[food news] Kick back with "Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood"

Cost: 32.50

If you already love cooking, then Curtis Stone's new book offers you a new repertoire of tasty and creative recipes. If you hate cooking and get frazzled if you're standing within three feet of a kitchen, this book might be a revelation. Chef Curtis Stone is best known for meeting people in the supermarket and coming home with them to cook them a gourmet meal in TLC's Take Home Chef. His new cookbook is infused with the same spirit of fun: it's specifically designed to show you how to stay laid-back and have fun in the kitchen while cooking a meal for a bunch of friends. To this end, Stone avoids fancy culinary words and exotic ingredients in favor of fresh seasonal foods that will help you impress, in sections like "Something to Eat on the Sofa" and "Brunches to Blow Their Minds."

For a taste, here's a tip on making fresh homemade pesto--"You can vary the consistency to match the purpose: Make it nice and thick to spread over bruschetta, or thin it with extra olive oil so it's easy to toss through pasta." His recipe uses fresh basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

-- E. Seltzer

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