How does anengineer by education and heart turn into a sales and marketing person, who eventually writes a cook book as he heads into reti rement? I was an engineer that eventually steered my career into sales and marketing. This had me traveling all over the country and eating and entertaining in some of the finest restaurants this Country has to offer. I actually got paid for eating great meals in some of the best restaurants in the United States. I never thought or even dreamed of cooking until I became unemployed many years later. This is when I started watching Rachael, Giada and the other food network shows. I was able to fi nd my new passion for cooking. I started to embellish upon those same recipes and enhanced them even more. I got more ideas while eating in some of the local restaurants in Massachusetts. I tried to cook some of those dishes. I also got some recipes and ideas from talking to friends who also enjoy good food and cooking. I started to bring some of my meals to work for my friends to try. They have been the ones that encouraged me to write this cook book. Every one of the meals that I brought in was given outstanding reviews. I only hope that you will like these easy tasty recipes and enjoy them as much as we have. Remember, most of these can be cooked in less than a half hour, and in most cases all of these recipes include the prep time for that half hour.