“The Italians had it right with a leisurely midday meal. Not a snack to sustain you through the day, but a thoughtful, flavorful expression of the season’s bounty. Gale Gand has designed the most delicious riffs on lunchtime staples. It’s the sort of food I could eat forever. And maybe I will.”
–Mario Batali, chef, author, entrepreneur

“Gale Gand has given us all a reason to enjoy lunch again. Not the fast, barely-thought-about lunch, but divine moments during our busy days to savor a simple, homemade lunch. This book delivers, in the most wonderful way, the central meal of the day. We all aspire to send our children and ourselves off to school or work with the most amazing lunches. And the task just got a lot easier and more delicious with Lunch!”
–Cat Cora, lifestyle entrepreneur and Iron Chef

“Gale Gand has all the credibility in the world with me. Whether it’s a homemade American main dish or an old-fashioned (and newly appreciated) dessert, if Gale serves it, I’m eating. Having now focused her talents on lunch—the neglected middle child of our eating day—I just have to salute. Here’s to Gale’s Honey-Mustard Pretzel Rolls, Dilled Green Bean Pickles, and Fresh Ginger Ale, finished off with Apple Pie Pops or Devil Dogs. Or both! That middle child never looked so good.”
–Sara Moulton, host of the public television show Sara’s Weeknight Meals

“For those of us who believed we were marrying for better or worse, but not for lunch, this is a reprieve and a delight. Gale Gand’s lunches are as good as her desserts, and will keep my family away from peanut butter sandwiches every day.”
–Nathalie Dupree, cookbook author

“She’s no slough, this two-time James Beard Award winner; every dish hews to her philosophy of delicious, nourishing, and seasonally sourced foodstuffs, geared to kids and adults alike. Now that, as she points out, lunch has become (or is becoming) the new dinner, anything goes, including crispy roasted chickpeas, chipotle-cheddar biscuits, grilled hanger steak with arugula, the ultimate PB&J, matzo ball soup, three-beet salad with snap peas, or "Everything Cookies."
–Booklist