I just bought this book and spent the weekend making a selection the recipes - the tomato soup made by roasting tomatoes, garlic etc and whizzing it up in a blender (no water, no stock...), crispy skinned salmon with a sesame soy glaze and lime slice (as opposed to the lemon slice) as desert. Bill's recipes seem to achieve the same great results with at least half the effort. Compare his recipe for cheesecake with that in the Joy of Cooking and you will see what I mean. His version involves no baking at all and I can't wait to try it out. When I made the base for the lime slices in the food processor while the tomatoes roasted for the soup I was struck several times by a feeling that everything was easier than I was expecting. I will definately buy Bill's other books when I am through with this one. The photography and layout are inspiring and accurate of the results, which I always think is the measure of a good recipe book.