Beverly Mills - Desperation Dinners

Desperation
Dinners!

by Beverly Mills & Alicia Ross

Illustrations by Mary Lynn Blasutta

Workman Publishing New York

Copyright 1997 by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproducedmechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopyingwithout written permission of the publisher. Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited.

Desperation Dinners is a registered trademark of Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal and Alicia Brady Ross

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
eISBN: 9780761181606

Authors photograph by Karen Tarn

Workman books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for premiums and sales promotions as well as for fund-raising or educational use. Special editions or book excerpts can be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Director at the address below.

Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
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www.workman.com

For our husbands, Anders and Ron,

who keep us sane

and for our children,

Sam and Grey, and Hannah and Rachel, who provide the meaning and purpose behind our constant desperation.
Beverly and Alicia

During the two years weve spent writing this book, many people have shared their time, recipes, and insights. They have endured our busy schedules and kept us afloat with enthusiasm. These gifts grace this book like spices added at just the right moment, and we are deeply grateful.

We are particularly indebted to our editor, Suzanne Rafer, for her patience, careful crafting, and infallible instincts, and to our agent, Carla Glasser, for believing in our idea and for being our trusty guide and constant cheerleader.

Many thanks to one of the most incredible cooks we know, Liza Bennett, not only for generously lending many of her own recipes to this book but for supplying the inspiration for so many more. Still other recipes and inspiration came from Lynn Clark-Brady, Kathy Hart, Melanie Abbott, Pam Smith OHara, Felicia Gressette, Reta Ebanks, and Sandra Burnett.

A little friendship goes a long way, and were received extra help from Denise Deen. She tirelessly tested our recipes and, best of all, spent every Friday afternoon over coffee listening to the details of how the book was coming.

Special thanks go to our recipe testers for their hard work, honesty, and attention to detail. Those friends who opened their kitchens and made room in their busy lives for our recipes are Florence Strickland, Cheryl Ross, Susan Cannon, Julie Realon, Terry Sullivan, Debi Williams, Melody Cobb, Marietta Wynands, Christine Klein, Diane Pearce, Rane Winslow, and Amy Dunn.

Without Marsha Johnson, Deena Smith, and Laura Vohs, who charmed our children and distracted their attentions from the kitchen, we could not have written this book. It certainly would not exist without the newspaper column that inspired it, and the column would never have made it off the kitchen counter without the editors who took a chance on a new idea. Thanks to all of them for their courage and encouragement, but especially to Debbie Moose of The News & Observer, Amy Carlile and Judy Walker of The Arizona Republic, and Kathy Purvis of The Charlotte Observer.

To Diana Loevy, Mary Anne Grimes, Lisa Wilson, and the entire staff at United Feature Syndicate, we owe a special thank-you. When the desperate life, writing this book, and handling the column seemed like it would surely bury us, they rescued us with their professional attention and care.

We will always be grateful to Peter Workman for his vision and for embracing the Desperation Dinners concept. To the many other people at Workman Publishing who brought this book to life, we offer special thanksto Paul Hanson for the superb cover design, to Barbara Balch, who worked with Paul for the most beautiful and cook-friendly layout ever, to Nancy Murray in production, Steve Pesola in pre-press, Margery Tippie for her careful copy editing, and Lori Eisenkraft-Palazzola, Carrie Schoen, Emily Nolan, and Cathy Dorsey for their additional editorial work. We are also grateful for the energy and enthusiasm of Andrea Glickson in marketing and Ellen Morgenstern in publicity. A special thank-you to our publicist, Phyllis Heller, for a great tour. We thank Mary Lynn Blasutta for her delightful illustrations, Karen Tarn for our cover portrait and Kats Barry for the cover food photos, as well as for adopting Desperation Dinners as part of her photo journalism career and real-life routine.

Finally, deep appreciation goes to our parents, Gayle and Jim Brady and Dot and Jay Mills, for their love and support. We also feel especially fortunate to have grown up with Josephine Young and Flonnie Hood, our respective grandmothers and wonderful cooks, around whose tables we have enjoyed so many fabulous meals.

To ours husbands and childrenRon, Hannah, and Rachel Ross, and Anders, Sam, and Grey Gyllenhaala thousand kisses for your enthusiastic appetites and for two years of sharing Mom with a 400-page baby that never stopped needing something.

CHAPTER ONE:
SOUPS

Easy, nourishing soups, packed with flavor, yet fast to prepare. Both steamy hotTangy Tomato Soup, Winter Corn Chowderand refreshingly chilledBeat-the-Heat Borscht, Cool California Bisquetheres a perfect soup here for any time of the year.

CHAPTER TWO:
STEWS

Even when your schedule is packed to the hilt, theres still time to concoct one of these fortifying stews and chilies. Serve up fragrant bowlfuls of Vegetable Veal Stew, Grandmas Chicken Stew, Super Chili, and Vegetable Hoppin John.

CHAPTER THREE:
SKILLET MEALS

With a decent skillet and a few quick tricks, you can pull off an entire dinner in no time flatand with only one pan to wash afterwards. Fajitas in a Flash, Cuban Picadillo, Garlicky Potatoes and Sausage, and Blue Runners and Rice are just a few of the months worth of recipes in this chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR:
SALAD ENTREES

This selection of filling main-dish salads includes all our current favorites. Theres a beef salad redolent with Thai flavors, a delicious Chicken Caesar good enough to serve your in-laws, plus a Picnic Pasta with Shrimp thats so easy, you can take it to a July Fourth celebration.

CHAPTER FIVE:
PASTA

For all those who are already pasta converts and for those who need inspiration, here is a full selection of fast and fabulous recipes to help you noodle around your desperation. Try a particularly kid-friendly Real-Life Lasagna, a nontraditional but Oh-So-Easy Tetrazzini, and the Super-Stress Saving Pizza Pasta and Tuna and Fusilli Alfresco.

CHAPTER SIX:
FOOD ON BREAD

Think Hungarian Goulash on Rye Toasts, Curried Lamb in Pita Bowls, Spanakopita in Pastry Cups and youll get the idea of what we mean by food on bread. Hot and hardy open-face sandwicheswith plenty of gravymakes a nice change from the usual rice or noodles.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
BREAKFAST FOR DINNER