The smitten kitchen cookbook

You don't need to be a chef, you don't need special ingredients, you don't even need a big kitchen. There is a half-galley kitchen in New York with just a single counter, a tiny stove, pans stacked high in the corner - yet it has conjured up stews and slaws, salsas and pestos, tatins and cheesecakes. All to-die-for.

This is Deb Perelman's kitchen. Deb is an ordinary home cook who believes food should be a pleasure and deliciousness a guarantee. So she founded www.smittenkitchen.com, her award-winning blog, where she concocts, tweaks and obsessively tests the best imaginable recipes for the everyday cook.

These are recipes you'll bookmark, share, and make your own, whether it isCourgette Ribbons with Almond Pestofor a summer lunch,Everyday Margherita Pizzafor the family,Seared Halibut with Gazpacho Salsafor a weekend dinner, orTiny But Intense Chocolate Cakefor a special treat.

'I'm a longtime fan of the blog and this is a wonderful cookbook' Rachel Khoo,Little Paris Kitchen