Cookery

Here are three new titles to open the summer grilling season. Adler and Fertig (coauthors, Weeknight Grilling with the BBQ Queens) focus on entertaining, offering menus for a variety of occasions, helpful tips and suggestions, and a good introduction to grilling and smoking. Their recipes are fairly sophisticated, and many of them include variations as well as wine suggestions. For most collections.

Flay's first restaurant, Mesa Grill in New York City, now has locations in Las Vegas and the Bahamas. The owner and executive chef of several other restaurants, he is also one of the veterans of the Food Network. The recipes in Flay's eighth cookbook are organized by ingredient, from Asparagus to White Fish, and they feature his trademark big, bold flavors. There are full-page color photographs of many of the dishes, an introductory section on grilling, and a source guide for ingredients and equipment. Expect demand.

Schlesinger (chef/owner, East Coast Grill, Boston) and Gourmet executive editor Willoughby's Thrill of the Grill is a standard, one of the first grilling books to venture beyond all-American steak and chicken. Their latest title offers more mouthwatering recipes, from Coriander-Crusted Halibut with Tomato-Mint Chutney to Smoke-Roasted Oregano Leg of Lamb. First published in England and then Americanized, the book has the occasional odd Britishism (e.g., "joint" instead of "roast"). That aside, this attractive book is filled with dozens of color photographs; four-page spreads called "Flavor Footprints" provide basic recipes from the cuisines that have most influenced the authors, e.g., Mexican-Latin and Indian. Recommended for most collections.

The latest big book from Cooking Light is actually another version of the All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook (2006). This edition includes a new chapter, "In Season," which is an illustrated guide, with recipes, to fruits and vegetables; the CD offers 100 menus and video segments on techniques and various kitchen tricks. Cooking Light's circulation is close to two million, so there will be demand, but smaller libraries may prefer to stick with the 2006 edition (note, too, that the format of the new book is a ring binder).

Creasy's Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, originally published in 1982, is a classic in the field, and she has written many other books and cookbooks since. Her latest includes an eclectic mix of recipes highlighting her garden's bounty, from Riot of Color Salad (garnished with pansies and other edible flowers) to Pea Shoots with Crab Sauce. Some of the recipes are unusual; others are as familiar as New England Boiled Dinner. Most are shown in color photographs; unfortunately, the food styling seems somewhat amateurish. For larger collections and others where Creasy's books have been popular.

In 2006, the Culinary Institute of America's annual Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival focused on the cooking of Spain, and cookbook author Shulman's book presents more than 120 recipes from the many chefs and other culinary stars who were there. Among the contributors are Ferran Adrià, Spain's most celebrated chef; José Andrés, chef/owner of Jaleo and other restaurants in Washington, DC; and cookbook author Anya von Bremzen (The New Spanish Table). There are classic recipes as well as innovative ones, and Shulman's headnotes provide history and context. She also includes short essays on ingredients and Spain's regional cuisines, and dozens of striking color photographs illustrate both text and recipes. Spanish food is hot now, and this guide is highly recommended.

Foose, executive chef of the Viking Cooking School (as in Viking ranges), has also worked as a pastry chef, and she and her husband are the owners of Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood, MS. A talented cook and baker, she is also an entertaining writer. Foose grew up in the Mississippi Delta and returned there five years ago after traveling and working in faraway places, and she has many stories to tell. Recipe subtitles provide a hint of the tales associated with the particular dishes: Midnight Brisket—Feed the Band, for example, or Mailbox Cocktail—Fold Down Door, Set Down Drink. Some of the recipes are for Southern classics, but even these have Foose's own personal stamp. Every recipe is accompanied by copious notes, including make-ahead info, suggestions for variations, and more. As much fun to read as it will be to cook from, this is highly recommended.

The Splendid Table is the name of Kasper's highly acclaimed first cookbook, her weekly newspaper column, and the radio show she has hosted since 1995; Swift is her producer and "partner in [the show's] creation." Their book, which grew out of a popular e-newsletter they started in 2002, Weeknight Kitchens, presents dozens of simple but imaginative recipes. Kasper is an authority on Italian cooking, but the recipes gathered here, ranging from Thai Cantaloupe Salad with Chile to Filipino-Style Chicken Adobo, were inspired by a variety of cuisines. Many of them include variations, and sidebars titled "Cook to Cook" provide helpful information on all sorts of topics. There are also intriguing digressions on various culinary matters and recommendations for favorite cookbooks. Informative, entertaining, and filled with appealing recipes, this is highly recommended.

LeFavour teaches writing at New York University, but she's a self-described "restaurant brat"—her father had restaurants in Aspen, CO, and Napa Valley, CA—and she's been interested in food and cooking since an early age. Her first cookbook includes 55 recipes for steaks, made with both expensive high-end cuts and humbler ones, along with delicious accompaniments for each. The tempting recipes are grouped into four chapters: "American Steak" (simple recipes with sides that showcase local produce), "Bistro Steak" (the classics, including Steak au Poivre), "Latin Steak" (both Southwestern and Latin flavors), and "Far East Steaks" (inspired by the cuisines of China, Korea, and Southeast Asia). LeFavour has a likable, straightforward style, and her recipe instructions are detailed and clear but not at all intimidating. For most collections.

The first Payard Patisserie & Bistro opened in New York City in 1997, and there are now offshoots in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, among other locations. In his third cookbook, Payard presents 100 recipes for chocolate desserts—some of them simple favorites from his childhood in France (both his father and grandfather were patissiers), others, more elaborate creations from his years as a pastry chef there and in the United States. Many of them are shown in full-page color photographs, and there is a useful introduction to chocolate, as well as chapters on techniques and equipment. For most baking collections.

Schwartz, author of several cookbooks, including New York City Food, presents 100 or so recipes for classic Jewish dishes, e.g., Gefilte Fish, Flanken, Kreplach, Hamantaschen. This is the food of Ashkenazi Jews (as opposed to Sephardim)—i.e., the eastern European Jews who spoke Yiddish. Many readers will remember their grandmothers cooking these dishes, which today are often reserved for (or relegated to) holiday meals; Schwartz wanted both to rescue almost-forgotten dishes and to update these traditional recipes to make them healthier and somewhat more contemporary ("a lessening of the schmaltz here, a tweak there"). His lengthy, informed, and readable headnotes provide background, and there are sidebars throughout on ingredients and various intriguing topics (Who knew Heinz vegetarian beans were the first commercial products to be certified kosher, in 1923?—its ketchup was the second, in 1924). Useful as both a reference and a cookbook, this is strongly recommended.