Snacking Dinners

50 recipes that pull from a global pantry and reference snacking (and light meal) traditions from across the globe. Solo diners unite! Ask yourself: what do you want to eat when you have no demands from family and friends? What is your idea of a meal that is all delight and zero obligation? Maybe it’s cream cheese and lox on rye bread; or tuna hand-rolls made ingeniously with tinned fish; jammy eggs topped with numbing Sichuan pepper; or for a splurge, caviar sandwiched between toast points. Snacking dinners are the ultimate form of self-care, a meal comprised of favorite foods, expanded to be balanced and perfectly satisfying. These meals are the secret weapon of busy people. They are endlessly versatile, can accommodate any food preferences, and are easily scaled up or down, making them perfect for when you might be sharing your meal with family or friends. They are magical in their simplicity and promise, something every cook should have in their repertoire. Treat yourself to a snacking dinner tonight.  

Georgia Freedman is a California-based recipe developer, journalist, and editor and the author of Cooking South of the Clouds—Recipes and Stories from China’s Yunnan Province as well as the co-author of The Ranch Table and There’s Always Room for Chocolate. Formerly the managing editor of Saveur, Georgia has also worked as a freelance editor at a variety of national and regional publications and edited more than a dozen cooking and lifestyle books.