This volume is not an ordinary recipe book, but rather a veritable gold mine of ideas for inventing menus that are always new, playing on an incredible number of combinations. The practical spiral binding, in fact, conceals a valuable secret: the capability of multiplying, almost countlessly, the possible combinations among various types of dishes. The recipes contained in the collection total 220--50 for each of the four main courses, making up the central section of the volume, and 20 for the side dishes, which are collected into a chapter at the end of the book, where all the secrets are revealed for preparing mouth-watering accompaniment dishes and for combining them correctly with various preparations based on compatibility of ingredients. Thanks to a simple mechanism that makes it particularly easy to consult, the 220 recipes, in combination with one another, can produce a staggering total of more than 125 million potential menus, every one different. On each page, there are horizontal cuts separating each of the four sections--dedicated to appetizers, first course dishes, main course dishes, desserts--from one another. The different parts of each page can be turned independently, allowing you to leaf through, select, and reposition a recipe from among any of those in the volume for each one of the four courses, allowing you to compose a complete menu for today''s meal, enriched with a side dish if you like, based on a different combination each time. Effective eye-catching graphics allow you to easily assess the preparation time, difficulty of implementation, and caloric intake for each recipe, while providing a convenient shopping list, displayed with great immediacy whenever you are composing a new menu. The 220 basic recipes are accompanied by a broad introduction that contains valuable information about the best combinations between various foodstuffs and ingredients, as well as some suggestions for the best use of this amusing, easy, and never repetitive reference tool. In the pages reserved for notes, you''ll find space for personal notations and observations about the various menus you''ve already tried in the past, to keep track of those that were most successful, of the occasion when they were served, and of the guests who took part in the event. The goodness and wholesomeness of the preparations are guaranteed by Academia Barilla, an important institution playing an extraordinary role in terms of protection, preservation, and dissemination of the great legacy of Italian cuisine. AUTHOR: Academia Barilla, in the heart of Parma, one of the most distinguished capitals of Italian cuisine, is the Barilla Center. Set in the grounds of the former Barilla pasta factory, this modern architectural complex is the home of Academia Barilla. This was founded in 2004 to promote the art of Italian cuisine, protecting the regional gastronomic heritage and safeguarding it from imitations and counterfeits, while encouraging the great traditions of the Italian restaurant industry. Academia Barilla is also a centre of great professionalism and talent that is exceptional in the world of cooking. It organizes cooking classes for culinary enthusiasts, it provides services for those involved in the restaurant industry, and it offers products of the highest quality. In 2007, Academia Barilla was awarded the "Premio Impresa-Cultura" for its campaigns promoting the culture and creativity of Italian gastronomy throughout the world. The centre was designed to meet the training requirements of the world of food and it is equipped with all the multimedia facilities necessary for organizing major events. The remarkable gastronomic auditorium is surrounded by a restaurant, a laboratory for sensory analysis, and various teaching rooms equipped with the most modern technology. The Gastronomic Library contains over 10,000 books and a remarkable collection of historic menus as well as prints related to culinary subjects. The vast cultural heritage of the library can be consulted on the internet which provides access to hundreds of digitized historic texts. This avant-garde approach and the presence of a team of internationally famous experts enables Academia Barilla to offer a wide range of courses, meeting the needs of both restaurant chefs and amateur food lovers. In addition, Academia Barilla arranges cultural events and activities aiming to develop the art of cooking, supervised by experts, chefs, and food critics that are open to the public. It also organises the "Academia Barilla Film Award", for short films devoted to Italy''s culinary traditions. 210 colour photographs