Table Talk: New cookbooks add sizzle to summer suppers

By CLAIRE HOPLEY

Published on July 25, 2008

Summer is the cruelest season for cooks. Simmering weather boils away energy for anything involving burners and ovens. On the other hand, super food abounds in fields and gardens, at the seashore and on the good old backyard barbecue.

If all this summer plenty is not quite enough to get you back into the kitchen, then the summer supply of new cookbooks may do the trick. With enticing pictures and encouraging words, they evoke meals so delicious that inertia may give way to enthusiasm.

One of the prettiest of the new books is called "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden" by Jeanne Kelley (Running Press, 2008, $35).

The author lives in Los Angeles, but its urban sprawl notwithstanding, she has found a spot to grow her own vegetables. Her book is not entirely about these. She also has lots of recipes for meat and fish, and some of her desserts include chocolate, which even the most avid gardener does not produce. Her point is that garden vegetables, herbs and fruits underpin recipes that are delicious, healthful, colorful, and more often than not, easy.

Kelley's book is a joy to look at, and her recipes are an inspiration because it's often easy to see how they can be tweaked to suit what's available here in the Valley. Not quite so easy to see are the titles of the recipes, which are printed in pale colors and fancy script that is hard to read, but this is a relatively minor defect in a book that is otherwise fun to use.

North African food

Another fun book, one that in its own way is probably even more inspiring, is "The North African Kitchen" by Fiona Dunlop and published by Interlink Books of Northampton at $29.95.

Many books that present the food of a large region group recipes in the familiar categories of appetizers, main dishes, desserts and so forth. It's reasonable enough, but it tends to mix recipes from one area with those of another, thus losing distinctive details or perhaps omitting recipes from some places. Think of all those so-called Mediterranean cookbooks that actually feature recipes from France and Italy, plus one or two from Spain or maybe Greece and have nothing from the dozen or so other countries that border the Mediterranean.

This book avoids that problem by featuring cooks - domestic cooks rather than professionals - from five North African cities: Marrakech, Fez, Tunis, Carthage, La Goulette, and Tripoli. This has enormous advantages. Interviews with each cook reveal individual personalities and food preferences. The focus on the cities shows how foods from one North African country differ from those of another, even when they share some similarities, and together with the pictures, the food suggests the life of part of the world that is not that well known to most of us.

Getting to know something of North Africa through making its food would certainly be a tasty experience. With lamb, chicken, fish and a host of vegetables as its underpinnings; and lemons, olives and a host of herbs and spices creating its characteristic array of flavors, this food is luscious and tasty. And though we live a long way from the source, it is not difficult for us to make because almost all of its ingredients either grow nearby or can be purchased in local stores.

Southern Grilling

Southern food, too, makes good use of summer's cornucopia of vegetables and fruits. It also depends on fire - on the barbecue and the way it conjures enticing meals from ordinary foods. "New South Grilling: Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast" by Robert St. John (Hyperion, 2008, $29.95) has its roots in the traditional foods of the South, especially in the coast of Mississippi, where St. John grew up.

He's now a professional chef, so the recipes include ingredients such as balsamic vinegar, Portobello mushrooms, which are scarcely southern traditions. But fundamentally his dishes are riffs on the good ole Southern favorites: po'boy sandwiches, grilled chicken, crabs, oysters, pork and rice. They're spiced up with Mexican motifs such as quesadillas, tacos and pico de gallo and Italian touches such as pizza.

St John has a classic (almost) French beurre blanc. This mixture of elements produces a selection of recipes that has the spicy, herby flair needed in summer food, along with some different ideas for grilling. Among these are an enticing spinach-stuffed tenderloin, a cold-smoked tuna steak with smoked vegetables, pizzas for grilling, and most importantly, a selection of recipes for no-stick grilling sauces that deal with the problem of torn foods and messy grills. St John's recipe for a no-stick sauce designed for seafood is below.

Any of these three books would make a great present for a summer birthday. Here are some recipes to sample from each of them.

SAUTEED BELL PEPPERS WITH GOLDEN RAISINS AND BABY SPINACH

This is an easy recipe - perfect for the super peppers that come in August - from "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden" by Jeanne Kelley (Running Press, 2008, $35).

