This cookbook is for the American cook who can be unconcerned on occasion with budgets, waistlines, time schedules, children's meals, the parent-chauffeur-den-mother syndrome, or anything else that might interfere with the enjoyment of producing something wonderful to eat. Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy; it just means that anything you set your hand to makes good eating, be it mashed potatoes, chicken soup, meatballs, or a cake. Written for those who love to cook, the recipes are detailed as I have felt they should be so the reader will know exactly what is involved and how to go about it. This makes them a bit longer than usual, and some of the recipes are quite long but not out of the ordinary.