Who better than Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith, to deliver an empowering cookbook? His Kitchen Life aims to "hand readers the keys to the cooking kingdom so that preparing a meal is never a chore, but is instead a pleasure." To do so, he offers self-help and 130-plus recipes meant to fit the lives of the busy cooks with hungry families. The book's formula involves, for example, offering letters from "real people" whose kitchen distress Smith feels and then "relieves" via suggestions like "cooking at home takes a little planning but doesn't have to take much effort." But he also provides solid strategies and insights, notably in sections called "My Best Supermarket Tips" (know how produce is priced to avoid ever-creeping expense, he advises); "Eating Right" (for healthy eating, home portion control is basic); and "Different Ways of Cooking" (identify cooking methods like sautéing or roasting with which you're most comfortable). Smith also offers thoroughly useful recipes, such as Barbecued Ribs and Slaw Sandwiches; Tuna Casserole with Bow Ties, Mushrooms, and Parmesan; and Apple Cranberry Pudding, all scaled to what the average busy cook can deliver. His formulas will also help cooks to establish an everyday repertoire while encouraging more confident cooking to come. With color photos and sample menus to further assist everyday meal planning. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly
As you'd expect from Oprah's personal chef, this is self-help in a cookbook package. Reacting to input from readers of his first book, Back to the Table, and Oprah.com, Smith instructs those who are responsible for the care and feeding of children on how to organize, save time and simplify their lives by getting it together in the kitchen. He begins with a quiz meant to direct home cooks to the recipes that'll be most helpful. The book's first part is devoted to solving the problems of overtaxed parents with young children and beginners on a budget who are overly reliant on take-out, with tips for shopping in a supermarket with a list, planning ahead, freezing, and using leftovers. In the book's second portion, familiar, easy recipes are accompanied by simplistic sidebars (e.g., "What does it mean when a recipe calls for shredded cheese?"). With more than 150 recipes, including kid-friendly suggestions such as Macaroni and Cheese Soup, the book also instructs readers on how to make meal-worthy salads (such as Roast Chicken Waldorf Salad with Pecans and Rosemary) and inventive main dishes, like Skirt Steak with Red Wine Butter Sauce. Finally, this supremely basic book divides recipes into useful categories: "main courses with fewer than seven ingredients," "company fare" and "simple chicken suppers." Photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
If the name Art Smith isn't instantly recognizable, then chances are the Oprah Winfrey Show isn't at the top of your TV viewing list. As Oprah's personal chef, and a celebrity in his own right, Smith (Back to the Table, 2001) has almost single-handedly refined the notion of home-style cooking to reflect today's busy lifestyles and nutritional concerns. His 150 streamlined-ingredient recipes are geared to four different kinds of cooks, determined through an up-front short questionnaire asking for such information as time challenges, taste preferences, and cooking skills. The result is a selection of appetizers, entrees, side dishes, and desserts that transform a perceived drudgery into Smith's so-called "joyous kitchen life." Although no nutritional information is available, the author does feature frequent "Ask Art" sidebars (for instance, the difference between canned broth and bouillon cubes, and best storage for eggs), as well as shopping and organizational tips. At the beginning and end, by highlighting "real people's" concerns (via quotes from letters) and suggesting a series of meals to satisfy different food situations, he underscores his commitment to John and Jane Q. Public. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
The indispensable new cookbook for today's busy families from the New York Times bestselling author of Back to the Table. From James Beard Award–winning chef Art Smith comes a book that gives readers more than 150 simple and delicious ways to feed -- and enrich -- their families. in Back to the Table, Art Smith, the New York Times bestselling author and personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, showed readers how to gather at the table to celebrate special occasions with food. In his new book, Kitchen Life, Smith shows today's busy families an altogether new approach to everyday dining by staying ahead of the mealtime jam while learning to prepare simpler, more satisfying meals. This is a Practical, indispensable book that America's busy families can turn to every day of the year. Kitchen Life's unique organization and tools teach readers to identify what type of cook they are, based on how they eat, shop, and manage their hectic schedules. Divided into helpful sections, it demonstrates how to: --Create more efficient and comprehensive kitchen pantries
--Simplify and organize for cooking efficiently
--Create weekly menus It also offers solutions to "real-life" family case studies based on actual examples drawn from people in everyday situations -- from working, stay-at-home, and single parents to families with teenagers or a new baby in the house. Interactive questionnaires will help readers evaluate their own individual cooking style and then tailor recipes and meal plans to make their kitchen life easier than ever. At the heart of Kitchen Life are more than 150 of Smith's delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes from snacks, soups, and salads to casseroles and desserts, including: Art's Macaroni and Cheese Soup, Taverna Pasta Salad with Roast Lamb, Curry-Crusted Cornish Hens with Red Peppers, Chili Shepherd's Pie, and Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

