keep a well-stocked pantry. Even if you are as busy as I am, try to take the time to cook and enjoy at least one meal every day, no matter what the day brings."
-Kristine Kidd

From the Back Cover

* More than 100 recipes for meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetarian dinners

* Ideas for rounding out the meal with quick sides and fruit-based desserts

* Tips offer time-saving strategies, ideas for using leftovers, and more

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Weldon Owen (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616280573
• ISBN-13: 978-1616280574
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Quick & Easy

More About the Author

Kristine was the food editor at Bon Appétit magazine for 20 years, where she was responsible for filling its pages with delicious recipes. The dishes she created for many covers and feature stories were so popular, they are republished in the Bon Appétit cookbooks. She is currently working as a cookbook author, and her seventh book, Weeknight Gluten Free, came out this year. It is a good companion to her previous book, Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh and Fast. She enjoys inspiring people to cook simple, fresh, gluten-free food on her blog, www.kristinekidd.com. Kristine is the food editor for the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website, and also works as a culinary consultant. Even though she is busy, Kristine prepares fresh meals at home almost every night. She shops at farmers' markets, and uses local and sustainable ingredients whenever practical.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My New Favorite Cookbook May 25, 2011

By Books and Chocolate TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

This is a cookbook that is not only beautiful to look at with the photographs, but the recipes are the kind I will actually use as a "meat and potatoes", homestyle cook. They are healthy, relatively easy, and use regular ingredients.

When I review a cookbook, one can always tell how much it appealed to me by the posts-it tags I use to mark the recipes I want to try and my copy is now full of tags. I made the Chicken With Sugar Snaps and Asparagus and really enjoyed it, and look forward to trying Penne With Mushrooms and Turkey Sausage, and Black Bean Tacos With Avocado Salsa, to name just a few.

This cookbook is organized by season to take advantage of what is freshest at the market, and includes recipes for vegetarian dishes, fish and seafood, chicken, beef, and other meats. There are soups, casseroles, salads, and meat with vegetable dishes. Things like breads, side dishes, and desserts are not included; just recipes for everyday supper type entrees and I like that focus. For me personally this isn't a negative, but some of the recipes do require more preparation and cooking time than what the title would indicate. In other words, these aren't the 30-minute from start to finish type recipes some cookbooks promise, but the ingredients are simple and with some planning and preparing ahead, I think most of the recipes are doable for a busy cook.

This is a cookbook I can happily recommend to anyone who wants some new everyday recipes that use fresh and healthy ingredients.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A cookbook collection staple! June 19, 2011

By ipadowner

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As the other reviewers have noted, this is an excellent cookbook with fairly healthy, delicious recipes. I bought this cookbook about 3 months ago, and my husband and I have made our way through about half of it. There is literally not a single bad recipe in this book, and in fact, my husband has even liked many of the fish and vegetarian recipes, which is impressive given that he is your typical steak and potatoes kind of guy (for instance, the black bean tacos are AMAZING, and he and I both loved them). It has a great mix of styles of food and definitely provides something for everyone. The pictures give a great idea of what the final product looks like, the recipes are easy to follow and quick to make, and the ingredients are all easily found in any grocery store. I have tons of cookbooks, and I have never come across a single one that I like as much. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking for fast, fresh, and easy weeknight meals.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Life Saver October 5, 2011

By Just a boy looking at a product

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

All I can say is wow. Since my wife and I have had our first child about a year and a half ago we have made probably every recipe in this book. We love almost all of them (taste is of course subjective, so not every recipe will please everyone). The recipes are truly very fast to make (most in a half hour or less) and are healthy and delicious. We eat better now than we ever did before and it takes us less time than ever to make dinner. This book is truly a life saver.