The title of Melissa Clark's new cookbook, "Chef Interrupted," casts a new benevolent aura on its second word. Here is Clark kindly intervening on behalf of home cooks everywhere, bringing creations of top professionals within the reach of the less adept.

Her book's cover promises "delicious chefs' recipes that you can actually make at home."

"As a food writer ... a former caterer and an avid restaurant-goer," she says, "I know firsthand how marvelous chefs' recipes can be.

"But also I know that many are an awful pain in the neck."

Translating — essentially interrupting recipes — is something she has often done and now she carries it further by finding some of the best dishes of stellar chefs across the country, then "nipping and tucking at the overly complicated parts, until all that remains is the brilliant essence of a dish, without all the hassle."

Here's an example.

Based on a dish created by David Pasternack, of New York City's restaurant Esca, the recipe focuses on swordfish, with its meaty flavor heightened only by a garlicky broccoli rabe. Swordfish is flavorful and firm, ideal for high-heat cooking methods like grilling and searing. For this recipe, you could substitute 1-inch-thick tuna or mahi steaks.

SEARED SWORDFISH WITH STEWED SICILIAN-STYLE BROCCOLI RABE