AS its title - delicious: quick smart cook - states, this book is full of deliciousness.

 If you can't make it on the screen as part of Master Chef, you can still be a culinary whiz in your own kitchen with the 120 recipes included in this cookbook.

And it's that time of the year, when the phrase "this will make a good Christmas present" is upon us.

Very true in this case.

A nice combination of the manageable and the impressive, this is full of recipes that aim to save time and still be suitable for a menu when guests are due.

Oven-baked Thai chicken curry is an easy one, while maple-glazed duck might take a bit more planning ahead.

There's a nod to a range of culinary traditions - Japanese with sukiyaki beef with edamame (soybeans) and sushi rice, Cantonese with XO (spicy sauce) pork stirfry with Asian greens, as well as Italian with wild mushroom and truffle orzotto.

There is a science to putting together an accessible cookbook, and this one has clean, easy-to-read recipes.

It also has a beautiful full-page colour photograph displaying each final result.

There's a full breakfast section for a lazy brunch with friends, and the sweet tooths among us aren't forgotten with the dessert options.

What will it be tonight?

Perhaps easy peach and ginger crumble featuring crushed ginger biscuits, Swedish apple cake or molten mocha puddings?

As editor of the ABC's popular delicious magazine, Valli Little understands what the home cooks want.

And she delivers yet again with delicious: quick smart cook.