California Books

This is the way weight loss should be approached - by a real person with real emotions. Carole is so honest that you can't help but laugh in recognition of your own foibles. But she found a path to fitness and the rest of us can do it too. Better yet, our whole communities can become supports for health. Highly recommend!!!!!!

This book offers a lot of information for any reader who has struggled with their weight. Its filled with great ideas, and a whole host of professionals to give you motivation to loose weight the right way, the healthy way. Carol Carson's story of her transformation is one we all should read and use it for motivation to get fit and stay fit.

Carole Carson took our already wonderful community and made it even more wonderful! She has struggled with issues many of us have had throughout our lives. Her book has humor, helpful suggestions, and examples of people challenging themselves. Not to mention a map on how to loose weight and stay fit.
A must read for people interested in being fit.

Susan Michalski

This is one of the Best motivational books written about obesity and how to get people motivated to loose those extra pounds, make friends, and get positive reinforcement from within. It inspired me to start moving.

I actually met Carole Carson and THEN read her book. Believe me, seeing the "after" first had a great impact on me. I never could have imagined the "before" Carole. She went from a pleasantly round grandmotherly type to a toned, energetic, athletic and strikingly attractive woman who looks like she could take on the world! Oh, did I mention that I met her on a tennis court in the Hawaiian Islands? My group was so impressed with her play, confidence and effervesence. Imagine my surprise when I read her book. After only a few chapters, I decided, "I want that!" Her ideas are easy to implement and I love hearing, "Are you thinner--you look great!" Better yet, I have new-found energy and confidence. Her story can be your story. You'll laugh out loud as you read how an entire town jumps on board as Carole motivates them to healthy living.

My husband and I recently heard a taped interview with Father Boyle that aired on NPR. We were very interested in learning more about his unique outreach efforts with LA Gang members. This book is excellent.

"G-Dog and the Homeboys" shows how Father Greg Boyle and a select few adults, including the author, completely changed the lives of teens in East LA. Greg opened the homies' and his followers' eyes to the world outside of their lives in their little neighborhood. Many kids would not think past selling drugs to earn a little extra cash, or firing off a couple of rounds of bullets in order to simply stay alive. Boyle changed all of this.
In actuality, the homies were not violent, cruel, or evil kids at heart. Many had rotten home lives and joined gangs to find love. Others joined for protection. Gangs offered support if they were ever in serious danger.
Father Greg understood and felt for these teens. Greg lent them helping hand in any way he could. He gave them money for school, jobs, even a roof over their heads. However, the best gift he gave the homies was his love and caring for them.
As one follows the stories of numerous homies, one realizes how much of an impact one man, Father Greg, had on their lives. This story is touching, at times frightening, and over all, enlightening. It is highly recommended that you read "G-Dog and the Homeboys". Your eyes, too, will be opened to the world around you.

Although I have not read this book, I did watch a lecture by Father Boyle given at Regis University. It is amazing what he has accomplished in LA with these gang members. It is a true testament to what God can do if given the chance!

This book is quite unlike any other that I have read on crime or gangs, both in style and in substance.

The style is very simple. Fremon makes no attempt to be objective. She makes no effort to put the story into any larger context. She does not come across like a professional writer of any kind. Her ego is absent from the work. Instead, she tells a story, a simple, moving story.

The subject of her story is extraordinary. John Paul II liked to say that there are many more saints around us then we recognize. This story is another example of that. Father Greg Boyle is a normal suburban white guy who became a priest, and was sent to East LA. He found himself surrounded by gang violence. Nothing unusual in the story so far.

But his reaction was extraordinary. He responded to the situation in a radically Christian manner. He did not get into any of the usual left wing politics or posturing. Instead, he offered the gang members uncondititional love, just as the Gospel teaches. He spent time with them. He visited them in jail. He visited them in the hospital. Whenever the guns went off, he was there trying to bring peace. In one extraordinary incident, he put himself between two gangs who were starting a fire fight, and told them that if they wanted to kill each other, they would have to kill him. He was risking his life doing this, and the gang members knew it. They did not shoot; his Christian witness brought them back from their madness.

It took time, but the gang members responded to Father Greg's ministry with tremendous enthusiasm and love. It is an incredibly inspiring story. It reminds us of why we are Christians. It shows us the transforming power of Christian love.

