What's for Dinner?

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This book is visually very flat and has a clunky design unsuitable for a
cookbook. It would be tragic if these graphic weaknesses caused it to be
overlooked, however, because in concept it is probably the most exciting
cookbook to be published in this decade.

Kostick’s premise is that to be included, a recipe must result in
having dinner on the table in half an hour or less. As if this emphasis
on ease and speed of preparation did not present sufficient challenge,
he also insists on emphasizing low-fat options throughout. These
principles enable the user to fight off the lure of junk food (speed
being its main appeal for busy adults) while addressing the craving for
healthy, nutritious meals.

All good stuff. And there’s more. The recipes work at two levels.
They are step-by-step recipes that yield dinner, and they are examples
in a training plan designed to wean readers off a reliance on
step-by-step recipes. Variations and substitutions constitute an
underlying philosophy that builds to a licence for creative
improvisation. For example, Clam Chowder with Crab can be made without
either clams or crab; Sole in White Wine has some surprising suggestions
for wine substitutes, and sole, of course, is just a suggestion. By now
you understand that you don’t need fish for the “Fish Kebobs.” The
door has been opened.

Kostick tries out his recipes on a television cooking show where
everything is done in “real time.” Perhaps this challenge resulted
in the numerous time-saving tips sprinkled throughout the book.

What’s for dinner? Kostick answers the question with some 120 recipes
and with the knowledge that it’s really your call.