Are your taste buds as demanding as your schedule? With busy work and social calendars and family obligations, few people have time to prepare elaborate meals during the week. But that doesn't mean you and your family are doomed to a diet of frozen dinners; with a little planning, anyone can prepare delicious meals even on hectic weeknights. In The Weekend Chef: 192 Smart Recipes for Relaxed Cooking Ahead, Barbara Witt shows you how to cook for pleasure on the weekend and eat with pleasure during the week.

Want a chicken potpie on Tuesday? No problem. Make the pie crusts and prep the filling on Sunday, and the dish is almost ready to go. Not sure what to do with the leftover fruit in the fruit bowl on Saturday? Turn those apples and pears into a chutney to serve with a pork dish on Thursday or with lamb chops on Friday. Clean, chop, and bag vegetables on Sunday to add to frozen beef broth for a quick and delicious soup, or make an Italian beef stew and use the leftovers to make a hearty pasta sauce. With a little advance work, the possibilities are endless.

The Weekend Chef: 192 Smart Recipes for Relaxed Cooking Ahead includes detailed, step-by-step, mouthwatering recipes for sophisticated dishes like Garlicky Roasted Tomato Soup, Polenta with Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onions, Saffron Rice Pilaf, Five-Spice Baby Carrots, Short Ribs Braised with Three-Color Peppers, Trinidad Curried Pork, Mexican Meat Loaf, Leek and Fennel Pasta Sauce, and Bolognese Meat Sauce. Simple yet sumptuous dessert recipes include 30-Minute Lime Cheesecake and Apple and Currant Sour Cream Pie. Recipes for condiments that can transform a meal -- such as Asian Pear with Mango Chutney, Tomatillo and Green Chili Salsa, and Red Onion Confit -- round out this user-friendly volume. Witt even provides details on how to stock your pantry. After all, what's the point of having pasta sauce in the freezer if you don't have any pasta in the cupboard?

The Weekend Chef: 192 Smart Recipes for Relaxed Cooking Ahead is for those who love good food and love to cook but just don't have the time during the week. Witt invites you to relax in the kitchen on the weekends and shows you that with a little planning, weekday meals can be just as wonderful as weekend meals.