Book excerpt: Transform the way you use your freezer with 100 flavorful meal prep recipes from two-time James Beard Award–winning Southern chef Ashley Christensen and cookbook author Kaitlyn Goalen. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TASTE OF HOME • “Ingenious . . . Ashley and Kaitlyn are leading us in the right direction to making life in the kitchen a little bit easier.”—Emeril Lagasse, chef and restaurateur In It’s Always Freezer Season, Ashley Christensen and Kaitlyn Goalen reveal how the freezer can easily become the single most important tool in your kitchen. By turning your freezer into a fully provisioned pantry stocked with an array of homemade staples, you’ll save time and energy. Even on a tight schedule you can now put together delicious, complex dishes such as Cornbread Panzanella with Watermelon, Cucumber, and Za’atar Vinaigrette; Potato Pierogi; Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with Preserved Lemon–Garlic Butter; Braised Short Ribs with Cauliflower Fonduta; and Provençal Onion Tart (Pissaladière) with Tomato-Olive Relish. Christensen and Goalen also share fully prepared make-ahead dishes for every meal of the day to keep in your freezer, like Pistachio Croissant French Toast with Orange Blossom Soft Cream, Chicken and Kale Tortilla Soup, Pimento Mac and Cheese Custard, and Deviled Crab Rigatoni, plus snacks, sweets, and drinks ready to be enjoyed at a moment’s notice. With innovative recipes, helpful technical information, and tips on stocking your new “pantry,” this book will allow you to make more delicious meals with a lot less effort.