Kathy Brennan - Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen

Our philosophy on food, shopping, cooking, family meals, and, what the heck, life in general. Here goes:

A sharp knife is safer than a dull oneand much more pleasurable to use.

Do you have a fire extinguisher? Is it in the kitchen? Do you know how to use it? Just in case the broiler ignites the chicken, make sure youre prepared.

Fancy kitchens dont mean better cooking or better food. Some of the best home cooks we know can whip up a feast with little more than a hot plate. That said...

A working kitchen should still be a beautiful kitchen: A pretty plant on the windowsill, a favorite ceramic bowl on the counter, Mumford & Sons/Schubert/the Clash (whatever youre into) streaming through the speakers can turn even the most humble space into one that you want to spend more time in.

A splash of lemon juice, or any acidic ingredient, can brighten almost any dish.

Use more fresh herbs (growing your own is economical and convenient, particularly if theyre on a kitchen windowsill). A sprinkle of chopped parsley, chives, or thyme can elevate even the simplest preparations.

Organic, free-range, local, etc., are great options but can wreak havoc on your budget. Buy them when it really counts. Hormone-free milk and eggs? Yes. Organic ketchup and Oreos? Not so much.

The freezer aisle is good for a few thingspeas, ice cream, mini-waffles, and puff pastry. Oh, and ice.

Who doesnt like an amuse-bouche? Crackers with a hunk of cheddar, apple slices with almond butter, or hummus with carrots can make everyone a little less restless while they wait for you to finish cooking.

Hot pan, two slices of buttered bread, your favorite cheese, and maybe some juicy tomato or peppery arugula in between = instant dinner bliss.

Let the kids set the table as soon as theyre steady on their feet.

Wear shoes when you cook.

Perfection is way overrated, especially at 6 p.m. when everyone is tired and hungry and you are the only one trying to figure out what to cook for dinner.

Try, TRY!! not to check e-mail, texts, Facebook, Twitter, Google Alerts, or your horoscope while making a meal. Leaving the smartphone in another room helps.

Clean as you go. Even just washing the cutting board and wiping down the counter lessens the end-of-the-meal messand that sinking feeling when you see it.

Season like you mean it. Weve had plenty of meals made with care that tasted like sawdust because the cook didnt add enough salt.

Taste your food before you serve it. Sounds obvious, except when all you want to do is get the food on the table. But whats the point if it has no flavor?

Julia Child said, No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize. As usual, Julias right.

Cooking for someone is an emotional act, so when other people cook for youthis does happen sometimes, right?be sure to give them the same compliments that youd like to hear.

Encourage your kids to help you cook, even if its just grating cheese (theyre much more inclined to eat food theyve had a hand in making), but be realistic. If youre not in the mood, save it for a lazy Sunday.

Invite someone over for dinner on a weeknight. Sharing a casual, everyday meal with a friend or neighbor beats a fancy dinner party anytime.

Do your best to feed yourself and others with the most natural ingredients, the least fuss, and the most pleasure.

The best ingredient of all is a four-letter word. No, not wine. Love. Corny, but true.

To my parents, who always put their kids (and grandkids) first and made sure our dinner table was filled with good food, spirited conversation, and bonhomie. KB

To Tim, I cook with love because of you. CC

RECIPES

MAINS

SIDES

When we were editors at Saveur magazine, one of our favorite parts of the job was getting to taste the dishes that came out of the test kitchen. Some recipes worked better than others, but if the food editors came across one that was particularly wonderful, theyd announce, Its a keeper! By that, they didnt just mean the recipe was good enough to include in the magazine. To earn keeper status, a recipe also had to be foolproof, the best of its kind, and something youd want to run home and make immediately.

We all need keepers in our lifebrag-worthy, reliable, crowd-pleasing preparations that we confidently turn to again and again. Thats especially true when it comes to weeknight meals. Even for people who adore cooking, who have no problem whipping up multi-course feasts on the weekend, the Monday-to-Friday dinner gauntlet can be challenging, even paralyzing. Despite all the food-related magazines, Web sites, blogs, books, and television shows, countless people still struggle whenever dinnertime arrives. We want family meals, to be able to put healthful food on the table, to use more fresh ingredients, to have a wide variety of dishes in their repertoire, and to enjoy the process more, but so many of us are being left behind in a vapor trail of truffle oil and dashi.

What are you making for dinner tonight? must be one of the most commonly asked questions Monday to Friday. Whether youre single and in charge of your own kitchen for the first time, one-half of a couple trying to get out of a jarred pasta sauce rut, a parent of young children looking for accessible recipes and a little handholding, or a parent of voracious teenagers who are costing you a small fortune in frozen burritos, chances are youve asked it. We have. Plenty of times. In fact, Keepers was born out of our own workplace conversations about dinner. At Saveur, we regularly talked about our mealtime woes. (Smuggling the test kitchens leftovers home each day was unfortunately not a solution.)

Our afternoon desk-side conversations went something like this:

What are you making tonight?

I dont know, but Im already starving. I feel like I need to make fish. We havent had fish in ages.

Why dont you pick up some salmon on the way home and cook it in parchment?

You assume I have parchment paper.

Just use foil then.

Okay, and then what?

Toss together some baby spinach, minced shallots, and whatever fresh herbs you have, mound it on pieces of foil, then top it with a fillet, a little cream, salt, pepper, maybe some lemon zest. Roast at 425 for, like, 9 minutes.