Cookery

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google, they wanted an employee cafeteria that offered healthful and delicious alternatives to the pizza and burritos on which most "Googlers" subsisted, and they hired Ayers as their chef in 1999. He was "employee #53," but when he left Google in 2005, the cafeteria (aka Charlie's Café) was serving lunch and dinner to more than 1500 people a day. Here, Ayers presents his time-tested recipes and his cooking philosophy (buy organic and local, whenever possible), along with lots of information on ingredients, techniques, and eating well. The recipes are simple but appealing, inspired by a variety of cuisines, and feature many vegetarian choices. Ayers has an engaging style; his book is recommended for most collections.

Outstanding in the Field is the name of Denevan's "roving culinary adventure," an organization designed to encourage people to reconnect with the land, specifically through their local farmers and producers. Denevan was chef of Gabriella Café in Santa Cruz, CA, when he began serving weekly dinners featuring the small farmers who supplied many of his ingredients. Eventually these "farmer dinners" became "farm dinners"—and today he and his crew spend four months each year traveling across America and catering dinners for 80 in the fields of small farms, vineyards, or dairies, the menus based on the local ingredients so close at hand. His cookbook includes 100 of his fresh, imaginative recipes, from Green Garlic and Potato Gratin to Upside-Down Fresh Fig Cake. There are color photographs throughout, along with minibios of many of the farmers and other artisan producers. Denevan's is a unique organization, and his cookbook is highly recommended.

Fearnley-Whittingstall is a well-known British cookbook author and food writer, and he has been the host of several popular TV series, some of them filmed at River Cottage, his farm in Dorset. An American edition of his River Cottage Meat Book was published last year, and now comes this Americanized version of his first River Cottage cookbook for his growing number of U.S.-based fans. Fearnley-Whittingstall is committed to organic food, humanely raised livestock, and sustainable agricultural practices, and his hope is that this book will encourage more people to become aware of the source of the food they eat—as well as increase their pleasure in eating good food. The book is divided into four sections—Garden, Livestock, Fish, and Hedgerow (wild game and foraged food)—and each one includes practical advice on all sorts of topics, from starting a vegetable garden to raising pigs to smoking or pickling fish, along with recipes. The author writes with passion and humor, and his unusual book will be useful as both a reference and a cookbook. Highly recommended.

Originally published in Germany, this lavishly illustrated book offers a culinary tour of eight regions of Italy, from Liguria to Tuscany to Sicily. Each section opens with a brief guide to the region, its cuisine, and its wines, followed by recipes for both traditional and contemporary specialties. All of the recipes are shown in color photographs, and there are also illustrated essays on such topics as "New Flavors with Wild Herbs." A good companion to Michele Scicolone's Savoring Italy (o.p.), this is recommended for most collections.

Iyer grew up in Mumbai (Bombay), but he has lived in the United States for most of his adult life. He's an acclaimed cooking teacher and the author of several other cookbooks, and his impressive new title is a wide-ranging guide to the curries of the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Iyer explains that Indian curries are not based on a can of curry powder and that the term "curry" refers to any dish simmered in or covered with a fragrant, spicy (though not necessarily hot) sauce or gravy. The hundreds of recipes include appetizer curries such as Skewered Chicken with Creamy Fenugreek Sauce, main-course curries like Yogurt-Marinated Lamb with Ginger and Garlic, and "contemporary curries" such as Wild Salmon with Chiles, Scallions, and Tomato; there are also recipes for "curry cohorts"—rice, bread, and other accompaniments. Highly recommended.

Karmel is a barbecue expert and author of the excellent Taming the Flame; Blumer is a cookbook author and host of the Food Network series Surreal Gourmet. Here, they provide a detailed introduction to cooking pizzas on the grill, along with 50 delicious recipes ranging from classics like Margherita Pizza to unusual creations such as Bollywood Chutney Chicken Pizza. Most recipes include beverage suggestions as well as variations, and there is a separate chapter on appetizers and salads. For most collections.

Mullins, aka "The Salad Man," owns Uncle Wiley's, Inc., which produces a line of seasoning blends. He started the company after adopting a healthy diet and losing 60 pounds, and his first book opens with a chapter titled "Salad—the Wellness Solution"; there are tips on health and nutrition throughout the book as well. The 150 easy recipes—which do not rely on Uncle Wiley products—include salads for every course of a meal, including dessert, and nutritional analyses are provided for each one. For larger collections.

Loaves and Fishes, Pump's gourmet shop in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island, is now almost 30 years old, but her simple, tasty food is as popular as ever. In her latest cookbook, she and coauthor LeRoy offer easy summertime recipes grouped into chapters such as "Sandwiches for Beach, Picnic, or Terrace" and "For Those Rainy No-Grilling Nights." Sure to be popular, this is recommended for most collections.

Shutters on the Beach is a luxury hotel in Santa Monica, CA. Slatkin, a food writer and consultant, and her husband are co-owners of the resort, and here she presents her favorite recipes from its two restaurants. The recipes are simple but sophisticated, and, like those in Pump's book, are gathered into themed chapters, from "Sunny Days" to "Balmy Nights" to "Misty Mornings." Many are shown in full-page color photographs, and Slatkin also includes tips for casual entertaining and sidebars on such topics as "Beach Bar Essentials." For area libraries and other larger collections.

Sher and Doherty were the owners of Down to Earth, a vegan restaurant in Red Bank, NJ, for seven years, and this book was originally published as The Down to Earth Cookbook. It includes the most popular recipes they served at the restaurant, along with other favorites, ranging from Mediterranean Lentil Soup to Thai Coconut Tempeh Stix. There are separate chapters on raw foods and on food for babies and kids, as well as a useful guide to the vegan pantry. For subject collections that don't own the original edition (or that need to replace it).

Willis, a food writer, cooking teacher, and cooking show producer, trained in France, but she grew up cooking with her mother and her maternal grandmother, Meme. The recipes in her first book are, as the title indicates, a mixture of classic French cooking and what she calls "refined Southern cuisine"—e.g., Vidalia Onion Confit with Garlic Toasts, Herb Roast Chicken with Pan Sauce, and Pecan Lamb Chops. The recipe instructions are detailed, and there are numerous sidebars on ingredients and techniques, as well as color photographs of many of the dishes. For regional cooking collections and other larger libraries.