Cookery

Barnes is the owner of Petit Appetit, in Sausalito, CA, which offers cooking classes for parents and children. Her first book (Cooking for Baby) offered recipes for babies and toddlers; this one is for older children. Barnes emphasizes healthy eating and includes a vast amount of useful information, but her style is relaxed, and the recipes are quick and easy; in addition, many of them are free of eggs, milk, gluten, and/or nuts, a boon to parents of children with allergies. For all cookery and parenting collections.

Bhide (The Everything Indian Cookbook) was born in India but has lived in the United States for most of her adult life. She describes her style as Indian food for a new generation but "true to…[her] love of Indian tastes and flavors." She's also a cooking teacher, and her recipes are thoroughly detailed; she doesn't hesitate to recommend high-quality prepared spice mixtures and similar items to make them even more accessible. With a foreword by Mark Bittman, this is for all subject collections.

Celebrity chef Flay has numerous restaurants in New York City and Las Vegas. His most recent venture is Bobby's Burger Palace on Long Island (the first in a planned chain), and his ninth cookbook presents recipes for the many variations of his favorite meal, from a Santa Fe Burger to Bistro French Fries to Double Chocolate Milkshake. Sure to be popular.

Coauthor of Chocolate Obsession and a well-known food writer, Gage became passionate about olive oil several years ago, after an introduction to "the good stuff" (she now serves on several olive oil tasting and research panels). Here, she offers a wide variety of mouthwatering recipes featuring olive oil, along with profiles of 15 top olive oil producers (all in California) and a thorough guide to choosing, storing, and cooking with olive oil. Highly recommended.

An authority on Greek and Mediterranean cooking and an award-winning cookbook author (The Foods of Greece), Kremezi also runs a cooking school on Kea, the Greek island on which she lives. Her new book features more than 100 recipes for spicy, flavorful dishes from a range of Mediterranean cuisines, along with a good introduction to the Mediterranean diet and essential ingredients. Recommended for most collections.

After cooking in three-star restaurants in Manhattan, Lang became obsessed with barbecue while working as a private chef on a ranch in New Mexico; in 2003, he opened Daisy May's BBQ USA in New York City to immediate acclaim. His definition of barbecue includes grilling as well as "low and slow cooking," and he presents a wide variety of tasty recipes here, along with a detailed introduction to barbecue basics and many useful sidebars on techniques and other tips. Highly recommended for all collections.

Link, who grew up in Acadia, or "Cajun Country," is the chef of two acclaimed New Orleans restaurants, Herbsaint, which serves what he calls "modern Creole" cuisine with some French and Italian influences, and Cochon, a more rustic spot serving down-home Cajun food. His first cookbook includes recipes from Cochon and other family favorites, plus stories and photos of people enjoying great Cajun food, sidebars on topics like the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, and lots of photos of people enjoying great Cajun food. For most collections.

In this follow-up to Don't Panic—Dinner's in the Freezer, Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia offer dozens of new recipes for dinner dishes that can be prepared ahead and frozen for busy weeknights. Each is designed to be multiplied and prepared in bulk. The recipes are fairly unsophisticated, and some are familiar community-cookbook standards. For libraries where the first book was popular.

The original Golden Door, in Escondido, CA, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year; there are now offshoots throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico. The spa published several cookbooks a decade or so ago; this new book presents sophisticated, healthful recipes from Rucker, who has been executive chef since 2005. There are also sidebars on nutrition and other topics (e.g., "Your Fitness Toolbox") and color photographs throughout. Buy for demand.

In Wohl's fourth entry in Pelican's "Classic Recipes" series (after New Orleans Classic Desserts; New Orleans Classic Seafood; and New Orleans Classic Appetizers), she includes recipes for gumbo, that true New Orleans classic, along with bisques and other soups, from some of the city's top chefs. All are shown in color photographs, and there's a special section on roux, the base of any real gumbo, and other ingredients. For area libraries and other regional cookery collections. [Gourmet Magazine Cookbook Club selection; The Good Cook Book Club featured alternate.]