A Message From Susan

Dear Friends,

I used to struggle with getting dinner on the table.  I was an awful cook, and I despised cookbooks.   So what changed?  In 1997,  a friend and I were talking on the telephone, complaining about the fact that we both needed to cook dinner.  I proposed that I would cook for her if she would do the same for me later in the week.  That was the beginning of supper swapping for us.   We refined and modified the way that we swapped meals over the years.  Our arrangement was so helpful that I wanted to share the tips with you.

The funny part of this story is that I never became super confident about my cooking.  I was so nervous about putting together a cookbook that I begged and pleaded chefs for their very easiest recipes.  They patiently cooperated.

For your enjoyment, you'll also find some interesting stories about the chefs and their recipes.  Also, most recipes offer a general cooking tip from the featured chef. --Just something fun I added. The kids' two-thumbs up rating is another popular part of the cookbook.  If you have kids, stick to these recipes. 

Since I wasn't a very good cook when I first started writing about supper swapping, I decided to make sure all the recipes were easy with limited ingredients.  Believe it or not, I still only make recipes that don't intimidate me.  Recipes range from Coconut Soup (seven ingredients) from the famous Beach and Tennis Club, Pebble Beach to Black Bean Asparagus Salad (seven ingredients) from The Taste of Texas to Crab Cakes from Joe's Stone Crab in Florida. Yum!

Last, you'll even find some simple, irresistible recipes when you plan to splurge, like Owner/Chef Wendy Jordan's version of peanut butter balls from top rated Rosemary's in Las Vegas. Try this sample recipe and others by going to the recipe tab on this website.  By the way,  I went through hundreds of recipes to get down the the best ones that were easy from well-known chefs. Hope you enjoy!