I would like to be able to draw some political conclusions from all of this. I would like to somehow replace our current approach to gangs with Father Greg's approach. I do not know how to do that. I can not see how to make his saintly approach work in ordinary political or police work. But I do know that we are all better people with someone like him among us. If we had more like him, the world would be healed.

A wonderful read that can be shared with reluctant readers to bring them face to face with their place in modern literature. A book that should be shared with more teenagers. A look at gang life/ prisons in our urban world through the eyes of someone on a shared journey. I shared this book and another series that Celeste wrote in LA Weekly (2005) with my students as a combination class: experience of life literature and morality. Father Boyle is a master at understanding humanity and our call to larger social responsibility. We are not permitted to dismiss the world around us after reading this book that tugs at the corners of your heart. Greg gives hope where it is needed the most - to everyone. If the opportunity to hear Father Greg Boyle speak presents itself, do yourself a favor and go.

I neede to buy this book for a class/trip I am taking over spring break. I was very surprised that it was not a dry text book , but a very readable information guide to the entire area. Great book if your interested in the geology of the area.

I read it after I came back from a trip to Owens Valley, so I can't speak on using it for directions, but it is a great book. I began reading to find a few facts to label my trip photos with but found myself reading the entire Owens Valley half, even the places I didn't see. There are some crazy things in Owens Valley! A gravity deficit, piles of rock in neat columns, lava cooling into glass, water issues with Owens Lake... I couldn't stop reading even though I had work to do - bad bad, but so good!

The chapters on each location are longer and geologic feature are more detailed than your average guide book, so you understand the background and science, but there's no technical jargon, so it's very easy to understand. Very clear simple writing by people who obviously have a genuine appreciation for what they're writing about.

Most years we vacation in Mammoth. This book describes a number of convenient and interesting side trips to take with the family. We wander around, sometimes visiting the same features, sometimes visiting a new site. Always appreciating more & more of the world around us. My children have a much better feel for geological processes and their impact on the landscape than do their peers.

The book starts with a five page description of Eastern California's geological history, then jumps into 30 sites of interest, nearly evenly distributed between Death Valley & vicinity and the Eastern Sierra & vicinity. A glossary, "Sources of Supplementary Information," and an index round out the book.

Each site receives its own chapter, replete with photographs, maps, geological diagrams, and even driving directions, as needed. I'm not a serious geologist, but landscape features fascinate me. The explanations that the authors give work well for me: I can understand them well enough to explain them to children.

If you're interested in how the land has been shaped, if you're willing to turn off the tube & make contact with the natural world, then this book is for you. One of the best "field guides" to geology I own. One of my favorites, too. (The companion volume, GEOLOGY UNDERFOOT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, is also an excellent book).

Great to take along any drive through the area. Have your passenger read as you go, stop along the way for a closer look. Easy to read, not too "intellectual". This was my favorite guide to the area when I moved here (and still is)!

The southwest United States is a geomorphologist's dream... There's not a lot of green stuff covering up the beautiful geology! This book details the geologic features of Death and Owens Valley, CA. It gives the geologic history of features while succinctly describing the details of the processes that brought about these features. The Tufa Pinnacles in Searles Valley, the alluvial fans in Death Valley, the interesting history and development of Gower Gulch, the mysterious ascent of desert pavement, the glacial morraines and routes of the Tahoe and Tioga Stade glaciers at Convict Lake, the Mono Craters (Domes), Fossil Falls, the Alabama Hills and more. You'll even get the heebee jeebees when you read about the monstrous explosion of Ubehebe Crater! Certainly one of the most interesting and pleasurable books I've read in ages! Highly recommended for ANYONE who plans a trip to California's awe-inspiring Death Valley and environs! A must have!

What a great little book! The recipes are ones everyone wants to have anyway. It's succinctly written. There are great pictures, little helpful tips -- all this plus nutritional inofrmation!! I love this book!!!!

This is the second year I have put this book on my Christmas list. Everyone I have given it to raves about it, not only for its fabulous recipes and well laid out format, but also because it is informative and entertaining. Kudos to the author -- who also has a PhD in neuroscience!

Hi,I am a nine year old girl and a vegetarian.My mom got this book because I hate so many different foods.This book was cool because it has the vegetarian food that movie stars eat.I liked that alot.Im picky about what I eat but this stuff was yummy.Mom even let me help her make some recipes,it was fun.thankyou.bye bye now.

