If you know Richard Blais only from Bravo's TV show Top Chef All-Stars, you might be surprised at how approachable the tantalizing recipes in his debut cookbook are. Professionally, Blais likes to push the limits of culinary creativity, often using high-tech wizardry to craft delectable curiosities. What's striking about the food in this book is how warmly familiar it all feels and how easy it is to make. There's nothing complicated, for example, about his recipe for Persimmon Caprese-slices of persimmon, fresh mozzarella, and onion topped with olive oil, balsamic, and fresh basil. The wow factor comes purely from Blais's genius substitution of silky persimmon for the tomatoes in this other wise classic salad. Blais wanted this book to be about the everyday dishes that he loves to eat with his wife and children, but for those readers who want it, the cheffy razzle-dazzle is still there in recipe variations that let you play with unexpected flavors, create foams, use dry ice, and cook sous vide to your heart's delight.