Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood

We tried several recipes from this book. All were tasty, easy to prepare, looked liked the photos when finished, and used ingredients we were able to find at the local market. Thumbs up! It is now one of our favorites.

Curtis Stone is host of the Take Home Chef TV show and though he's head of a Manhattan restaurant, he offers a laid-back guide to home cooking blending gourmet foods with seasonal ingredients and easy dishes that just LOOK complicated. From Caramelized Nectarines with Yogurt and Honey and Red Curry with Lobster and Pineapple to Grilled Scallops with Fava Beans and Roasted Tomatoes, this packs in flavor and easy dishes along with color photos and is a top pick for any lending library.

I've enjoyed Curtis on TV for his laid-back, yet passion for food, not to be stuffy, but really good and enjoyable dining. Here he provides recipes for that target, relaxed cooking and dining as he puts it. It is the Aussie way, he says. I believe him, and am attracted to this as I first was to Graham Kerr. They are knowledgeable about five-star dining, yet prefer simpler, relaxed recipes for entertaining their friends. Curtis has even some new categories to highlight this more casual approach such as "Weekend Lunches" or "Something to Eat on the Sofa." The majority of ingredients and techniques required to prepare these recipes are not that difficult, with the exception of some of the seafood, e.g. daurade, however, he does in most cases provide substitutes for these harder to find types. I've only tried a few so far, but find them delivering on the theme of wonderful, relaxed food: Heirloom Tomato and Burrato Salad with Pepper-Crusted NY Steak; Smoked Trout Melt with Cucumber on Pumpernickel; Peach and Honey Cake with Orange Syrup; and Spicy Sausage Breakfast Burritos. There are many more that I look forward to trying. This proves to be a cookbook such that both the chef and the diner can enjoy not too formal and sophisticated dishes, yet as Curtis writes: "deliver a lot of flavor and plate appeal for the effort invested--in other words, to help you be as relaxed in the kitchen as you are in front of a that crackling fire." Goal achieved! The layout and color photos are superb as Clarkson Potter Publishers have a reputation in their cookbook collection.

I love love love this book! Talk about sprinting to get back into the kitchen. I was all over it. This is the yummiest selection of recipes that I've seen in a long time that will have you instantly inspired to get back into the kitchen. Who would have thought that a chef of Curtis's professional caliber could simplify things and make your everyday life in the kitchen so easy! The chapters are broken down by occasion, I rather like "something to eat on the sofa" which is a great chapter filled with comfy foods that you don't need to sit at the dinner table for. Or how about some great recipes for entertaining a crowd "crowd pleasers" and another favorite "sweet dreams" for all things sweet and delectable that will send you in to the sweetest of food comas!!! I could go on!!!

This book is exactly what is says it is: Relaxed cooking ala Curtis, and not at all boring by any means! Better yet, the ingredient lists are fairly short, the recipes uncomplicated and easy to follow, all with that touch of sophistication that Curtis is known to bring to his dishes. The book design gets a good review as well. The photography is bright and luscious, the layout modern and simple, and most importantly, the type is on the larger side (excellent when following along while cooking!). Personally, I can't wait to try the recipe for the rhubarb ripple ice cream myself (and how good does that sound!?) Overall, this book makes cooking exciting and approachable for the modest cook, yet is capable of interesting a more seasoned chef's palette. A great addition to any cooks' collection.