I ! I loved this book!This was the first cookbook that I ever enjoyed just reading. First of all,you open it up and excitedly go through it,looking at all the stars and seeing what particular recipe that they have contributed. Then you think,hmmmm, why did they use that recipe?Then its fun analizing why that celibrity chose that paticular recipe. Oh and who knew that Mr.Rogers was a vegetarian?The recipes are fatastic!Not your regular vegetarian boring stuff. I believe that is because not just celebrity vegetarians contributed,but those with varied eating habits, participated. That makes for a very unique and versitile cookbook. Ms.Ruppen should be commended for using recipes from both vegetarians and non-vegetarian. Vegetarian dishes are not just for vegetarians anymore.This is obviously proven with the many recipes that were sent in by non-vegetarian celebraties.I must also say Thank You!Thank You! Ms. Ruppen for researching your recipes so thoroughly, by including additional low or no fat ways to make each recipe.Now I can eat vegetarian and TOTALLY healthy!This is such a great book,I could write on and on., Incudedwith pictures of your favorite celebrities their personal recipes,are some great little antidotes on each page.They were informative and interesting reading.This was the most unboring cookbook I ever read.1

I think the book was totally cool and nutritious! I loved it! Francia Ruppen is my wonderful Aunt, and I'm proud of her book that she wrote and my Aunt herself. Almost my whole family are vegetarians. So this book is a good help for us. Now we have a cookbook that is of use to us vegetarians as well as those who eat meat. I have been a vegetarian for all of my life. My name is Britain. I think my Aunt is a genius. Sincerely, Britain

I won't waste your time with repeating the same things everyone else has said. This is the best book for first-time home buying in SoCal; you won't lose money or time with this book. Gratuitous advice if you are buying in SoCal for the first time:
1. Things are done a little differently out here, so DO NOT listen to people from other states regarding need for a lawyer on every purchase; the escrow agency takes care of most of those details unless a problem arises. Just follow the book...it will guide you well.
2. If the home inspection report mentions a horizontal furnace related to Consolidated Inc. in the past, DO have your furnace inspected even if the serial number does not show a recalled NOx rod (see your home inspector, or a CA home inspection manual)...the Consolidated/Premier furnace that came with my place needed to be replaced despite not being on the recall list because of a fire hazard (eep!).
3. It's also handy to have a home inspection manual anyway so that any repairs you perform as a DIY'er won't cause problems down the road on resale, if needed.

I purchased this book because I was a first time home buyer and the information and tips I got from this book were wonderful. There was a tip about calling local title companies to find out who they think are good local real estate agents. I called for a recommendation, and it worked wonderfully! I found a great agent using that tip and I am extremely pleased with how everything worked out. The extra knowledge I acquired from this book was very helpful throughout the whole home buying process. It is an easy and fun book to read. The authors give stories from their personal experiences and also provide explanation of terms, etc. I would recommend it to any one who is going to buy a home.

This book rocks! It is well written, clearly organized, full of incredibly useful insights and obviates the need for any other books. Purchasing property in the Golden State is hugely complicated and this book unravels the knots and truly educates the potential buyer to the point that ones agent will be impressed. Every aspect is covered and in such depth that I truly believe it helped me negotiate the best price and the best mortgage terms. I fully understood all the steps and when it came to final closing costs, I was impressed that I was able to accurately predict exactly what those would be ...no shocks here. I highly recommend this book.

I will be a first time homebuyer shortly and this book is really helping me put things into perspective and feel confident about purchasing a home. Easy to read. Easy to understand. Easy to find specific information. Highly recommended.

This book is the only book you will need if buying a home in California. I am in my early thirties and knew nothing about the housing market in California until reading this easy and thorough guide to California home buying.
It provides a detailed and easy to understand guide to preparing oneself for entering theCalifornia housing market. The book is broken down in comprehensible, step by step chapters covering a wide range of subject areas. There are plenty of worksheets designed to help in your home search (practical and financial) as well as plenty of real life examples that illustrate common inquiries, pitfalls and scenarios.
I live in Los Angeles and was very intimidated by the insanely competitive housing market. This book has gotten me over these worries and am now working confidently with an amazing broker in looking for the house that's right for me. Don't bother with other guides, this is honestly the only one you will need!

