Meat on the Side

May 16, 2016
This title, pointing cooks towards mostly vegetarian options, is a flexible take on how to make veggies center stage without forgoing all things carnivore. Family-friendly options are designed to help kids go from “yuck to yum” and “Make It Meaty” tweaks are handy for those who want additional meat, making this the ideal guide to cooking for a group. Dinki, a Food Network chef, presents recipes that employ a smidgen of meat for satisfaction: red and green salad with apricot dressing and pork croutons, cauliflower soup with pancetta and pine nut hash, and spaghetti squash stuffed with mozzarella and tiny chicken meatballs. Adaptable, satisfying, all-veggie options that boast big flavors with fruit include red cabbage and raspberry grilled cheese, grilled shiitake and blueberry flatbread, and Brussels sprouts and pear carbonara. The author’s casual, relaxed tone and accessible lifestyle photos lend a breezy feel to this useful collection. Agent: Anthony Mattero, Foundry Literary + Media.

May 15, 2016

During the ninth season of the TV series Food Network Star, chef Dinki introduced viewers to her "meat on the side" style of semivegetarian cooking. While that concept did not become a show (Dinki currently hosts Junk Food Flip on the Cooking Channel), here it's expanded into cookbook form. Chapters for breakfasts, appetizers, salads, light and main meals, and more, include recipes such as zucchini quiche with potato crust, burned carrot sandwich with cannellini bean spread, and spaghetti squash stuffed with mozzarella and tiny chicken meatballs. Recipes with ten ingredients or less can be prepared in 20 or 30 minutes. Dinki also shares tips on how to add or remove meat from individual dishes in order to accommodate different diets. VERDICT For those who like flexible recipes that can be both meaty and meatless, this cookbook provides excellent choices.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Cooking Channel host Dinki takes a fresh spin on healthy eating with this recipe collection that turns meat into a seasoning, not a centerpiece. Some of her 100 recipes are meat-free. Others, such as Brussels Sprouts and Pear Carbonara, call for a small amount of bacon for flavor. Other recipes (such as BBQ Broccoli and Chicken over Three-Onion Rice) offer variations on making the dish completely vegetarian. The book covers all parts of the day, from breakfast to lunch to dinner, with appetizers, salads, tacos, flatbreads, and pastas. She offers creative takes on traditional meatcentric fare, like Portobello Cheesesteaks with Provolone Cheese Sauce and Eggplant Meatballs. As a good percentage of the recipes do include meat, this cookbook might not appeal to strict vegetarians. But it is a well-rounded choice for omnivores and others looking to add more vegetables to their diets.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)