A couple of hot tips

There are many cookbooks aimed at people with little time or expertise, some better than others. One recent publication that seems particularly helpful is Lucy's Food (Hardie Grant Books), by British chef Lucy Cufflin. With years of experience catering and cooking in Swiss ski chalets, she has honed recipes to their simplest but retained the flavour.

Besides easy to follow instructions, there are numerous tips, notes on equipment needed (never much), prep and cooking times, whether they can be made ahead, variations, whether they are suitable for vegetarians or others on special diets, adjustments for budget cooking, and menu suggestions.

The numerous recipes include many classics with French (chicken provencal), Italian (Sicilian pork), British (steak and kidney pies) and Middle Eastern (lamb kleftiko) flavours, and a good range of simple, flavoursome, contemporary dishes, including puddings and cakes.

• Julia Della Croce's Italian comfort food: 125 recipes to satisfy your soul (Kyle Cathie) includes many simple, homely dishes with typical Italian flavours - fennel, tomato, olives, sage, saffron, parmesan.

Many come from her friends, family or colleagues, such as Signora Colluccio's quick linguine and tomato lunch, Flavia Destefanis' meatless pasta and bean soup, Nonna Vera's tender and crunchy beef medallions or cauliflower salad with capers, spring onions and lemon, winter squash stew with tomato, dry-cured olives and garlic, both staples of her childhood.

Della Croce is an award-winning American food writer, but this well-illustrated edition has been mostly converted to metric measurements, except for butter, which is measured in tablespoons - which makes it a little difficult. If you are puzzled, a tablespoon of butter is about 14g. A book for those wanting hearty, home-cooked food with a difference.