Let's Stay In

Book excerpt: A Cozy Take on Meals Will Have You Stoking the Home Fires! Author Ashley Rodriguez has focused her career on teaching people the importance of a good meal at home, first with Date Night In, a relationship cookbook that brought the romance back to home-cooked meals at home. For her next book, she's turning the focus outward. Let's Stay In is all about effortless hospitality, meaningful family meals, and an appreciation for the magic of meals shared with others. Families, neighbors, friends, and loved ones will find a different kind of love around the table together, connecting over memorable meals. The recipes walk you through every meal of the day with delicious breakfasts, easy lunches, inviting dinners, and Ashley's signature incredible desserts: Breakfasts of Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew with Poached Eggs, Breakfast BLTs, and Spiced Raisin Scones Midday meals of Zucchini, Gruyere & Basil Quesadillas, Ricotta, Speck and Plum Salsa Tartine, and Ivy's Split Pea Soup Table-groaning dinners of Steak Tacos with Radish and Pickled Onions, Oven Baked Risotto with Squash and Rosemary Candied Walnuts, and Grilled Leg of Lamb with Green Sauce Sweets and drinks like Blood Orange Poppy Seed Upside Down Cake, Guava Coconut Punch, The Easiest Pear Tart, and Cardamom Cream Soda Ashley is a natural teacher, and the recipes flow off the page as effortlessly as the conversation at a great meal. She practices what she preaches, too, making time to bring her busy family and loved ones together for meals as often as possible. Staying in can become an easy habit to adapt, helping to center each person at an inviting table. It's the easiest kind of aspirational cooking and gathering, helping home cooks of any level to say "let's stay in!"