accessible and vibrant collection of meat-less recipes. While international cues are
hardly new to vegetarian eaters, this volume
ventures beyond the hummus and pasta
anteroom into the great mansion of exciting
flavors, techniques, and lesser-known
ingredients (ajvar, a Serbian pepper sauce
epazote; an herb from Central America).
Iranian borani (a yogurt and spinach dip
with pomegranate seeds), Salvadorian
pupusas, and a Georgian salad of tomato,
cucumber, and green beans with walnut
dressing will introduce readers to new
favorites. A butternut squash korma gives
an indigenous American vegetable Indian
flavors, and the Summer Garden Paella
takes delicious liberties with an easy-to-improvise classic. Kimchi makes an
appearance both in fried rice and that
cross-cultural staple, the quesadilla.
Despite its grand ambitions, the book
keeps the proceedings easy to follow and
simple enough for weeknight outings—
with enough new ideas to intrigue even the
most world-weary vegetarian. Agent:
Carole Bidnick, Bidnick and Co. (May)
Deliciously Ella Every Day:
Quick and Easy Recipes for
Gluten-Free Snacks, Packed
Lunches, and Simple Meals
Ella Woodward. Scribner, $23 (256p)
ISBN 978-1-5011-2761-8
Thumbing her nose at that tempting
vending machine muffin, blogger
Woodward’s second cookbook (after
Deliciously Ella) hopes to preempt last-minute
snack temptation with fast, creative make-
at-home solutions. By turns charming and
practical, Woodward caters to the eater
who wants to eat less sugar, flour, meat,
and dairy. Like her Deliciously Ella cook-
book, this tome liberally relies on dates
for sweetness, buckwheat and brown rice
for starch, and all manner of vegetables
for wholesome sustenance. The recipes
demonstrate Woodward’s knack for easy
improvisation: the roasted eggplant and
tahini bowl introduces black beans to the
mix, while the spiced sweet potato stew
combines miso and coconut yogurt. For
the money, the greatest value is in the
dessert and breakfast recipes, which truly
make long-term health without depriva-
tion seem doable: gingerbread cookies with
buckwheat flour and coconut oil, coconut
raspberry mousse made with avocado, and
zucchini and banana bread enriched with
chia seeds. A warm authorial voice and
relatively simple recipes make this another
worthy addition to the conscious cook’s
library. (Apr.)
★ Foolproof Preserving:
A Guide to Small Batch Jams,
Jellies, Pickles, Condiments & More
The editors of America’s Test Kitchen.
America’s Test Kitchen, $26.95 (320p)
ISBN 978-1-940352-51-0
The latest installment from the venerable
editors at America’s Test Kitchen, which
focuses on one of the oldest methods for
preserving food, lives up to the high standards the authors have set for themselves.
A thoughtful mix of standards (concord
grape jelly, mango chutney, bread and
butter pickles, basic kimchi, etc.) are met
with equal amounts of tasty riffs such as
raspberry chocolate and peach-bourbon
jam, mulled cider jelly, sweet zucchini
pickle chips, and DIY whole grain mustard.
The process of canning and preserving is
essentially a scientific one with no room
for deviation due to health concerns (and
there’s a useful FAQ for panicked canners,
should problems arise), so each key step is
accompanied by photographs, leaving no
room for doubt on the part of the reader.
The authors have crafted an engaging guide
that is thoughtfully organized and artfully
presented, showing how to prepare blood
orange marmalade, pickle red onions, or
prep cabbage for sauerkraut. Like previous
efforts, this one has the expected recommendations for picking the best canning
pots and outfitting the kitchen, and the
text offers encouragement without becoming
preachy. New initiates to food preservation
will find this an essential kitchen companion, and even veteran canners will find
some useful tips and new recipes. (Apr.)
★ The Wurst of Lucky Peach:
A Treasury of Encased Meat
Chris Ying and the editors of Lucky Peach.
Clarkson Potter, $24.99 (240p)
ISBN 978-0-8041-8777-0
The follow-up to last year’s terrific Lucky
Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes is just
as satisfying, entertaining, and focused.
This time, the editors of the quirky and
brilliant food journal focus on sausage in
all its incarnations, as correspondents travel
the globe and weigh in on their findings
regarding regional weiners (without
making too many jokes about genitalia).
Readers who scoff at the concept will be
stunned to discover the diversity on display
here, as the team’s global reportage is truly
impressive, relaying the good, bad, and
ugly sides of sausage. They taste every style
under the sun, from the expected N. Y.C.
“dirty water dogs” and iconic Chicago-
style dogs (even corndogs get an entry) to
oddities such as opka hesip, a Chinese
sausage composed of lamb offal and rice
stuffed into a sheep’s lung. There are sym-
phonic odes to the glories of mustard as
well as damning essays on DIY ketchup
(“It always, always tastes worse than the
bottled stuff”) and German weiswurst
(which “looks exactly like white cat poop”).
Most featured recipes cover basic assembly,
so those inspired to whip up their own
Mexican chorizo, mortadella, boudi, or
merguez will find guidance here. Refreshingly
enthusiastic about their subject material
(and damning when the situation calls for
it), the team has done a great favor for the
world’s carnivores. (Apr.)
★ The Basque Book:
A Love Letter in Recipes from
the Kitchen of Txikito
Alex Raij, with Eder Montero. Ten Speed,
$29.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-6077-4761-1
This stellar collection offers 116 original,
fresh recipes that without exception stimulate the taste buds and inspire cooks to
rush into the kitchen. , Raij and Montero,
the chefs and owners of N. Y.C. restaurant
Txikito, pay homage to the simplicity
and deep flavors of Basque cooking. From
basics such as brining, oil, mayo, and a
wealth of stocks to pintxos, eggs, and stews,
the chefs entice with each and every dish.
Marinated mushrooms with vermouth and
garlic, cold-poached shrimp with white
asparagus, and open-faced fried quail egg
and chorizo sandwiches demonstrate the
variety and vibrancy of the offerings. A
chapter on the bounty of kitchen gardens
features mushroom confit, leeks poached
in their own juices with chopped egg, and
roasted red peppers with oil-cured anchovies,
each dish distinctly flavorful and exceptional. Even a simple frisée salad is elevated
with the additional of golden garlic and
parsley. Eggs are cooked in every way
imaginable and showcased in Spanish tortillas, with blood sausage in omelets, and