George Perkovich has produced a seminal work on India's nuclear weapons program. He analyzes the political, economic, security issues that have contributed to India's decision-making regarding the bomb. George has correctly identified India as being caught in a dilemma for a long time over nuclear weapons testing. India also provides the only example of a nuclear weapons program that was openly debated in a democratic society. This debate (which ranked often very low on the priorities of successive prime ministers who correctly placed socio-economic development as a higher priority) has led to India shifting its position over time -- one from being the first proponent of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to opposing it due to is discriminatory nature today. It describes how India's opposition to nuclear weapons in the '50s which was perceived as being moralizing in the West, has now changed to embrace weapons since the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty permanently endorsed the nuclear weapons status of the five declared nuclear powers without any comprehensive, binding time-table for destroying all nuclear weapons -- a position that India objects to as being discriminatory.

A must-read for anyone interested in nuclear weapons proliferation and arms control negotiations today.

Less to do with the bomb per se, but a scholarly history of the Indian nuclear program. This is a work that will be quoted again and again.

This is easily one of the best books I have read about my own country. Very informative.

Note to editorial Reviewers: India entered the nuclear club in May 1974 and not in May 1998 as suggested by some of your reviews.

Some highlights of the book.

* The term nuclear "haves" and "have-nots" was coined by Homi Bhabha initially and used by others and till date has been central to putting forth our country's opposition to NPT and CTBT.

* University of Chicago's late Prof. Chandrasekhar's refusal to head the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) after the death of patriot Dr. Homi Bhabha.

* One of my disappointment is the author's avoidance in the discussion of the cause of the death of Dr. Homi Bhabha, even though such an incident is beyond the scope of this book. Since Bhabha provided the impetus and leadership during the nuclear program's infancy, I expected the author to throw some light on this issue.

* Vikram Sarabhai's hatred for Nuclear tests is news, especially since he was heading the Atomic Energy commision. As a spaceman it is surprising that he headed the organization in the first place.

* Indira Gandhi's refusal to allow more nuclear tests after 1974 stemmed from her abhorence for anything nuclear after her post-Pokhran I experiences. This is contrary to the popular belief - international pressure.

* Most sections of the book has an objective view of the Indian nuclear scenario except the last few chapters where the author seems to bend towards India signing the CTBT and the NPT. Or atleast implying that India's moral stand on nuclear issue was defeated after the May 98 tests.

* BJP (and its predecessor Jana Sangh) has been the only political party to openly campaign for Nuclear power.

It is time that India and Pakistan get the respect they deserve as nuclear powers. Why is it that France, Germany, Israel, the U.S., Russia, and South Africa (now supposedly non-nuclear) have been able to garner the respect that China, India and Pakistan are alluded by? Is it becuase they are not white Europeans? Nontheless, a well researched book.

As an Indian immensely proud of his country's accomplishments and having had to enter multiple debates with other non-Indians in May 1998, I gained a great amount from the book. It is immaculately researched and it seems that Perkovich has left no stone unturned. It goes into such depth and understanding of the Indian polity's psyche as previously unseen from a non-Indian author. Perkovich is not merely narrating a set of events which led to the testing but defending a theory that goes against current understandings of international relations and nuclear non-profileration by setting India as an example. I enjoyed every chapter of the book and hope that current policy makers in the field learn from it. A must read for every Indian interested it their country's policies and others making policy for the rest of the world.

What a pleasure to read. Wolverton weaves through the book personal history and her experiences at the Los Angeles Woman's Building to bring art history and feminism in LA to life. Wolverton easily evokes engaging images with just a few strokes of the pen.

Terry Wolverton's Insurgent Muse is one of the most powerful, moving memoirs I have ever read. Once I started reading, I literally could not put the book down and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. Wolverton writes with insight, courage and humor about her own coming of age as an artist, her coming out as a lesbian, and her experiences with the Los Angeles Woman's Building, not only as an institution but as a vision of a creative, collaborative community of women. Anybody who is interested in the connections between art and politics, especially how artists get politicized and how political art gets made, should read this book. Though there's no happy ending to this story - in that the Woman's Building is no more - I found Insurgent Muse incredibly inspiring and an important reminder that art DOES matter and that sisterhood - however chimerical it sometimes seems - can indeed be powerful.

This book is really two books in one. A facinating look at a pivitol moment in time for women in the arts woven together with the story of the author's own growth and evolution as an artist and a person. A must read for anyone who is interested in modern feminist history.