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

6 red bell peppers, cut into strips

2/3 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

8 cups baby spinach leaves

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and saute until slightly softened, about 7 minutes. Add the raisins and fennel seeds, and cook until the peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile toss the spinach with the remaining oil and vinegar in a large shallow bowl. Season to taste with salt. Spoon the pepper-raisin mixture over the spinach and serve.

PORK CHOPS WITH GRILLED NECTARINES

This recipe is from "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden" by Jeanne Kelley (Running Press, 2008, $35). Kelley suggests this as an easy summer supper with corn on the cob, a salad, and a Spanish rose wine.

1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

4 pork loin chops

salt and pepper

4 firm-ripe nectarines, halved

olive oil

marjoram sprigs

Prepare the grill to medium heat. Combine the marjoram, garlic and allspice in a small bowl and rub over both sides of the pork chops. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the chops until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Brush the nectarines lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until just tender, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Place the pork chops on a platter and surround them with the nectarines. Garnish with marjoram sprigs and serve.

GAMBERI LIMOUN TOUMA SALSA

Many countries have a dish of shrimp with garlic. This super-garlicky version comes from Libya, a country with 1,200 miles of coastline and therefore lots of fresh seafood. It is from "The North African Kitchen" by Fiona Dunlop (Interlink Books, 2008, $29.95). One of its features is that you can cook these large shrimp on a grill or in the oven. Stick a wet toothpick in each one before you start; it becomes a holder to eat them from.

Juice of 1 lemon

5-6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6-7 cloves garlic, chopped

ground black pepper to taste

1 pound 2 ounces (1/2 kilo) tiger prawns or large shrimp, shells left on, uncooked

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and pepper in a small bowl, then pour over the prawns or large shrimp. Leave them to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Grill them for 3-4 minutes or bake 5 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. Serve warm.

HONEYED TOMATOES

This recipe, which comes from "The North African Kitchen" by Fiona Dunlop (Interlink Books, 2008, $29.95), is one of the little dishes presented before meals in Fez in Morocco. As befits its origin, it's very "moreish." A good recipe for using when there's lots of local tomatoes.

15 medium tomatoes

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) sugar

6 tablespoons honey

salt to taste

Make a cross at the base of each tomato and plunge them into boiling water for 30 seconds. Transfer to cold water. Drain and remove the loosened skins.

Halve, remove the juice and seeds, dice, then place in a wide pan with a drizzle of the vegetable oil. Stir continuously over low heat until the mixture starts to simmer, then add the rest of the oil, cinnamon, sugar and honey. Simmer for 1 to 11/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced so there is no liquid left and only a film of oil remains on the surface.

NO-STICK GRILLING MARINADE FOR SEAFOOD

Fish and seafood are generally more fragile than vegetables and meat, so grilling them is a dicier proposition. The danger of tearing a hole in a fish and leaving a chunk burning on the grill looms. This recipe - actually a form of mayonnaise - is one of the no-stick marinades and sauces from "New South Grilling: Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast" by Robert St. John (Hyperion, 2008, $29.95). This recipe makes over 2 cups. You can store extras in the fridge or halve the recipe if you prefer.

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup canola oil

1 cup light olive oil

warm water as needed

2 tablespoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Place the egg yolks, Dijon mustard, and vinegar in a blender and blend on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Slowly drizzle the oils into the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the marinade becomes too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of warm water. Once all of the oil has been incorporated, add seasoned salt, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, white pepper, black pepper, mustard, oregano and thyme. Blend until incorporated.

PECAN-SPIKED RICE

Another recipe from "New South Grilling: Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast" by Robert St. John (Hyperion, 2008, $29.95), this rice dish complements a lot of barbecued foods as well as other summer dishes such as those in the recipes above.

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup minced shallots

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 bay leaf

1 cup white rice

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped and toasted pecan pieces

Melt the butter over medium heat in a 1-quart saucepan. Add onions, shallot, salt and bay leaf and cook for 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or browning.

Add the rice and continue to cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the chicken broth and black pepper and heat to simmering point. Lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for 18 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in toasted pecans. (Toast them by spreading on a shallow dish and baking them at 300 degrees or microwaving them until they turn slightly darker and smell fragrant.)