ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Vanity Fair, Time Out, Salon, Publishers Weekly

You don't need a recipe. Really, you don't.

Sam Sifton, founding editor of New York Times Cooking, makes improvisational cooking easier than you think. In this handy book of ideas, Sifton delivers more than one hundred no-recipe recipes--each gloriously photographed--to make with the ingredients you have on hand or could pick up on a quick trip to the store. You'll see how to make these meals as big or as small as you like, substituting ingredients as you go.

Fried Egg Quesadillas. Pizza without a Crust. Weeknight Fried Rice. Pasta with Garbanzos. Roasted Shrimp Tacos. Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Croutons. Oven S'Mores. Welcome home to freestyle, relaxed cooking that is absolutely yours.