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'Tis the Season
REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT Don't panic, we haven't flipped our calendrical lids. We're not talking turkey or Christmas pudding - we're just being seasonally correct in our culinary pursuits. Amanda Hesser's debut cookbook The Cook and the Gardener makes that pursuit feasible, fun, and phenomenally rewarding for the cook and the cooked for. Ms. Hesser, a rising food writing star at the New York Times, who has studied, apprenticed, and cooked in some of the best bakeries and restaurants in the U.S. and Europe, spent a year as personal cook at Chateau du Fey in Burgundy. There, dependent on the Chateau's extensive garden and its curmudgeonly creator, curator, and cultivator, Monsieur Milbert, she learned how intensely linked fine cooking is to Mother Nature's fine produce. Hesser offers us a month-by-month account of what was going on in the garden and what was going on in her kitchen at the Chateau -- an alimentary almanac combined with the charming diary of her hard-won friendship with this quintessentially feisty French farmer. But the core of this cook's chronicle is, of course, the recipes. Each season is introduced with a discussion of basics -- a special soup stock for each equinox and solstice, rhubarb and ginger preserves for spring, herb salad dressings for summer, fruit preserves for autumn, creme fraiche for winter, and much more. And each month within a season is celebrated with recipes (250 in all) that showcase the fresh ingredients available, accompanied by innovative menu suggestions: Asparagus Risotto in May; Summer Vegetables with Three Sauces in August; Caramelized Chestnuts in October; Duck-and-Sausage Stew with Celery Root and Sage in January. Unfortunately, most of us don't have a resident gardener and must rely on supermarkets and, if we're lucky, local farmers' markets, so Hesser offers help to seasonally challenged cooks with notes on shopping for the appropriate fruits and vegetables. The recipes are as eclectic as Hesser's background, but she's made sure that they all "speak to an American palate" -- an American palate that will be much improved and inspired by this wonderfully fresh addition to the cookbook shelf.
By Amanda Hesser Norton, $32.50 ISBN 0393046680
Spring into entertaining
Pantheon, $29.95 ISBN 0375402500
Yin and yang
By Nina Simonds Alfred A. Knopf, $30 ISBN 0375400362
Sybil Pratt is an avid cook.
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Hey, dogs need to be entertained, too! If you want your canine guests to wolf down their meals
and howl for more, turn to the Three Dog Bakery Cookbook, by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff.
You'll find over 50 recipes for all-natural treats such as German Shepherd's Pie, Banana Mutt
Cookies, and (of course) Corn Dogs.
Support your 
If the weekend is the "final frontier of free-time," then the sun-lit days and soft evenings of spring and summer are ideal for taking some of that time and turning it into fun-filled, food-filled opportunities to be with friends and family. The editors of Bon Appetit magazine well understand that a meal, elaborate or simple, planned in advance or decided on at the spur of the moment, can be the magnet that draws us together and provides the festive focal point and the fabulous food. To make sure that you'll have the requisite recipes and marvelous menus to produce that fabulous food, they've given us Bon Appetit Weekend Entertaining. This very attractive, beautifully illustrated book is divided into three sections, each with ten full menus, alternative menu options, strategy suggestions, and do-ahead tips that allow for hassle-free hosting. "Occasions," from a "Celebration Dinner" for eight to a "Gala Buffet" for 50, takes care of the grander events. "Instant Entertaining" offers ten menus (and ideas) for spontaneous parties that can come together in minutes, combining store-bought items, such as flour tortillas, ice cream, olives, and cheese, with quickly-prepared sauces, dips, and grilled fillings. The secret here is a well-stocked pantry, freezer, and fridge; the lists to make that happen are, of course, supplied. Last are casual "Get Togethers," meals that don't take too much more than minimal planning and that can be the most fun. If you follow Bon Appetit's time-saving tricks -- accept all offers of help, make a list and live by it -- a Friday night supper with co-workers, a Saturday breakfast with the family, a Sunday brunch with friends, cocktails with more than munchies, even an elegant dinner party are do-able and rewarding. So, now, whatever the occasion or non-occasion, you can whoop it up on weekends without worrying, scurrying, or undo hurrying.
The subtitle of Nina Simonds's new book, A Spoonful of Ginger is Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens and, believe me, in this book that's not an oxymoron. Ms. Simonds, a renowned teacher and authority on Chinese and Asian cooking, has compiled 200 recipes inspired by Asian holistic philosophy -- that is, food that is good for you, that tastes good or, more often, tastes terrific and is seasonally appropriate. If you want to get into the yin and yang of it all, into the underlying ideas of balance, of dealing with the body as a whole and seeing food as therapeutic and restorative, the info is here and fascinating. There's even a final chapter on "The Kitchen Clinic and Herbal Tonics," with curative formulas for a variety of ailments from colds and flu to hangovers. If you just want to cook dishes with fresh, vibrant, varied flavors and textures, that's here too. Don't worry and don't be intimidated by unfamiliar ingredients or new cooking techniques, the recipes have all been translated to work well and easily for Western home cooks in their own kitchens, simplified where necessary and always accessible. For openers, there are satisfying soups, simple and complex, then an array of seafood, poultry, pork, beef, and lamb, soothing or spicy as suits your mood, all with suggestions for accompaniments to round out the menu. Vegetables -- stir-fried, steamed, braised, pickled, or part of crisp, cool salads -- tofu, soybeans, rice, and noodles, traditional and tempting, get the attention they deserve. If sweet treats in an Asian fashion are new to you, here's a chance to explore Eastern ways with fruit, custards, puddings, and cakes. East may be East and West may be West but, with Nina Simonds's gastronomic guidance, the twain not only meets, it eats!