The 125 recipes are presented in menus rather than the more usual cookery book arrangement by course or key ingredient. Everything that’s required to complete the menu fits onto one page – more space is devoted to Con Poulos’s mouth-watering photographs than to the recipes themselves.

How about the Lazy Day menu? Let’s start with a delicious tomato and capsicum soup, followed by individual chicken and leek pot pies and a side dish of mint and butter peas, then a generous dollop of rhubarb meringue mess. What could be better on a chilly winter’s day?

If the occasion demands something rather more elegant, you could try the veal roasted in cherry tomato sauce or the grilled lobster with pistachio and preserved lemon butter. Even the most sophisticated recipes are surprisingly easy to follow and many are accompanied by useful serving suggestions and stylish presentation tips.

The simplicity of the menus means even the busiest home cook can do better than beans on toast after a long day at the office, and that’s the real charm of this excellent new book. Instant Entertaining is not really about entertaining at all; it’s about modern, healthy food that’s quick to prepare and delicious to eat. So, don’t wait until you have guests for dinner – pick a page and treat yourself tonight. – HarperCollins, $39.99