Whereas the menus in A Platter of Figs were designed to feed eight to ten with grace and ease, the menus in this book serve four to six. There are twenty-four menus, six per season, each of them amusingly and engagingly titled (for example, "Feeling Slightly American" and "Cooking Today for Tomorrow"), and punctuated with rich mini-essays full of information and insight. The menus are bookended by a chapter on private rituals, those treats for when you're on your own in the kitchen with no one else to satisfy, and at the other end, menus for holiday feasts.