Stress-free cooking during the holidays

Like fashion, cookbooks ride on waves of cultural trends. One year, kale is the rage, another it’s kimchi. Right now, cauliflower is king: roasted whole, riced, curried, creamed, smothered in cheese, and carved into meaty “steaks” for searing and saucing. Whatever the reigning ingredients, all cookbooks aim to inspire your inner chef. But the holy grail these days is speed and ease – maximum flavor, satisfaction, and healthfulness in minimal time, all increasingly important if home cooking hopes to compete with takeout and meal kits. 

My favorite new cookbook of the year is Cathy Barrow’s , even though I’m