Read an Excerpt

Introduction

We like to say that our cooking and lifestyle platform, Food Dolls, was built from one simple question: What are you making for dinner? For as long as we can remember, we’ve always done what sisters do best: talk for hours on the phone about anything and everything—our latest Home Goods scores (Another day, another serving board!), what we’re wearing to the next date night with our husbands or girls’ night out (Jeans, cute top, and heels? Classic for a reason!), our most exciting Amazon finds (Hot pink fluffy slides? Immediately, yes.), and our shared obsessions over the perfect white paint (Benjamin Moore White Dove), bold lipstick (Ladies Night by Huda Beauty), and all the clear organizing containers. But about seven years ago, when Alia found her days consumed by raising three young boys and Radwa had just had her first daughter, many of those check-ins centered around one reality we had to face every single day—someone had to get dinner on the table, and that someone was going to be us.

Growing up, we were always encouraged by our mom to get into the kitchen on Sundays to help her to cook. We are, after all, part of a big Egyptian family whose livelihood revolves around food (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding but with more shawarma and less Windex). Mom was the original meal prepper. She and our dad both worked full-time, so once a week, she’d spend several hours setting herself up for a week’s worth of homemade lunches and dinners. When we were little, we loved making traditional Egyptian dishes like kofta (page 205), koshari (page 149), and kunafa (page 245) while we chatted and laughed and our mom taught us her signature laid-back approach of “a little bit of this, a little bit of that.” Eventually, life got in the way (hanging out with friends, getting our nails done, going to the movies . . . basically anything but cooking)—until it came time to start our own families. But even then, we still weren’t interested in spending hours in our kitchens the way our mom did. (No offense, Mama!) Instead, we started looking to the newly created “Food Tok” for fast and easy weeknight meal inspiration. The only problem was that we still had trouble finding recipes that sounded good to us. They either weren’t very healthy (we’re both big fans of the 80/20 rule—eating mostly whole-ingredient, veg-forward meals but also leaving room for things like Baklava Cinnamon Rolls, page 35, and Turkish Coffee Tiramisu, page 235), were too complicated to make while dragging a small child around the kitchen or running into the house after work, weren’t very polished (a quick meal doesn’t have to look or taste like it!), or didn’t have the same vibrant and complex flavors of our favorite Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. So even though we had no idea how we’d actually accomplish it, we both came to the same conclusion: We can do it better.

At first, we didn’t know how it would go over, introducing people to dishes like Whipped Feta with roasted tomatoes and chickpeas or Sumac Chicken Wings alongside things like one-pot Spicy Rigatoni and Strawberry-Mascarpone StuffedCroissant French Toast (we are also, after all, a couple of Minnesota girls). But as it turns out, our followers are just as hungry as we are for quick and simple meets fresh and new. And it’s clear they love both our traditional preparations in addition to updated Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-ish spins on classics, like Baklava Cinnamon Rolls, Chicken Kofta Burgers, and Steak Shawarma Bowls.

Our community now tells us in no uncertain terms that our signature Food Dolls approach to preparing meals is working—and we’re not just talking about how they love the way we finish each other’s sentences in our videos in true sister-telepathy style or how we never pretend that we always have it all together ourselves (because we don’t!). Aside from that, we hear again and again how we’ve been able to help solve real-life problems for cooks, from newlyweds to new parents, to people who are new to the kitchen and don’t know where to start. What we all have in common is that we want a go-to stash of works-every-time recipes that don’t feel like the sameold same-old. And because we love entertaining so much, we also offer fun, polished ways to gather with friends and family that don’t require a ton of work or expense. In Pretty Delicious, our very first (!) cookbook, we are so excited to share our tried-andtrue hacks and shortcuts, so many pantry staples to play with, dozens of dishes that hit the perfect mark between indulgent and nourishing, and beautiful presentations that don’t take much extra effort. In short: modernized traditions for the real world. And that’s what this book is all about.

We’re writing Pretty Delicious with the same mission we’ve had since Day 1: “Making life easier, one recipe at a time.” That’s right; when it comes to getting breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even special-occasion meals on the table, we have you covered. But just because we’re saving you time, money, and sanity doesn’t mean these recipes are anything short of crave-worthy. We’re talking Crispy Baked Halloumi with Hot Honey Drizzle (page 74), Middle Eastern–Style Beef Pot Roast (page 210—or Pomegranate Molasses Carrots with Chickpeas and Couscous on page 169 for anyone who wants to keep it veg), Shrimp Tagine with Garlicky Tomatoes and Peppers (page 180), and No-Churn Salted Tahini Cookies ’n’ Cream Ice Cream (page 236). Basically, we’ve taken some of our favorite Middle Eastern family dishes, added some casseroles, icebox cakes, and other old-school favorites—because you can’t take the girls out of the Midwest—and we’ve updated them for the way people cook now: fewer ingredients and steps, while being healthier and offering much more interesting flavors. As we like to say at the end of all our recipe videos: Yessss!

We also believe that our meals should feel as good to prep and make as they are to eat. Does that mean we think you should spend a bunch of time in the kitchen and love every minute of it? Um, no. We can think of one hundred other things we either need or want to be doing rather than endlessly prepping meals most days. But we have figured out that if you have a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry and makeahead meals ready to grab, then suddenly pulling together something to eat doesn’t feel like a chore—and the meals themselves seem even more effortless and elevated.

Last but not least, we want to show you how meals can feel polished and puttogether, even when you’re juggling that third load of laundry and carpool pickup. Whether you’re cooking for immediate family or a book club, we’ve got you covered with how to actually get a meal on the table (and look cute doing it!). No matter how casual or special the occasion, we’ll take you through the basics of styling a table (a theme and a few great serving pieces go a long way!), how to put together a menu (including sample menus to get started), and tips for how to prep ahead so you can actually enjoy yourself when it’s time to eat. From a teatime tray (page 271) to a buffet (page 277) suitable for your enormous Egyptian family (or any regular family!), to our famous no-cook dessert bar cart (page 278), we’ve got all the inspo you need to feel confident when it comes to entertaining—and we promise, it won’t require much more than a few of our tasty, dependable, inexpensive recipes.

We hope that through the recipes here, cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner will become less of a need-to and more of a want-to. We know the days when it feels like there’s barely any time left for you, and yet we also know how good it is to share a delicious meal, tuck into a beautifully layered jar of salad (when you otherwise would have settled for a handful of cookies), or feel totally victorious upon opening your pantry and only needing a quick trip to the store to make an entire week’s worth of meals.

Our goal is to meet you where life is, in all of its unpredictable, chaotic, messy glory. We’re here for you every step of the way, with all the mouthwatering inspiration, foolproof recipes, and time-saving shortcuts we can possibly put together. And, at the end of the day, we’d like to think the only difficult part of What are you making for dinner? is choosing which dish to cook up first. Here’s to making real life a little prettier and a lot more delicious!

Xo,

Alia + Radwa