Big Bites: Time to Eat!

Big Bites: Time to Eat!

Introduction

And Just Like That . . . Big Bites is Back!

It’s good to be back, but it also feels like I’ve never left. We’ve been cooking, baking, tasting, eating, and having fun in the kitchen every day since my first cookbook came out, haven’t we? It’s been great fun, and yet I knew we were just getting started, as I have so many more fun, nutritious, comforting recipes to share with you.

Enter—Big Bites: Time to Eat!

I’d like to say it was easy to decide what the follow-up to my first book would be, but it wasn’t. There are so many directions I want to take this movement of big-flavor food that just happens to be good for you—should it be Big Bites: Vegetarian? Big Bites: Parties? Big Bites: Make-Ahead? The opportunities are endless. There’s no category of food or life situation that wouldn’t benefit from these types of recipes; it’s healthy food for food lovers, if you will. (And yes, that was an original title idea for my first book.) The truth is the concept for this second book made itself known early after the release of Big Bites into the world. I didn’t choose it; it chose me.

I paid close attention to the recipes you were making most often from Big Bites. Whether it was tagging me in photos of Chimichurri Meatballs and Orange Ricotta Company Cake on social media or emailing me about Hot Chili Oil Noodles with Kale Chips, it was clear the recipes you seemed to have the most use for had one thing in common: They didn’t take long to cook. You want recipes that don’t take hours of prep work or hours in the oven, recipes you could make as easily on a hectic Tuesday night as you could on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And most important, you want recipes that taste like more time and effort was put into them than actually was. I started thinking . . .

I said to my agent and editor, “Let’s do a book of recipes that all cook in less than an hour.” This felt like a great way to extend the Big Bites conversation in a slightly more specific way and still benefit all types of families and households because, let’s be honest: Would you choose to spend more time at a stove or waiting for dinner to cook in the oven if you didn’t have to? Right. Me neither.

Are all these recipes solidly in the “fast and easy” category? No. “Fast” as an adjective is subjective, after all; while 30 minutes might be a fast recipe for me, it may not be for you. I had the same issue with the word “easy.” There are no prep times listed because, again, the time it takes you to chop an onion will be different from the time your neighbor takes, and there’s no sense giving arbitrary estimations, only to have you feeling discouraged because your prep time was longer.

What I can guarantee is that every recipe in this book will cook in less than an hour. And that each recipe has been given an estimated cooking time so you have an idea of what to expect. I can guarantee the flavor will never taste “passed over” or rushed, and that your meals will seem deeply thoughtful, complex, and satisfying—as you’ve come to expect from me and the recipes I share.

As with my first book, please don’t be fooled by how beautiful my team has made this book. I want you to mess it up, right along with your favorite kitchen apron that you reach for time and time again because it feels good and has seen you through so many kitchen adventures. I want Big Bites: Time to Eat! to become another mainstay in your kitchen, dog-eared and coffee stained, and reached for every time you don’t know what to make for dinner, or bring to a holiday party, or offer to a friend who is under the weather. With this book, my mission is to empower hungry readers everywhere to serve yourselves and your families well . . . and have terrific fun doing it. These are simple, stress-free recipes and strategies you will love making and eating, sharing big bites of personality and joy. The recipes are abundant, not restrictive. Creative, not fussy. Thoughtful, not complicated. These are recipes to feel proud to serve and proud to eat.

Time to Eat! is about simple, comforting recipes that feel familiar yet unique, and that envision “healthy food” in a whole new way. Think Chicken Pepperoncini Piccata (page 146) as a new Friday family dinner go-to, Roasted Mushroom and Beef Meatballs (page 180) that will have your kids asking for second helpings of mushrooms, Miso Sesame Kale Salad (page 90) you meal-prep on Sunday to feed you lunches all week, and Glazed Cinnamon Company Cake (page 225) you bake in wintertime for friends and family. It’s all about food that is abundant in colors, textures, nourishment, and flavor. Big bites of big foods that are salty, chewy, crunchy, sweet, creamy, and full of personality. This is a book about real food, for real people, for real life.

Whether you are feeding a family or yourself, making meals day in and day out can sometimes feel like a drag. Even though I am passionate about cooking and baking, I’d be lying if I said I always enjoyed making dinner on a Wednesday night. I believe that we all have the ability to create a lifestyle we love, and that healthy, delicious food can be a way to do that each day. The fact that we can do that without having to labor for hours in the kitchen is what makes these recipes achievable and highly viable for your real life at home.

I cannot wait to see which recipe becomes your favorite, and your children’s favorite, and your parents’ favorite.

I cannot wait to see what you make first, most often, and forever.

Welcome back to the Big Bites Club.

—K. Ashmore