Insurgent Muse is much more than a retrospective of feminist art and history. Terry Wolverton has written a personal, honest, detailed history of the venerable Woman's Building. The discovery of self, the intensity of feminist spirit many found at the Woman's Building live on in this wonderful and courageous book.

For those who want to learn about the feminist art movement, "Insurgent Muse" is an informative and insightful book that is deeply complex yet very accessible. This book gives voice to an important but much neglected part of American history. What makes this book so compelling is Wolverton's ability to weave her personal experiences with this political movement. With gorgeous prose and honest and courageous self-exploration, Wolverton shares some valuable life lessons gleaned from some very difficult experiences. In particular, I appreciated her insights about the nature of empowerment and how the artist informs the art and vice versa.

I'm a pretty picky reader. Half the books I begin I never finish because I lose interest. Among those I finish, there are very few that leave a lasting impression. "Insurgent Muse" not only held me captive to the very last page, but it also left me with a feeling of excitement. I highly recommend this book. Read it and you won't be disappointed.

This book gives a brief and highly technical summary of what was known about nuclear fission in 1942 and how to go about turning this knowledge into a "practical weapon". Great fun to read if you have an engineering or physics degree or similar background knowledge. The author has extensively annotated and updated the terse original lecture notes that were given to new arrivals at Los Alamos. Interestingly, the annotations now take up more space that the original notes. These annotations may help to make the subject accessible to a non-technical audience as they provide invaluable historical and technical background. Invaluable for anyone interested in science history and/or the Manhattan Project.

IANAP (I Am Not A Physicist), but the son of one who worked in Los Alamos some time after WWII ... definitely recommend this for those not intimidated by some equations. There's lots here without the match, and the more of it you can appreciate the more the insights. Serber's comments add a lot of perspective.

Excellent book, it takes a bit to stick with it, but the modern day excerpts/perspectives threaded into the book give it a good historical perspective. This is a good combo to go together with Richard Rhodes "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and "Dark Sun".

- for anyone seriously interested in our nuclear heritage, weaponeering, or the NWEPS program. Gives INCREDIBLE insight as to the minds and directions these young physicists were going.

This book is a must-read. Simple, concise, straightforward technically. You gotta read it, 'nuff said.

This is a truly exciting book for people with the desire to understand bomb physics. This book consists out of the original lecture notes from a series of seminars given in 1943 to the bomb scientists at the start of the Manhattan Project. These lecture notes are clearly annotated so that a layman can understand the bomb. Although the book discusses mainly the knowledge of 1943, the clear annotations of the author comments also on the advances since 1943.

In this book you will learn to calculate the energy of an atomic bomb after already 5 pages using only one simple physical law (no, not Einstein!). When you are halfway in the book, you will understand the calculations of the critical mass.

However to fully appreciate the book, you need to have a basic understanding of mathematics and physics. (it would be nice if you know what a differential equation is.)

The book also contains several funny anekdotes which make it a truly astonishing reading.

I bought this because I wore out my old copy that I was given when I worked selling the Times door to door in my teens. I was able to check it out at the library from time to time but then it disappeared. What a relief to find it on [...]. I couldn't wait to get to those favorite recipes again! Some of them were so great I had them memorized like the recipe for turkey that I've used every Thanksgiving for the last twenty years, gaining the reputation of having the juciest turkey anyone's ever tasted. I love that some of the recipes came from famous restaurants or even celebrities. My family can now enjoy their old favorites again that I stopped making when my original cookbook fell apart and was lost.

As a mother of four daughters, I would call this a legacy cookbook. My personal favorites are the Ribs Diablo (to die for...sweet and just a little spicy), banana bread recipe, Chicken Dijonnaise...I could go on and on.) I have found copies of this at Orange County swap meets occasionally, and have given them all away. If you have a chance to get a copy of this cookbook, snatch it up. Nothing I have tried in this cookbook has ever been a disappointment.

I use the California Cookbook at least once a month, mostly for recipes that are a little too West Coast-centric for Joy and the other oldies, but too old-fashioned or boring for Epicurious. Browsing through this collection of 650+ recipes from the paper's archives, it doesn't take long to stumble across dishes from one-time celebrities -- Mahalia Jackson, Lawrence Welk, Polly Bergen -- and popular restaurants of yore. (Remember The Velvet Turtle? The Hungry Tiger?) Each recipe has a little piece of marginalia that introduces its source, adding a bit of backstory and flair

A friend gave me this cookbook and it quickly became the source of some family favorites. I lost all of my cookbooks in a house fire in 2002 and this was the one cookbook I missed the most. My family LOVED the Lasagna pg.167 and the Chicken Enchiladas pg.215 and no one was happy with any other recipe I tried. I've already received the replacement I found on Amazon.com and I'm thrilled. For only 85 cents plus shipping my family and I are celebrating!

