In The Improvisational Cook, Sally Schneider helps home cooks declare their independence from recipes and set lists of ingredients and offers an invitation to a fun, more spontaneous way to cook with whatever is on hand. But how do you become an improvisational cook?

Once you understand how a basic technique or a recipe works, you can then begin to improvise. Start with one of The Improvisational Cook's essential recipes, such as Caramelized Onions. A special Understanding section follows, explaining the internal logic of the recipe and its creative possibilities. With that in mind, a savory onion jam; a real onion dip; a quick bruschetta topped with the onions, anchovies, and olives; or a rustic onion soup with dried porcini mushrooms is just a step or two beyond. Sally's notated improvisations illustrate simple, clever approaches and can be followed as is or used as a jumping-off point.

The possibilities are endless. Slow-roast fish at 300 degrees, along with some cherry tomatoes and olives for a sauce. Prepare a savory lemon jam to go with lamb or veal chops, or turn it into a cake filling. Roast a whole lobster instead of a fish in a salt crust. Add minced rosemary or Earl Grey tea to butter cookie dough. Turn a brownie batter into an elegant pepper-scented chocolate cake.

Sally gives you the know-how to embellish, adapt, change, alter, modify, and experiment in your cooking with plenty of encouragement and helpful information — the tools and insights you need to find your own voice and cook improvisationally. These include an exploration of the inside of improvisation — the creative mind-set, where to find inspiration, how to deal with the unexpected, practical approaches to learning what goes with what, including a chart of classic flavor affinities, and tips on organizing your kitchen to make improvising easier, from long-keeping pantry staples to makeshift tools.

Using The Improvisational Cook, you'll discover a way of cooking that's fun, unfussy, and truly pleasurable. Everyday cooking can become creative every day.

"As she did in A New Way to Cook, Schneider offers an original, practical and well-executed plan for improvisational cooking — experimenting, cooking creatively, playing with ingredients and recipes, and 'relinquishing total control and allowing an idea to develop organically.' She presents ingredient-inspired recipes followed by several improvisations, or variations: a simple Herb Salad morphs into Spring Salad with Pea Shoots, Tarragon, and Chives; Cilantro Salas with Fragrant Peanut or Sesame Oil; Salad of Cress, Pine Nuts, Pears, and Chives; and Doctored Mesclun Salad. The Sage-and-Garlic Popcorn precedes derivatives for Brown Butter Popcorn, Caramelized Shallot Popcorn, Rosemary Popcorn, Smoky Bacon Popcorn and White Truffle Popcorn. Each anchor recipe features an 'understanding' section that explains key ingredients or techniques. For example, a section within the Crackling Corn Bread recipe discusses cornmeal, fats in breads, buttermilk, flavorings and the basic cornbread formula. Readers can then use the ingredients and techniques — with confidence and knowledge — in myriad ways. Photographs are too few and far between; more images would enhance this volume and inspire experimentation. But overall the format is a creative way to teach readers to think more like chefs." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Sally Schneider is the author of the award-winning cookbook A New Way to Cook. A former chef, Sally is a regular contributor to radio's "The Splendid Table," and writes a syndicated newspaper column for Universal Press Syndicate called "The Improvisational Cook." Sally has written for numerous publications, including Food & Wine, Saveur, Real Simple, Self, and Metropolitan Home. She lives in New York City.