No recipe? No problem! How to pull together tasty meals without a recipe

Good (the Fix-it and Forget-it series) returns with a winning guide on how to successfully wing it in the kitchen. This way of cooking, which is to say without a traditional recipe, allows "ingredients lead the way and to improvise." The book is loosely organized by food type (veggies, grains, proteins) and relies on charts, technique tutorials, and "freestyle cooking ideas" that can be applied to any number of items, based on what's on hand. There are, for instance, a chart delineating the best methods for cooking 23 different vegetables, a pair of charts for cooking 15 types of grains either on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker, and another series of charts for estimating cooking times for various cuts of meat. Solid primers cover essential cooking skills--sautéing, braising, roasting, broiling, etc.--and advice from members of the Cooking Circle, a virtual community of experienced improvisational cooks, appears throughout ("Grain and pasta dishes are great for a potluck or carry-in"). With its clean design and easy-to-follow instructions, this should be a hit with novice cooks looking to sharpen their kitchen chops. (May)