Dinner in a Dash by Lindsey Bareham

So take Lindsey Bareham's Dinner In a Dash which almost turns recipe writing convention on its head by listing the method for three, yes three dishes at once. Lindsey Bareham cleverly takes a dinner party menu and breaks the ingredients and preparation down into easy to digestible chunks. So in a menu of Asparagus with Lemon Butter, Crab Linguine with wilted Butter and Strawberry Fool - you may be hulling strawberries one minute and snapping woody stalks off asparagus the next.

The book is a dazzling array of 50 dinner party dishes for six people in sixty minutes. Didn't think you could make a chicken liver pate or a chocolate tart in alongside two other courses in under an hour? Then think again. Filled with fantastic seasonal recipes that complement each other perfectly - try Bruschetta of Red Pepper and Goats' Cheese, then Poached Chicken with Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette and finish with Pistachio Creamed Rice with Orange Salad.

Dinner in a Dash is for those cooks that like to be spoon fed their recipes in the nicest possible way, as instructions and ingredients are laid out with almost military precision. Lindsey Bareham ensures that the dinner party, something so stressful for so many becomes a cinch, and like everything, it's down to timing.

Nora Ryan