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 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.