Introduction Hello everyone! I hope you all are as excited about this book as I am. This is my eighth cookbook, and it is one that I’ve wanted to write for a long time because it is so personal. The recipes in this cookbook really reflect the way we ate as a family and the way Liz and I enjoy cooking and entertaining these days.
As a kid growing up in the Midwest, we ate dinner together as a family every single night of the week. We sat around the kitchen table and talked about our days, our upcoming plans, and what needed to be done around the house. At that table, over those meals, we laughed, cried, and yelled (and when you have a Mediterranean mother, that can all happen at the exact same time!). The high point of every week was the big Sunday Supper, which was either prepared at our house or at my grandparents’. Those festive, joyous, indulgent meals were such a meaningful tradition for me as a child that I continue to host them for my family and friends to this day. Given everybody’s hectic schedules, we might not be able to gather every Sunday, but we do eat together as a family as much as possible, and we almost always try to carve out the time for a Sunday supper—even if it happens on a Monday (or holiday!) instead. The recipes in this book come straight from those memorable, occasionally emotional weeknight dinners, those celebratory Sunday feasts, and the meals that I make at home for loved ones today.
The first four chapters in the book focus on time of year—because let’s face it, while I may crave a hearty bowl of beef stew on a chilly, crisp day, I crave steak off the grill when it’s hot outside and the grill is lit. Growing up in Cleveland, I really enjoyed experiencing separate and distinct seasons. Moving from the cool, breezy days of autumn into the bracing chill of winter, and finally the promise and warmth of spring provided a natural rhythm to life, while always giving you something to look forward to. As a chef, cooking this way just makes perfect sense. You get to enjoy ingredients at their absolute peaks, while being able to look forward to what’s coming next at the markets. Personally, I think having a food readily available every single day of the year makes it a little less special. In-season foods are often less expensive and, if you shop at local farmers’ markets like I do, more sustainable for the planet as they are not shipped on a plane halfway across the globe.
Within each seasonal chapter, I grouped the recipes into complete meals, typically with mains, sides, salads, and sauces. This is how I plan, shop, and prepare meals at home, so that format just feels natural to me. I included tips, when appropriate, to help you plan out your approach and make your cooking as efficient as possible. That said, feel free to mix and match anything and everything in this book to your heart’s content! Cooking and eating should be enjoyable, so do as you and your family and your guests please. For those of you that have been Fixing It with Food from my previous two cookbooks (
Fix It with Food and
Fix It with Food: Every Meal Easy), on page 334 you’ll find an index where we have identified whether each recipe in the book is flour-free, dairy-free, or meat-free. We want to make it as clear and easy as possible for everyone to continue avoiding those triggers so you can eat and feel your best, while still cooking and eating delicious food.
When it comes to holidays, I have to admit that I’m a giant kid at heart. I do love a good party and I tend to go a little (okay, a lot!) overboard when it comes to preparing big holiday meals. Don’t worry, I didn’t go too,
too crazy when coming up with the holiday meals for this book. I think they strike the perfect balance between festive and feasible. To make planning for those large family gatherings a little easier, because I know it can be stressful, I’ve included “Symon Says” boxes. These useful guides will help you map out the whole meal planning process to hopefully alleviate some pressure so that you can enjoy being with your family and friends.
As many of you know, I love dessert! But the truth is, I don’t always enjoy preparing them. So the recipes in the chapter on desserts come not just from me, but also Lizzie and my culinary director and friend Katie Pickens (who has tested every recipe for every cookbook and TV show we have ever done). For each dessert, we strive to achieve maximum flavor and enjoyment while keeping the recipes as manageable and straightforward as possible. I think you’ll agree when you start making them (they’re so easy, even I can make them!).
And last but definitely not least are the cocktails! For this book, I included a selection of my favorite adult sippers, but I converted individual servings into batch recipes. Batching cocktails is just a fancy way of saying “a large quantity of a single beverage made in advance!” This way, when those first guests show up at your door, you don’t have to drop everything and whip up a drink. Simply fill a glass with ice, grab that pitcher of Kentucky Mules or Campari Spritzes, garnish, and get the party started!
I have to stop and pinch myself sometimes when I think about the fact that this is my eighth cookbook. Without the love and support of fans like you, who truly inspire and encourage me to write these books, I would not have made it this far. I love every single book that I have written, but if I’m being honest here, this one might be my new favorite. Coming up with the recipes was a labor of love that conjured so many amazing memories of growing up, but also the new memories that I’m creating as a grandfather myself. I hope that some of these recipes become a small part of your family traditions as well.
So please enjoy, have fun cooking, and Live to Cook!
Copyright © 2023 by Michael Symon and Douglas Trattner. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
