Simply Julia by Julia Turshen

I am slowly warming to this cookbook, which was wildly popular with our Food 52 Cookbook group. The great thing about having a group of above average to excellent cooks all focusing on the same cookbook at one time is that you get some great ideas about what recipes to try yourself. The premise of this is that you are cooking on a week night and you want to put food on the table quickly that tastes more complex than the time you have devoted to it would ordinarily render it. There is a lot to be said for this approach, and having a book that does that and nothing else is definitely worth some space on your shelf. There are several of everything. For example, a number of different meatball options, and you can sub the ground meat you have. There are several dressings that are unusual and dump and shake and dress and serve. I found the soy based one too salty, but my gut told me it would be, and I would try it again with less tamari. There is something for every meal of the day, including dessert, and there is some snack food/appetizer options. The writing style is breeezy without being irritating, and as more people try things from this in my cookbook club, I am likely to return to it more often than I have cooked from it so far. If you are looking for easy peasy, give this one a whirl.