Kristina Sepetys reviews Snacking Dinners by Georgia Freedman

 

“Girl” meals blew up a few years ago on social media. If you missed the trend, picture a casually elegant arranged plate of snacky odds and ends: a few perfect berries, the last bites of last night’s takeout, a square of dark chocolate, sliced cucumbers, ripe cheese, a scoop of hummus, a handful of crackers, something pickled, a little popcorn. Not a meal by traditional standards, but satisfying, flavorful, and just indulgent enough.

Of course, there’s nothing inherently “girl” about meals like this. Good ideas and good food are for everyone. Oakland-based food and travel writer Georgia Freedman agrees, and she makes the case in Snacking Dinners (Hardie Grant North America, 2025), a cookbook that champions this unfussy, flavorful style of eating for solo diners, families, or casual gatherings.

Freedman has authored cookbooks on everything from Yunnanese cuisine to Brooklyn chocolate, and she’s written for publications like The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, and Martha Stewart Living, and was managing editor at Saveur. She also develops recipes and teaches cooking classes. In short, she knows food and all the ways it can be plated up for a simple but perfectly satisfying meal.

Snacking Dinners celebrates meals of filling and occasionally unexpected pairings made from bits and pieces, many store-bought, some homemade. Think mango chutney salad stuffed into a hot dog bun, sweet potato chips drizzled with yogurt and honey and sprinkled with feta and herbs, or rice cakes slathered with peanut butter and topped with nuts and dried fruit. There’s also a warm, creamy baked brie with jarred truffle sauce, and a luxe caviar sandwich, if you’re feeling fancy. Most recipes take five minutes or less and lean more toward creative assembly and presentation than actual cooking.

The book includes lists of pantry staples like chutney, hummus, tinned fish, crackers, pickles, and cheeses that can dress up dozens of quick-prep combinations. Freedman also includes versatile bases like toast, jammy hard-boiled eggs, and sliced boiled potatoes and offers topping ideas for everything from after-school snacks to low-effort party fare.

Snacking Dinners is less about strict recipes and more about mindset: how to plate up whatever you’ve got in a way that feels abundant, playful, and a little bit indulgent. Despite what the title might suggest, the combinations work for lunch, party food, side dishes, kid food, and just about any other time or reason a little something might taste good. It’s a book about feeding yourself or a group without overthinking it and having a little fun while you’re at it.

Here’s a sample recipe:

ZUNI-INSPIRED CELERY STICKS

Excerpted with permission from Snacking Dinners: 50+ Recipes for Low-Lift, High-Reward Dinners That Delight by: Georgia Freedman published by ‎Hardie Grant North America, April 2025, (ISBN 978-1958417706) RRP $30.00 Hardcover. PURCHASE LINK

The most famous dish at San Francisco’s much-loved Zuni Café is its roast chicken. But ask regulars what they order time and time again, and a different item might come out on top: the appetizer plate of house-cured anchovies with celery, Parmesan, and olives. This simple combination of ingredients—served in rows on a plate, drizzled with olive oil—is so popular that it never leaves the menu. Here, I used those same ingredients but made them easier to eat by piling them into celery boats. I also add a little zing by stirring in a touch of spicy yuzu kosho (which I, personally, think really brings all the flavors together).

• 3 large celery sticks
• One 2¼-ounce (64 g) piece of Parmesan
• 3 small or 1½ large anchovies
• 4 pitted kalamata olives
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 big lemon wedge
• ¾ teaspoon yuzu kosho (optional)
• Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Trim the ends of the celery sticks and use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin and strings, then cut each stick in half width-wise to make shorter lengths. Grate the Parmesan on a box grater (you should have about a lightly packed cup). Mince the anchovies and two of the olives, then combine them in a small bowl with the Parmesan, olive oil, and mayonnaise. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon wedge and add the yuzu kosho, if using, then mash the ingredients with the back of a fork so that everything kind of holds together. (If you have a few minutes, refrigerating the mixture will help it stick together.) Fill the celery sticks with the cheese mixture, then chop the remaining two olives and use them and the parsley to garnish.

Bulk Up the Plate: Since this is basically built like an old-school steakhouse bar snack, pair it with other bar nibbles like good quality potato chips and a bowl of spiced nuts.