Ray - 365: no repeats

I dont know what my total lifetime limit is for new recipes, but 365 is definitely this cooks limit for one book. After 62 sleepless nights, 5 bottles of headache relief capsules, and 47 pounds of really good coffee I finally understand why so many people tell me Im in a rut. I just cant come up with any new ideas for dinner. I used to think smugly to myself How could anyone run out of ideas? Food is limitless! Now, I get it. Coming up with the recipes for this collection of 30-Minute Meals almost killed me!

So, why bother to create 365: No Repeats? Well, aside from wanting to use that cute title (which I was totally hooked on) I did have a legitimate goal: I wanted to write a book that inspired people to become more creative and instinctual when they cook. I wanted to put together an assortment of 30-Minute Meals so broad it conveyed the idea that once you get the hang of it, cooking gets easier and easierso easy that you could prepare dinner every single night for a year and never eat the same thing twice and still not have to spend your life in the kitchen.

The whole idea of 30-Minute Meals actually started as a cooking class in which I would teach 6 master recipes and 5 versions of each master recipe. After a couple of hours, participants would go home knowing how to make 30 different 30-Minute Mediterranean Meals. The class became so popular that the local news came to report on it. One thing led to another and, just like the master recipes multiplying out, the 30-Minute Meal concept grew to take on a life of its ownand eventually took over my life!

For this book I have brought back the concept that I started with in that first class: learn one and you get some. For instance, once youve made the Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops with Arugula-Basil Rice Pilaf, just by trading chicken breasts for the pork and adding some smoked mozzarella, tomatoes, and garlic to the rice you can make Balsamic-Glazed Chicken with Smoked Mozzarella and Garlic Rice Pilaf. One procedure, two entirely different tastes and meals. Once you learn the trick, youll find yourself making new versions of your own old standby recipes, too. I love it when I can share a recipe that will become five or six other recipes just by swapping out a few ingredients. It just intensifies the payoff for everyone.

Youll notice that this book is not arranged in the conventional way, with chapters on chicken, meat, and pasta. Ive mixed things up for a reason: I intended that you could just cook your way through this whole book (maybe marking one here and there that didnt grab you that particular night but you want to come back to) and never get bored. No more leftovers for youevery night can be full of new flavors! Of course I hope you wont be able to help yourself from returning to a few fast favorites now and again. And at least once, try one of the master recipes and one of its variations on two consecutive nights so you can taste for yourself how changing up even one ingredient can totally transform a dish and leave it unrecognizable. Youll see that when youve mastered one of these recipes, youve really mastered two or three! (If youre not in a skimming mood I have provided some lists on the pages that follow to help you zero in on what you might want to make tonight.)

I still feel the same excitement when people use my recipes today that I did 10 years ago teaching that first 30-Minute Meal class. Cooking is empowering. To watch someone discover their own talent by creating a meal, something that appeals to all five senses, for themselves or to share with the ones they love is magic!

So, here they are, 365 30-Minute Meals (and an extra Leap Year recipe for good measure!) all in one book. Chances are there will be a few ingredients you dont like and some recipes that just dont appeal to you, but even skipping those you should be able to get a good 9 or 10 months of meals outta here, minimum, no repeats. No more ruts for you! (But, can I ask you a favor? If you happen to pass me in the street, could you stop and give me a few of your recipes? I just cant come up with any new ideas for dinner!)

I wish you all a tasty year.

Yummo!

Rachael Ray

If youve watched 30-Minute Meals you probably already know that Im not very big on measuring (thats why Im not much of a baker!). Throughout this book youll see Ive listed ingredients in the usual ounces, tablespoons, and cups, but that I also encourage you just to eyeball the amount a lot of the time. In these cases, a smidge more or less either way wont make a big difference in the final dish, and using natures best measuring toolsyour hands and eyesreally saves on time and cleanup.

These are some of my favorite measuring shortcuts; once you get a good visual sense of what a tablespoon of salt looks likes like in your palm or how many handfuls of chopped parsley make a half cup youll throw those measuring spoons to the back of the drawer for good!

Dry spices, finely chopped herbs	1 tablespoon equals a slightly mounded palmful; 1 teaspoon is palmful
Grated cheese, breadcrumbs	1 handful equals cup; 3 generous or overflowing handfuls equal 1 cup
Rough chopped fresh herbs	2 generous handfuls unchopped equal cup chopped; 2 palmfuls chopped equal cup
EVOO	A thin stream of oil all the way around a 9- or 12-inch skillet equals about a tablespoon
Wine (or anything in a narrow-necked bottle)	A good glug from the inverted bottle equals cup