Must-Have Books For Spring And Summer

It's been a while since we took a look at your bookshelves, and there are a couple of books that deserve spots on your shelves, one that will interest any griller and one from one of our island neighbors.

One of the things I love most is to see behind-the-scenes folk get a bit of the spotlight for themselves. Whether it's a sous chef who takes wing and opens his own place or a humble Internet food editor who writes a best-selling cookbook (hey, I can dream, right?), seeing those normally relegated to the footlights get their turn at center stage is great.

The folks at Food Network have made this happen in a big way with their "Food Network Kitchens" series of cookbooks. You might just recognize some of the recipes in here as ones you've seen on the air, but didn't know that the FN braintrust was behind them.

See, there's a huge operation behind the scenes at the Food Network studios, with a collection of people who have more years of cooking experience combined than you'll find anywhere short of Johnson and Wales.

First up, we've got "Get Grilling," the most recent release from the FN whiz kids. You've seen Emeril, Bobby and the rest flopping various hunks of meat and vegetables on grills for years, now's your chance to hear from the folks behind a lot of those lip-smacking recipes. There is something in this book for every palate, mild to wild, hardcore carnivore or vegetarian.

Being the sort of very thorough folk normally responsible for entertaining millions, the cooks leave no stone unturned here, even to the extent of including recipes for sauces and rubs that are both part of some of the book's recipes and starting points for your own culinary explorations. I mixed up a batch of the Memphis Shake and so far I've used it on everything short of Cheerios. It's even good on plain potato chips!

Memphis Shake

¼ c. sweet paprika
3 tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. granulated garlic
1 tbsp. ancho chile powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. celery salt

Whisk all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Use on EVERYTHING. I mean it. It's even good on scrambled eggs.

Grilling isn't the end for this cookbook, though. This, my friends, may well be the ultimate summer/cookout cookbook. There are tips and technique explanations. Want to know how to butterfly a Cornish hen or get a pineapple from spiky nightmare to juicy goodness? You will

There are salad and relish recipes, appetizers, drinks and some really knockout desserts. I'll be making the Chocolate-Cherry Jubilee for my Fourth of July bash. It's going to be a surprise, but none of my family reads this stuff anyway so we're safe.

Be prepared: once you wade into this cookbook, you WILL need large stocks of either charcoal or grill gas and a few extra parking spaces in front of the house. Once word gets out about your newfound grilling genius, you'll have lots of company.

Barbadian Delights

One of my biggest joys is finding "small" cookbooks that are put together by community groups, clubs or other organizations. Whenever I travel, I keep my eye peeled for library or church book sales and along the counter at local-owned restaurants and bookstores. Of course, sometimes the books come and find me.

Last year, I received an e-mail from Ann Gale, telling me about a marvelous cookbook she and her fellow residents of Barbados had put together.

For those of you unfamiliar, Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island, and was originally settled by Amerindians about 3,000 years ago. It was visited by Portuguese and Spanish explorers before becoming part of the British Empire. It gained independence in 1961, but the British influence is still pretty strong.

What all this has left the island with is an amazing culinary base, with outside influences melding with native ingredients and practices. You'll find recipes that look familiar, but have new flavors or preparation wrinkles that give them a whole new character. And you'll find familiar ingredients used in new ways that will create flavors you'll add to your favorites.

Since these are recipes from real home kitchens, very few of them require anything in the way of advanced cooking knowledge or equipment. If you can separate an egg, you can make these recipes.

This book will take you from an island bungalow to high tea in London and back. The variety of offerings is truly incredible. I strongly recommend you let the cooks of Barbados take you on a tour of their kitchens!

To order the book, shoot an e-mail to homestyle_barbados@yahoo.com or just click here.

Got a question? Comment? Topic you'd like to see covered? Drop me a line anytime!