Dinner does not have to feel like a chore. It can be led by your senses and your cravings and with little effort you can make it happen on a weeknight. For recipe developer and New York Times contributor Ali Slagle the key to a fast, delicious meal starts with “humble ingredients,” she shares with Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks.” Instead of focusing on chicken and potatoes and adding tons of flavor to those, Slagle finds the inspiration for her meals elsewhere. “There’s the other category of ingredients—the tubes, the cans, the pickles, the jars, that show up to the pot already thumping with possibility,” she said. “I always think about what are the things that I can add to a dish where I don't have to do anything to them to make them taste great.” Watch to hear more about the recipes inside Slagle’s cookbook “I Dream of Dinner,” available now.