The Angle: I picked this cookbook up because it is by one of my favorite celebrity chefs, Stephanie Izard.

Difficulty Level: This is definitely a cookbook for more advanced home cooks. A lot of the recipes have multiple elements, ingredients the average person may not use often in their kitchen, and involve techniques that aren’t necessarily in the repertoire of someone cooking dinner after they come home from work. However, each recipe is very detailed, contains advice for tweaks and substitutions, and has lengthy descriptions of how to achieve those unfamiliar techniques.

Recipe Overview: There is a lot of variety here. Meat, fish, sides, basics. They are adventurous, though, largely because it’s Stephanie’s style to combine ingredients that don’t seem to go together. But it always ends up working, as her tenure on Top Chef shows. I would ultimately classify these as weekend endeavors, or dishes you might save for special occasions.

Final Thoughts: The tone of this book is fun and inspiring. Stephanie wants us to have fun cooking, and not feel bad if we’re not great at it yet. Even though the recipes themselves are a bit intimidating, she makes them very approachable.