Gary Wiviott is a longtime Internet friend and the ultimate foodie. Regardless of the cuisine or ingredient, Gary knows the best place in Chicago to eat it or get it. One of the things on my bucket list is to experience a culinary tour of Chicago led by Gary. He has a passion for food that is unmatched and refuses to settle for less than the best.

Gary's quest for the best became focused on barbecue when he aquired a Weber Smoky Mountain smoker a few years ago. He set out on a quest to master the basics of barbecue cooking. Gary appreciates simplicity and he constantly took others to task on the online forums for unnecessarily complicating a cooking technique, that he saw as the ultimate in simplicity, with overly complex rubs, sauces, marinades and gadgets.

He experimented obssessively to learn the techniques that would consistently produce world class barbecue by mastering the basic techniques of fire control, cooker control, and knowing when the barbecue meat is properly done. In this book Gary shares what he has learned over the past 10 years by laying out 5 easy lessons using inexpensive backyard equipment, that if followed, will allow even the most novice cook to move up from grilling to true, low and slow cooked, barbecue that will be the envy of their friends and family.

I have seen a lot of barbecue books and I say without hesitation that this is the first true barbecue how-to book ever published. But don't think Gary's book is only for the novice. It includes numerous tried and true recipes as well as advice on developing your own signature rubs, sauces and marinades. There are numerous tips, techniques and nuggets of wisdom that will benefit even the most experienced and jaded barbecue cook. I highly recommend this book as an essential addition to any barbecue bookshelf.

Technically this isn't a barbecue cookbook, however it contains many recipes that would make excellent side dishes as well as oven recipes that could easily be adapted to a barbecue pit or smoker. It never hurts to eat healthier and many of these recipes can provide tasty, healthy meals for those days when there is no barbecue available or you just want a healthy accompaniment to your barbecue meal. Written by Phyllis Pellman Good, a bestselling New York Times author, together with the prestigious Mayo Clinic whose dietitians analyzed all the recipes for their nutritional value, this cookbook proves that meals can be tasty, quick and healthy.

I loaned the book to a vegetarian friend who had these comments:

"Thoroughly enjoyed browsing this book and trying some recipes. As a vegetarian, and believer of healthy eating, I found that most recipes met my needs or could easily be adapted.

I found that the Equivalent Measurements page contained more equivalents than the usual 4 quarts=1 gallon type...some of these equivalents I had not seen before. The Salt Substitute Herb Mixtures were useful, especially in the combinations of specific herbs. The "Tips" feature spattered throughout the book was very informative and per-serving analysis for each recipe was very helpful.

All in all, Fix-It and Enjoy It is a book full of a variety of easily made healthy recipes for anyone interested in a healthier way of eating."