Heavy hitters

REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT

It's only October, but the big fall cookbooks (all great for gifts) are beginning to arrive—and more are on their way. Weighing in at four and a half pounds, with 800-plus pages, The Bon Appétit Cookbook has more than 1,200 recipes carefully culled from this marvelous magazine, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It's a pleasure and a culinary comfort to know that Bon Appétit's "greatest hits" have been gathered in one volume—now, all those stained, tattered clippings can hit the circular file. As you'd expect, the recipes go from soup to nuts, breakfast to dinner, appetizers to after-dinner drinks. With all these doable, delectable dishes at hand, it's hard to know which ones to highlight, but I don't think I can go wrong with Caramelized Onion and Roasted Shallot Cream Soup, Spicy Lamb and Chorizo Chili, Braised Chicken in Sun-Dried Tomato Cream, Potato Gratin with Boursin, and Maple Crème Caramel. Bon appétit!


Even heftier, with more than 1,000 pages, Starting with Ingredients: The Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook is Aliza Green's magnum opus and entry into this year's capacious cookbook sweepstakes. Green, an award-winning cookbook author, has organized her new book into 100 chapters, each devoted to a single ingredient—from almonds to zucchini, with stops for beef, baccalà, mangoes, mozzarella, mussels and more. Each one receives a thorough background check, revealing its history, quirks and varieties. And each ingredient struts its stuff in a range of recipes inspired by varied ethnic traditions. For example, the ordinary cucumber sings when sautéed with classic French fines herbes; an unusual combo of lentils and chestnuts stars in a thick Neapolitan zuppa. It's a great way to get up-close and personal with the building blocks of cuisine.


Celebrity chefs

A chef's chef, reigning restaurateur of our nation's capital, an inspired and inspiring innovator, Michel Richard is one of the few celebrity chefs I can think of who hasn't written a cookbook. Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating happily rectifies that sad state and introduces avid cooks to the joys of taste and technique the Richard way. It's gorgeous, with 225 color photos, including dozens that show step-by-step prep, and its good looks are matched by 150 extraordinary recipes. With unrivaled culinary curiosity, Richard rejoices in the surprising (potato risotto, Chocolate Popcorn), in new combinations (Black Olive-Crusted Salmon), in spinning classics (Green Bouillabaisse with Aïoli) and in letting his imagination soar. This is a must-have cookbook for the foodies in your life and, even better, the foodie within.


Tyler Florence, a popular personality and heavy hitter on The Food Network, has just published his third cookbook. Tyler's Ultimate: Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time is his ode to the "ultimate" in pleasure, not the kind, thank goodness, that requires metaphysical analysis or anything X-rated, but pleasure engendered by simple, delicious food you can make in your own kitchen in a reasonable amount of time with ultimate confidence. Nimble, knowledgeable, a fan of big flavors, Tyler distills his "ultimate" recipes from the fabulous dishes he's sampled on his gourmet globe-trots and offers streamlined "translations" of favorites from restaurants, homes and street food. His super-sauced Ultimate Barbecued Chicken is brined for extra succulence before it hits the grill; Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese is superbly comforting with a topping of bacon, peas, garlic and onion; Ultimate Crab Cakes made with fresh bread crumbs and served with Chile Mayonnaise are divinely light and bright. The beat, both savory and sweet, goes on for more than 125 recipes.


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