I like many others got this cookbook as a freebe for a subscription. I have used it constantly since 1983, so much so the pages have turned yellow & are starting to get loose in the book. It is probably the best cookbook I have ever had & would love to buy one for my daughter, now that she is out on her own. I no longer live in So Calif, but find each recipe interesting with the little blurps they give on the background of each recipe.

Always enjoy his show that is shot somewhere in wine country in northern CA. I wish I had a kitchen like that and or a house and land but always enjoy his food and show and the book has many of those recipes and many are not hard just comes down to prepping as he does and making it easier to have great food without going crazy!

I bought this book because I saw it at my daughter-in-laws and the recipes looked interesting. I have not been disappointed. Just made the zablione with fruit the other night and got raves.

One killer recipe after another in this book. Outstanding suggestions and photos, remarkable results. Not always very simple cooking, but simple directions made easy to understand. Wine recommendations come with recipe selections too, very complete and tasty!

We are serious foodies and particularly love all regional Italian cooking. Admit we are bit skeptical of Italian American recipes but after watching MC on TV (finally got a Food Channel on satellite here in Australia) decided to invest in the book. It is brilliant - every recipes tried has scored a "do again" and the pantry items are great. Even a beginner can follow the recipes and experienced cooks will appreciate the layers of flavour that MC is always talking about. Buy this book - you won't be sorry! Off to buy his latest now....

I've grown to love Michael Chiarello's recipes. In the Goldilocks challenge between making a dish "too simple" or "too much work," time after time Chiarello manages to find the spot that's exactly right. His recipes don't promise instant gratification, in the semi-homemade 30-minute style that's become popular recently. But he's also aware that you have something else to do with your day besides cooking dinner.

Chiarello's background is Italian, so a lot of recipes in this book display that influence -- quite a bit of pasta, for example, and a tendency to use olive oil where others might choose butter. But you'd do better to think of it as Napa-meets-Italian, as his recipes aren't the sort of food that you'll find at the traditional restaurant with a red-checked tablecloth and a candle stuck in a bottle of Chianti. The book lives up to its promise of "casual cooking."

Chiarello encourages you to create a pantry of ingredients that you can call upon whenever needed, and I completely agree with that "good cooking in not much time" philosophy. At first, it might sound as though you need to cook three things just to have the ingredients for a single dish, but the pantry section helps you create items that, later, you'll be able to grab out of the freezer or your spice shelf and put into an "instant" meal. For example, we first made his awesome winter panzanella, which uses homemade croutons in addition to butternut squash and brussels sprouts. The croutons are easy enough -- assuming that you already made his bagna cauda butter. (It's basically anchovies, parsley, and garlic mixed with two sticks of softened butter.) But two days after the salad, we made clams and linguine with more of the bagna cauda butter, and *that* came together in less time than it took to boil the noodles. I still have a half cup of the bagna cauda butter in the freezer, just waiting for a day when I feel like more than a slab-of-steak.

The pantry chapter is 30 pages long (including lots of beautiful photos; this is a great eye-candy cookbook), which includes everything from spiced walnuts to a fennel spice mix. The other chapters are appetizers; eggs & sandwiches; soups & salads; pasta; rice, beans & polenta; fish & shellfish; meat & poultry; vegetables; and sweet things. If you want a collection of fine Italian baking, you'll have to buy another book in addition to this one (you notice I'm assuming you'll buy this in any case), as his dessert choices are on the no-big-deal side of Thursday dinner rather than a big blowout feast. Panna cotta, perhaps, or dried fruit compote with Sambuca.

Many of the recipes are extremely simple, in that "perfect roast chicken" way (his uses rosemary and lemon -- and it came out great) but he isn't afraid to provide a recipes for a sauce that needs to cook for hours. He usually includes menu advice (i.e. serve this with roast pork), and some kind of cook's notes, such as the tip that soaking red onion briefly in sherry vinegar will mellow the raw onion taste.

A fine cookbook. Recommended.