About the Author
Art Smith is Oprah Winfrey's personal chef. For nearly 20 years, Art Smith has cooked professionally for the families of celebrities and heads of state. He grew up on a North Florida farm and trained at the Greenbrier and the Magic Kingdom College Program. He now lives in Chicago.

FROM OUR EDITORS

James Beard Award-winning chef Art Smith knows that most of us don't have time to indulge our Inner Chef. His Kitchen Life is based on a unique concept: Using interactive questionnaires, Smith helps readers evaluate their own individual cooking style and then tailor recipe and meal plans to make their kitchen life more realistic and more satisfying. This well-organized book describes how to create more efficient pantries; simplify cooking procedures; and create weekly menus.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The indispensable new cookbook for today's busy families from the New York Times bestselling author of Back to the Table.

From James Beard Award￯﾿ﾽwinning chef Art Smith comes a book that gives readers more than 150 simple and delicious ways to feed — and enrich — their families.

in Back to the Table, Art Smith, the New York Times bestselling author and personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, showed readers how to gather at the table to celebrate special occasions with food. In his new book, Kitchen Life, Smith shows today's busy families an altogether new approach to everyday dining by staying ahead of the mealtime jam while learning to prepare simpler, more satisfying meals. This is a Practical, indispensable book that America's busy families can turn to every day of the year.

Kitchen Life's unique organization and tools teach readers to identify what type of cook they are, based on how they eat, shop, and manage their hectic schedules. Divided into helpful sections, it demonstrates how to:

—Create more efficient and comprehensive kitchen pantries
—Simplify and organize for cooking efficiently
—Create weekly menus

It also offers solutions to "real-life" family case studies based on actual examples drawn from people in everyday situations — from working, stay-at-home, and single parents to families with teenagers or a new baby in the house.

Interactive questionnaires will help readers evaluate their own individual cooking style and then tailor recipes and meal plans to make their kitchen life easier than ever.

At the heart of Kitchen Life are more than 150 of Smith's delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes from snacks, soups, and salads to casseroles and desserts, including: Art's Macaroni and Cheese Soup, Taverna Pasta Salad with Roast Lamb, Curry-Crusted Cornish Hens with Red Peppers, Chili Shepherd's Pie, and Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Art Smith is Oprah Winfrey's personal chef. For nearly 20 years, Art Smith has cooked professionally for the families of celebrities and heads of state. He grew up on a North Florida farm and trained at the Greenbrier and the Magic Kingdom College Program. He now lives in Chicago.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

As you'd expect from Oprah's personal chef, this is self-help in a cookbook package. Reacting to input from readers of his first book, Back to the Table, and Oprah.com, Smith instructs those who are responsible for the care and feeding of children on how to organize, save time and simplify their lives by getting it together in the kitchen. He begins with a quiz meant to direct home cooks to the recipes that'll be most helpful. The book's first part is devoted to solving the problems of overtaxed parents with young children and beginners on a budget who are overly reliant on take-out, with tips for shopping in a supermarket with a list, planning ahead, freezing, and using leftovers. In the book's second portion, familiar, easy recipes are accompanied by simplistic sidebars (e.g., "What does it mean when a recipe calls for shredded cheese?"). With more than 150 recipes, including kid-friendly suggestions such as Macaroni and Cheese Soup, the book also instructs readers on how to make meal-worthy salads (such as Roast Chicken Waldorf Salad with Pecans and Rosemary) and inventive main dishes, like Skirt Steak with Red Wine Butter Sauce. Finally, this supremely basic book divides recipes into useful categories: "main courses with fewer than seven ingredients," "company fare" and "simple chicken suppers." Photos. Agents, Jan Miller and Michael Broussard. (Oct. 6) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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