Rachael Ray - Rachael Rays Look + Cook

The theme of all of the work I do remains the same today as it was the day I wrote my first 30-Minute Meal more than fifteen years ago: Anyone and everyone can cook a good meal. You do not need special skills or an exorbitant budget to prepare good-quality food for yourself or others. Good food and fine living are not reserved for the rich. Having a rich quality of life can be as accessible as a simple supper and a positive state of mind.

The Look + Cook 100 are as foolproof as recipes can get. This collection of recipes is the paint-by-numbers of food preparation. In each of the Look + Cook 100 you can see and study each step of each entre as it is being prepared. In some cases, a recipe is not even necessary; you can see the ingredients and the amounts clearly represented. But the recipes are here for you, too, along with the same freehand style of teaching method that I always use.

Each recipe can be served as is or with a simple salad; but many of the recipes, especially those designed for entertaining, have suggested starters or side dishes as accompaniments and they are cross-referenced throughout the book. There are even a few easy desserts to choose from, although I must confess that when dinner guests offer to bring something I take them up on it. Bring sweet treats, please!

The Look + Cook 100 are divided into three categories: Cozy Food, Make Your Own Takeout, and Fancy Fake-Outs. Dont let the labels stop you from entertaining with recipes from any of the three sections. I feel that entertaining with comfort foods or takeout-style casual foods can often place your guests more at ease and result in dinner parties that have more life than fancy sit-down celebrationsalthough for date nights and special occasions you need a few easy yet elegant entres in your repertoire.

Whether you cook five nights a week and could write a book of your own or you have been too intimidated to ever pick up a chefs knife, the Look + Cook 100 will have your back literally every step of the way from kitchen to table.

Comfort foods make you feel cozy from the inside out. These meals, like are feel-good favorites. I make cozy meals for myself or for my family at the end of especially long days, on nights when I feel a cold coming on, or when we are in need of a little cheering up at our house. Cozy foods are extra-delicious on cold nights, eaten by a crackling fire or curled up under your favorite blankie. Feel better. Make dinner tonight.