Michael Smith - Family Meals: 100 Easy Everyday Recipes

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First published 2014

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (CR)

Copyright Michael Smith, 2014

Food photography by Ryan Szulc

Food styling by Noah Witenoff

Prop styling by Madeleine Johari

Photo on page 58 by Gabe Smith

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Smith, Michael, author

Family meals / Michael Smith.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-14-318411-9 (pbk.)

1. Quick and easy cooking. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title.

TX833.5.S649 2014641.5'55C2014-901285-3

eBook ISBN 978-0-14-319294-7

Visit the Penguin Canada website at www.penguin.ca

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T his book is dedicated to the true heroes of food: the family cooks. Every day we face the greatest challenges in the world of cooking, and every time we cook, we earn the best reward!

ALSO BY MICHAEL SMITH

Open Kitchen

The Inn Chef

Chef at Home

The Best of Chef at Home

Chef Michaels Kitchen

Fast Flavours

Back to Basics

CONTENTS

COOK REAL FOOD FOR YOUR FAMILY

IM PROUD OF ALL THAT IVE ACHIEVED AS A PROFESSIONAL CHEF. IVE apprenticed in Europe, run top-ten restaurants, cooked at two Olympics, traveled to thirty countries searching for flavors, written seven (now eight) cookbooks, hosted five cooking shows and much, much more. But all those achievements pale in comparison to that magical moment when one of my kids takes their first bite of dinner, smiles and digs in for more.

I may be a busy guy (and who isnt these days?) but I cook every single day for my family. Day after day after day. Its always rewarding, often inspiring and occasionally a chore. But its never optional. We lead busy lives but we have to eat, and processed food is simply not an option for my family. It doesnt need to be one for yours either.

But in between hockey practice, gymnastics lessons, music lessons, play rehearsals, supervising homework, work projects, appointments, lawn mowing and snow shoveling, finding the time to cook real food for your family is a challenge. No one knows that more than I do.

This book shares the hard-earned lessons Ive learned on the front lines in my own home, doing what I do best for my beautiful wife, three kids, two dogs and one cat. Here are lots of simple ideas and easy dishes that anyone can prepare with ingredients that you can find at your supermarket and tools you already have. Most important, this book is packed with reality and insightfrom one family cook to another.

Cooking for your family can be one of the most rewarding things you can do in your life. And real food is the right way to go. The decisions you make in your kitchen now will have profound effects in the years ahead. We truly are what we eat, and none of us wants to be factory-made. Homemade all the way!

My best advice? Relax. Its just food. Humans have cooked for millions of years, and you can too. Dont confuse the unfamiliar with difficult. And remember: were not striving for perfection. Leave that stress to the professional chefs. Were family cooks just trying to get real food on the table.

Now if I can just find the time to tackle that pile of dishes and remember to take the garbage out before the truck comes.

FAMILY COOKING

10 WAYS TO COOK TOGETHER

1. FIRST AND FOREMOST, DECIDE THAT COOKING IS FUN, NOT WORK. Gathering, preparing and sharing, every step is rewarding. Dont worry about the mess, throw caution to the wind and just dive in. And the more your family shares the fun, the better!

2. BEGIN BY SHOPPING TOGETHER. Take your kids along when you can and involve them. Focus on fresh produce by encouraging them to pick a few things out: sweet ripe fruit, one of their favorite vegetables and something new and unknown. Adopt them. Cook them. Enjoy them!

3. GO BEYOND THE FARMERS MARKET AND MEET A FARMER. Support local so your kids can meet and get to know real people making real food. Teach them that food is personal and special.

4. CREATE A FOOD BUDGET. Use it to teach your family many, many money lessons. Help your kids apply classroom math to the real world as they figure out how much dinner or a weeks food costs.

5. COOK TOGETHER. Figure out how to share and get along in the kitchen and how to celebrate food and make it fun for all. Find your familys path through the kitchen and explore it together.

6. USE COOKIE SHEETS AS SMALL WORK STATIONS . These are great to organize recipe ingredients and contain any mess. Try not to worry about speed; it comes with time. Slow and steady progress through a dish always works.

7. APPOINT FAMILY EXPERTS TO MASTER CERTAIN STANDARD TASKS. In my house all egg-cracking is handled by my daughter and all nutmeg grating by her brother. Theyre proud of their skills and thrilled when theyre called to action. They set the table too, but thats an everyday task, more like a chore and thats another story!

8. SET UP AN OUTDOOR GRILL OR BARBECUE AND COOK ON IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Not only is it easy and tasty, but its always an occasion. Cooking outside makes food seem special. Do it as long as you can while the weather is good and while the grill is hot throw on a prep job or two. Try grilling some vegetables or meat for further dishes. Thick eggplant slices, slabs of red onion and halved zucchinis are all a revelation on the grill.