Fancy fish in a flash

The new cookbook One Pan, Whole Family should appeal to the busy family meal provider. If you have a big, cast-iron frying pan as well as a big saucepan and a serious chef ’s knife, you are all set to cook Carla Snyder’s more than 70 “weeknight meals,” as she calls them in her latest book (Chronicle Books/Raincoast, $34.95).

A homey fish dinner is an example of her way of feeding the family fresh food in a rush. Kid-friendly aspects to the book include many pizza recipes, but grown-ups will also be satisfied thanks to an “adult tastebud” addition to each recipe, such as some horseradish to the haddock topping.

The Ohio writer and cooking school teacher suggests pounding chicken breasts so they cook faster, forgetting about exact measuring, using eggs as “dinner fallbacks” and using good wine in cooking or, if preferred, substituting orange or cranberry juice.

Recipes are international, and take no more than 45 minutes from start to finish.