Fresh and Seasonal

I always get excited about cookbooks with a connection to the Bay Area. There are so many things that make eating here special. Of course, it's the fresh produce, but it's much more than just that. It's also the vibe, the service and personality of our local restaurants. The latest crop of cookbooks capture much of that.

It may sound odd to say I don't go to Mitchell Rosenthal's restaurants, namely Town Hall and Anchor & Hope (never been to Salt House) primarily for the food. Oh the food is good, some of it is outstanding, but I really go because those restaurants just feel so good and welcoming. It's like a party every night, at both places, not in a rowdy way, in a "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun at a restaurant" way. At Town Hall I always sit at the communal table, and I love it. You cannot eat there without making friends with your neighbors and chatting over your dishes. Rosenthal's new cookbook, Cooking My Way Back Home, manages to share a lot of the fun through stories and photos, not to mention recipes.

Thankfully my favorite dish from Town Hall is in the new cookbook, it's Faith's Warm Ham & Cheese Toast with Jalapeno Cream as well as my favorite bite from Anchor & Hope, Angels on Horseback with Remoulade. The recipes are a mix of Southern and Jewish/Deli favorites with a few Mexican, Seafood and barbecue recipes and somehow it all works. I'd call it comfort food meets party food. Bookmarked recipes to try include Hot Mixed Nuts with Truffle Honey and Maldon Salt, Sweet Onion and Funky Cheese Fondue, BBQ Shrimp with Toasted Garlic Bread and Lemon Chicken with Olive and Feta.

I found a real treasure when I discovered “Flavors of the Arboretum: 101 Tastes of the Season” as I browsed through the gift shop during a recent visit to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.

Recipes in the book include signature classics that you might find on the menu in the Arboretum Restaurant, treasures from the old Tea Room, as well as recipes from cooking classes taught in the “Harvest Kitchen” at the Marion Andrus Learning Center on the Arboretum grounds and guest chefs who are invited to share their knowledge and skills as they teach classes.

Turn to page 29 in “Flavors of the Arboretum: 101 Tastes of the Season,” and you will be in the Summer/In Bloom section. That’s where you will find suggested summer menus from Twin Cities area chefs with all of the recipes needed to do some “Dining Al Fresco” and enjoy a “Summer Solstice Dinner,” as well as several other recipes.

Excerpt from Recipes from an Italian Summer by The Silver Spoon Kitchen, a collection of 400 never-before-published recipes that capture the essence, ease and freshness of Italian cooking. With beautiful photographs of the Italian countryside and many of the dishes, this book will inspire you to create your own perfect summer event.

Cooking outdoors is the perfect way to entertain during the summer months, and the scents and sounds of cooking on the barbecue create a wonderful appetite for a feast. Another advantage is that cooking on a barbecue means that nobody has to spend their time in the kitchen. A good barbecue should be very simple, and only requires good-quality ingredients to be grilled over hot embers, seasoned with salt and pepper, and perhaps drizzled with a little extra-virgin olive oil.

In Italy, the ancient Chianina breed of cattle produces steaks so highly prized that strict rules accompany the technique for grilling them, such as never pricking the meat with a fork so that tasty juices cannot escape. There are also many fish and vegetables that can be grilled very successfully, such as radicchio, eggplants, shrimp, and sardines. These are often cooked with fresh herbs and dressed simple with lemon and extra-virgin olive oil.

The recipes here can also be cooked indoors in a broiler, if a barbecue is not available. All they need to accompany them is a sald and some good bread.

Like many home cooks, I'm always looking for new recipes and cookbooks that will elevate the quality of the meals I cook. The trouble is I want great food without having to buy a ton of ingredients or spending hours in the kitchen. I know, I should just stop being lazy and encourage my inner chef, but after cooking over 10 recipes from Rozanne Gold's new book, Radically Simple, I think I've found what I've been looking for. Though she's new to me, apparently Gold has been around and acclaimed for quite some time, mostly for her 1-2-3 cookbook series that delivers delicious recipes simply and with only a few, usually three, fresh ingredients.

She continues that model here, but takes it up a notch on the sophistication scale. The point in this book isn't just to use a minimum of ingredients, but to get the best results with the necessary ones with as little work as possible.