Curtis Stone has been following supermarket shoppers home for over a year. As the star of the TLC television show "Take Home Chef," Curtis seeks out unsuspecting shoppers, trades their iceberg lettuce for arugula, and follows them home to prepare delicious meals with seasonal ingredients. The tremendous results demonstrate how gloriously easy it is to spice up home life with exciting food: all you need are fresh ideas to match your ingredients.

"To me, the most important thing about cooking is not years of skill or practice, but understanding what you are cooking," he says. "If you use the right ingredient at the right time of year, it's hard to go wrong."

Curtis' innovative, pared-down approach to home cooking comes alive in Cooking with Curtis, his first book. The book is divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter sections, matching Curtis' passion for seasonal foods. Each recipe is helpfully marked "easy," "everyday" or "adventurous" according to preparation time, ingredient type, and taste. Vivid photography and an intuitive, easy-to-follow format makes it easy for home cooks to find a decadent selection of seasonal recipes fit for every occasion.

The recipes in Cooking with Curtis showcase Curtis' flexibility as both a master chef and home cook. The intricate Mosaic Terrine of Hare, Foie Gras and Madeira is an autumn delicacy sure to impress dinner guests; the Alphonso Mango Bellini is a breezy spring cocktail to be enjoyed with friends. Curtis' eye for blending unique flavors with a European edge makes for a fresh book sure to inspire the palates of cooks of all levels. Indeed, Cooking with Curtis presents recipes to write home about!